beadweaving Archives • Jessica Smith Creates

June 30, 2013

Whooshes and Swooshes

It’s been a month or two since I updated you on my TARDIS necklace.

It’s not quite my fault. Moving out of a dorm in another country to head home, then leaving nearly immediately to go to an internship practically just as far away. Things get away from you. I’m just happy I managed to remember to pack beading supplies for this leg of my travels.

But, I remembered to pack white thread this time, so I won’t be using clear beads and black thread. It was definitely on my list of things to not forget, in my whirl of packing and unpacking.

I’ve started again, this time with clear beads and white thread, and I’ve covered one faux pearl already. The faux pearls are how I am keeping the shape of the time rotor. I happen to have both silver and gold pearls on hand, but because the costume is mostly gold/warm toned, I’m sticking with the gold ones.

But the title of the post is whooshes and swooshes. We’ve gotten the whoosh, the sound that the TARDIS’s time rotor makes.

Now for the swoosh.

I’m working on part of my Belle necklace, a kind of beading muslin, much like the first time rotor necklace I made.

I already had some 15/0 seed beads on hand, which was my part of the original plan (in my head at least).

I began to work on the pattern I had created, but I realize now in hind sight that perhaps I should have started the planning on paper designed for peyote stitch designs. Because my hand drawings are not even or turning out very swoosh shaped…

I almost feel like I’m making a Pacman block.

I’m planning on printing out a sheet or two of peyote stitch paper, using this handy print out.

I’ll be working on these for the next few days, at least until I receive the thread for my serger! Then I’ll get to work on some of my other costuming and other sewing plans!

June 23, 2013August 19, 2018

Creative Process

Today I’m here to tell you all about my beadweaving process.

Welcome to my business notebook. My business notebook makes up for its lack of, well, business figures with lovely sketches of necklaces. Necklaces that I plan to make in the future.

Like this one! It’s a rough sketch of the necklace I’ll be working with for this post.

So this necklace will have a focal of a square metal worked flower thing. See, my grandmothers gifted me with some old earrings, mostly clip-on ones, but because I have little ears, most of these were too big for me, and the ones that weren’t clips won’t work for me because I’ve never pierced my ears.

My favorite ones are the sparkly diamond ones, but I’m saving those for some very special necklaces. The ones shaped like drops are probably going to be involved in my TARDIS costume.

Here are the beads I brought with me on my study abroad trip. There are definitely enough to make two necklaces, and I brought along a second pendant for that reason! The rectangular bead next to the square focal will be for the other necklace, and a number of the beads will be more involved with that one.

Here’s the plan. I’ll show you pictures of the in progress. My process is more visual than anything else.

Here it is about halfway through. This is still a testing phase, making sure all my plans actually look good in reality, instead of just in my head.

The problem with having a small workplace is that I can only do one project at a time, in the space. In the middle of the necklace making, I had to use the desk for something else, so here is all of the beads and the in-progress necklace packaged up in a small bag!

And here is the finalized necklace. Its a beautiful piece and drapes quite nicely.

When I return home to my other beads and necklaces, I’ll be putting the necklace up for sale! I’ll post the link when I get it up for sale!

May 17, 2013November 18, 2018

Post-Exam Relief

So I have now finally finished my exams!

I have been packing up a storm, and still have to leave some stuff here.

It’s been a wonderful time abroad, but I welcome the summer.

Ah summer! You’re so warm and comforting!

This summer I’m hoping to work more on projects and things, and hoping to post more frequently!

I’m wearing my first subtle cosplay tomorrow, on my last day in town, and I’ll hopefully be posting on it on Saturday!

But before I go I’d like to leave you with a necklace sketch.

Aurora’s necklace in this picture is gorgeous, and I thought about designing an inspired necklace.

And so this happened!

May 1, 2013

Don’t get into a spaceship with a madman.

Tardis time rotor update!

Please excuse the bad lighting. I was excited to share.

I’m over half done on my mockup of the time rotor. I’m using a brick stitch to create a stiff backbone, and I’m filling in the mockup with the same beads as the backbone, primarily.

When I get to my white thread, I’ll be making a version that is hopefully at least a little less noticeable in regards to minor flaws.

April 21, 2013

Beads and Necklaces

If you haven’t noticed from my previous posts on costume plans, I have a minor obsession with jewelry.

I’ve been beading my own jewelry for years now.

