Bezel vs Embroidery

How I love my beadalicious friends on Facebook in my many various groups!  I'm not an expert by any means in this craft that I have chosen and I turn to them for lots of guidance and advice...so thanks up front to the Beadiful one of my Auntie's Bead Chat group.

In another group that I'm in on Facebook, "Seed Beads and More", the monthly challenge project is to create a bead embroidered piece.  For those that know me, know that although I admire all the wonderfully creative embroidered pieces, this form of beadwork is generally not for me.  Why?  It's free form and my brain just doesn't work that way (I'm working on that though). 

What caused my confusion you may ask?  Well, in a tutorial and a book I have about bezeling cabachons, they both recommend (not in all cases) adhereing the cabochon to a product called "Lacy Stiff Stuff" and the encircling the cab with beads using a 2-bead backstitch.  Well now, this is the same stitch used in bead embroidery so I didn't understand what made one thing bezeling and the other bead embroidery.

I couldn't tell the difference between bead embroidery and bezeling as in my humble opinion seemed to be the same so I start doing a little research.
 

Bead embroidery courtesy of Google Images

 Per Wikipedia, Bead embroidery is a type of beadwork that uses a needle and thread to stitch beads to a surface of fabric, suede, or leather.

Bead embroidery is an embellishment that does not form an essential part of a textile's structure.





Beaded Cabochon Bezel courtesy of Google Images

No such luck with a definition of beaded bezeling on Wikipedia, the closest I come is.."a general term for a setting holding the stone in place using a raised surrounding for the stone with a lip encircling and overlapping the edges of the stone, thus holding it in place"


After posing the question to my Chat friends, +Katarina Walker Ray, said it best..."Embroidery is decorative stitching, usually done on on fabric or leather. Bezeling is creating a setting that cradles a stone or other focal component. Bead embroidery can be used to create a bezel. Bead stitching, without an underlying fabric, can also be used to create a bezel."


Thanks guys!  Now I have a better understanding...

Happy Beading!

Recall

Well...my play time is over!  Some federal employees have been called back to work and I'm blessed to say, that I am one of them...although the devil on my left shoulder isn't as happy about that.  You see, she wanted more time to stay at home and play with the beads.  Be that as it may, we used our time in a most advantageous manner.  I finished so many pieces, learned new stitches to incorporate in my creative process, and did some administrative stuff, like getting prepared to file my quarterly TX Sales and Use Tax, create business forms that I can use during craft shows (i.e. credit card authorization form, Resale Certificate form) and actually "pricing and labeling" by pieces and entering them into the square card library application.  I also met a photographer who will take photos of my pieces for posting to my various sites.

So while the government has been shut down, Sweets Signatures has not!  Now that I'm back to work, I'll have to schedule my time wisely as the need to bead is ever present!

Happy Beading!

Those things you must do!

While I love playing with my beads, as a "small business" owner, there are other administrative things that must be done..to avoid having issues with the government...such as filing and paying the sales and use tax. I file quarterly so I don't have go through the tedious exercise every month so that's a good thing.  This quarter though, I didn't log any of my receipts on a weekly basis as I generally do, so I just spend the last hour entering them in my database in preparation for doing my report.  To my artistic mind, that's a waste of precious beading time..:(, but such a necessary evil. 

I used to store my receipts (more like stuff them) in little gallon size storage bags until I discovered the tabbed Pendaflex folios. Now I store them by month of purchase so it's easier for me when it comes time to enter them into the database.

The other administrative thing that I need to do is update my website and my Etsy shop inventory...golly gracious...with all these administrative things to do when will I bead...don't you worry now, find the time I do...

Happy Beading!

Government Shut Down Beading Frenzy

As a Federal Government employee, I am a "victim" of the Government Shut Down (GSD). Am I upset about that...yes, but at this point in the game, there's not much that I can do about it.  So...what's a Bead Babe to do with the lemons?  Why, make lemonade of course...I've been a busy bee. 

In a bead group that I'm a part of, the monthly Challenge for October is to learn the Cubic Right Angle Weave (CRAW) stitch.  So using my trusty pal Google...I set out to find tutorials on how to do the CRAW. I found this tutorial and it was really good and simple to follow.  Tell me what you think...

I did a very basic rope using this tutorial, now to figure out how to embellish and make it unique.  Here's my finished product...