Little more work and fun

I find that the main task I can perform right now with my hands like they are is still making of beads. Here's my little area right now. I did locate some incredible magazine pages and scrapbook paper to get to work. I want to make the jewelry pieces soon as I can.

Here, I went all out and made a lot more of the little pegs to work on. The clay has now been baked to suit as holders for the pegs. It's a whole bead factory.

I'm in love with these beads. The scrapbook paper I used has an ombre effect. 

This is an experiment. I want to make pendants to go on necklaces. This is an attempt at a pendant. 

More Beads!

I really do a lot more than just beads. I paint watercolors, make dolls, sculpt dragons and various other things. I'm just limited right now due to my shaky hands. These bring me peace.

I got Triple Thick and I have to say, it wins. It really does have great strength and coverage. I let the beads hang overnight to fully dry out. They were dry, but I like to make sure they cure entirely so they don't get tacky and stick together. Triple Thick has minimal odor. It's also cheap, which fits my nonexistent budget. I love this orange and green set. They were made from two magazine pages from a cooking magazine. I need to get more magazines. I need to also varnish all the beads I've completed until now.

Hobby Lobby also had a sale on scrapbook paper so that it was around a quarter a sheet (25 cents.)

Remainder of the Goth Princess set and tonight's endeavors

Once awake, this is all I've been able to work on. I finished the necklace and earrings yesterday or the day before. The new bead sets are in the works in shades of green and red/orange.

Goth Princess - First Paper Bead Bracelet

It's random and chaotic;  the bracelet is a free-spirited creation with no intended plan. I haven't decided if I should sell it or keep it. It's my first, so I think I might just keep it.

It's a rainy day and though I love the sound of the water hitting the sidewalk outside and the smell of the pavement mixed with the sky's tears, the rainy days are often the hardest.  I'm home due to this. I cannot handle any sound at all today other than the lightest whisper or any full body movement. Though squinted eyes I made this bracelet. I can't do "nothing" unless I'm asleep. :P

I'm proud of this. I haven't decided what I think of how it lays, yet I think it'll work well with some black jelly bracelets.

Back to Paper Beads...Varnishes and Links

Some of us started this as children, so keep in mind this is a great craft to do with kids. You can also take some scribbled art that little kids make and turn those into memento beads for mommy.

I wanted to post some of the links I'm finding useful. It's a lot of trial and error with paper beads. I find I love white glue (Elmer's) first, then the clear blue gel type elmer's after. The final varnish is where I'm still fighting for a solution. I like acrylic nail polish, but it becomes goopy fast so isn't an ideal solution. That's my main search topic tonight. This is some of what I've found:

Paper Bead Making 101
What do you use to vanish your beads? Paper Beads What do you use to vanish your beads?
How to Protect Your Paper Beads
Paper Beads - Beading Daily

Why link to other sites rather than making my own experiment? Why reinvent the wheel?  I'm still experimenting for what I prefer. I plan to locate the Triple Thick or the Minwax stuff. The last link has a gorgeous photo of very glossy beads with Triple Thick.

For papers:

I already have a book I plan to use to make a certain type of cylinder bead. I love scrapbooking paper and magazine pages the most, however. These provide some of the prettiest colors. The tougher feel of the scrapbook paper creates a sturdier bead, though. The color play of the magazines, though....I LOVE that. I'm sculpting the pendants in polymer clay. I have three dragons from years ago that I might use. They haven't sold on Etsy yet, so might as well. I made a weird little face pendant the other night to use with some black and pink beads.

On that note, it's beyond sleepy time.

What this blog is about...or rather, Who writes this stuff

I switched to allow the Google+ so that I could do some additional bloggy features, but it also gets rid of your entire profile.

So this blog is about....Art! Whimsies! Jewelry! Dragons and fairies and cats, oh my.

Who writes this stuff?

Shelah is a 38-year-old artist who works a daytime (well sorta) job in a call center and spends her top secret nights (sort of) playing MMOs and doing more art styles than she can keep up with. She also attends college on a semi-full-time basis. Shelah lives with her sweetie-peetie and they two feline "daughters" since her own kid opted to grow up.


Enough third person here.
As for challenges, time is an obvious one, but so is energy level. I deal with fibromyalgia and migraines, all the fun stuff that goes right along with that. Wanna buy some art? Just kidding. I sculpt ooak art dolls, dragons of varying sizes, create beads in clay and paper as well as craft a lot of different jewelry styles. I paint in watercolor and draw in graphite. My best topics are fairy felines, fairy fairies, and dragons. I sometimes toss in a little oddity of course and I'm always developing my style. You'll get to see all the random things I enjoy doing.

Back to work...