Remember the craft packs for creating your own daisy chain jewelry?

Perhaps you don’t, but that’s really what got me started with beading.

I have my own shop for my jewelry, BeadsAndQuotes, where I also sell hand drawn and illustrated quotes. It’s on a break for the moment, until I return stateside in June.

I started out simply making stranded jewelry, mostly just eclectic one stranded necklaces and bracelets.

My favorite by far of my older jewelry is this one, which is well worn. I made it in 10th grade, I think, and honestly I’m surprised it has not broken yet.

Then I graduated into working more with seed beads, the super small and fairly regular in size beads.

And then I became obsessed with beadwoven necklaces. They allow me to use my creativity in a three-dimensional medium. It also puts restraint on my creations, knowing that it should still be able to be worn on a person’s neck.

This one is my master creation. It is my one creation, potentially ever, that turned out nearly exactly as I pictured it. I’ve got the idea drafts to prove it, as well. I modeled it after the sunsets I could see from my dorm room. At the time, I had a room that looked out over a hill. It was partly obstructed by trees, but the magnificence of the sight shone through anyway.

I brought some of my beading supplies with me on my journey, and am planning on making one of the beadwoven necklaces soon to both reduce the number of beading supplies that will return with me, and to add to my collection of necklaces. I’m going to be creating a post to show you how my process of necklace creation works. Any week (or day or month) now, I promise!

April 3, 2013

Parking Brake

One of my favorite parts about the Eleventh Doctor’s first TARDIS is the time rotor.

It’s the part in the center of the main console that is enclosed in a clear tube and moves up and down.

Its also the most gorgeous use of glass sculpture I have seen in a non-museum setting.

Granted, the show did commission said glass piece, but still…

It’s lovely.

And I want one.

You can see a video tour of the TARDIS here, which shows off the TARDIS and mentions the time rotor. It’s so cool!

But for my costume I really wanted to take the time rotor and make a necklace pendant inspired by it, so I’ve created a draft. I’m considering a few ways to do this, but I wanted to create a loose draft.

Then I realized I had only brought black beading thread with me on my study abroad excursion.

P.S. It’s not finished yet.

And looks so much better on a nearly black background.

I also thought I’d let you know, if you happen to care, that I plan on crocheting three blocks on my crochet sweater per day. By that method, I’ll finish the back in about two weeks if I just stay with the three per day. Then I’m over half done.

So far so good!

March 10, 2013August 25, 2022

“If it’s not Baroque, don’t fix it!”

Don’t you just love Cogsworth?

I just couldn’t wait much longer to start explaining to you all about the loveliness that is my costume planning, so I’d like to start with my plans for a dress inspired by Once Upon A Time’s Belle.

link

Because OUAT is a show on ABC, owned by Disney, the yellow costume is clearly inspired by the Beauty and the Beast yellow dress.

It is a princess seamed off the shoulders dress with a full and actually very large dress. What attracted me to this dress specifically was the very smooth top and the absolutely gorgeous embroidered design on the front. Its magnificent, and lovely, and, well massive. But I love the interpretation of the dress.

link

This dress, which is worn by Belle in our world around the town of Storybrooke, is also a favorite costume of mine from the show. I love the simple flow of the fabric, and the combination of the lace and the shell of the dress.

Being a redhead, I can’t easily go very yellow with a dress without looking insane and making my skin look weird. But I also want a dress that I can wear in a non-costume friendly situation.

I’ve decided to therefore combine the two dresses, in a way. In my pitiful attempt to sketch out the dress, I came up with the above. The lace will be around the shoulders and will make up most of the sleeves, with the rest made up of a knit or woven. The lace will only be above the dress, not covering it like the blue dress.

For the con, I’m planning on creating a beadwoven necklace to recreate the neckline embellishment.

The higher drawing is my interpretation of the actual neckline, and the lower is my design for the necklace. The necklace will be worn over top of the lace of the dress, and will likely be a nearly full bib necklace.

The color I’m planning for the main dress will hopefully be a nice goldenrod or golden, and I’m hoping to have matching lace, but if I can’t get lace to match, the lace will be a warm reddish brown color.

link (ETA – this link is now broken)

I’m also going to be making a cape for the con, and will likely be a short cape, not much longer than an elbow length, because I’ll be in warm and sunny California, and it will mostly be made out of curtains. Because that fabric is not easy to imitate.

What do you think?