Craft Diva

Seed Bead Sculptural Flowers

 

Sculptural peyote stitch beaded flower by Lynn Smythe. I attached a pin/necklace finding to the back of the flower, which is covered with a scrap of suede. You can wear the flower as either a pin, or attach a gold or silver chain through the finding to wear the flower as a necklace. I used size 11/0 Japanese seed beads for this project. The leaves are made using the brick stitch technique.

Sculptural Peyote Stitch
Peyote stitch is one of my favorite techniques to use along with seed beads. Sculptural peyote stitch, is a kind of free-form technique that uses various bead sizes and bead counts. Sculptural peyote stitch can be used to create an organic, 3-D beaded effect, which is perfect for making beaded flowers.

Here are a few pictures of beaded flower projects I've created using the technique of sculptural peyote stitch.

 

Sculptural peyote stitch flower necklace by Lynn Smythe. The neckstrap also uses the sculptural peyote technique. Each row of peyote stitch has slightly more beads than the previous row, causing the beadwork to ruffle and undulate, which creates a very organic looking project.

 

Closeup of previous seed bead flower necklace. Size 11/0 Japanese seed beads. Brick stitch used for the leaves.

 

I call this necklace the sea anemone. I created this project as a bead sample for a multi week class I used to teach when I had a bead store. Besides the sculptural peyote stitch technique, this necklace also uses tubular peyote, beaded fringe, spiral rope chain and tubular African helix.

 

Close up of beaded sea anemone. I used a combination of size 11/0 Japanese seed beads and Czech seed beads.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Craft Diva

Heart Themed Jewelry

 

Necklace by Lynn Smythe, featuring art clay silver heart pendant by the artist.

Heart themed jewelry can be enjoyed anytime of year, not just on Valentine's Day. This post features some of my beaded jewelry creations which feature one or more heart components.

 

Beaded necklace by artist Lynn Smythe.

 

Beaded necklace by Lynn Smythe, featuring amber heart pendant, lampwork glass beads, vermeil bead spacers, and swarovski crystals.

 

Beaded pendant by Lynn Smythe, featuring Venetian lampwork glass beads.

 

Beaded bracelet, featuring fused glass hearts created by Lynn Smythe.

 

Beaded bracelet by Lynn Smythe, with vintage German heart beads, seed beads and vermeil clasp.

 

Close up of beaded bracelet created by Lynn Smythe. Featuring new Czech glass beads, vintage German glass beads and Venetian foil-lined glass beads wire-wrapped with copper wire onto copper chain.

 

Heart necklace and earring set by Lynn Smythe. Featuring lampwork glass beads, swarovski crystals and sterling silver.

 

Heart themed necklace by Lynn Smythe. Featuring lampwork glass beads, swarovski crystals and sterling silver.

 

Beaded heart watch created by Lynn Smythe.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Craft Diva

Sculptural Peyote Stitch Beadwork

 

Close up of sculptural peyote necklace featuring fused glass donuts by Lynn Smythe

I got into sculptural peyote stitch a few years ago. It's a free form method of bead weaving, which can be done with a variety of bead sizes. You can also embellish free form, or sculptural peyote stitch pieces with a variety of buttons, sequins, nail heads and other decorative accents.

 

Sculptural peyote stitch bracelet by Lynn Smythe

Free Form Peyote Stitch Classes
I used to teach sculptural peyote stitch as a two day class, back when I owned my bead store, which was called Dolphin Crafts. I'd like to get back into teaching bead and jewelry classes someday, my dream is to have a craft studio, which is separate from our house, when we relocate to North Carolina.

 

Sculptural peyote stitch bracelet by Lynn Smythe

Fun With Color
Sculptural peyote stitch projects are a lot of fun to create. I always decided on a color scheme, using three main colors, then set up a work area with all my beads and embellishments in those colors. For instance, jewel tones, would be beads in the emerald, amethyst, topaz color range, as shown in the first bracelet pictured in this post.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Craft Diva

Beaded Needle Cases

Three beaded needle cases by Lynn Smythe

Beaded needle cases were all the rage a few years ago. They are a bit like a larger version of a beaded bead. Beaded needle cases are popular among beaders, quilters, sewers, and anyone else that uses a variety of sewing needles in their craft work.

Beaded turtle needle case by Lynn Smythe. I created a pair of matching earrings, using size 14/o seed beads. View my Turtle Powered Beadwork post to see a picture of the earrings.

 

Detail of turtle needle case

Wearable Work of Art
Both the body and the lid of the needle case are beaded. Decorative fringe is usually added to the bottom of the needle case. I liked to add a beaded strap to many of the needle cases that I created. That way you can wear your needle case as a piece of decorative artwork.

Pretty cool, a functional craft tool become a one-of-a-kind work of wearable art. Here are a few more pictures of my beaded needle cases, which feature my own designs.

 

Patriotic needle case by Lynn Smythe

 

Detail of patriotic needle case

 

Long and skinny beaded needle case by Lynn Smythe. Featuring size 14/o seed beads. Fringe beads include copper, freshwater pearls and goldstone beads.

 

Beaded needle case by Lynn Smythe. Featuring a citrine cabochon on top of the lid.  Fringe beads include Swarovski crystals, copper, freshwater pearls, tigereye and amazonite.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Craft Diva