Silly BooDilly Beads...

 One of my goals in writing my posts is to provide inspiration, but many

 times, I'm the recipient, rather than the donor. Today is one such instance.

A number of years ago, I read about making fabric beads using plastic

drinking straws as the foundation. I wrapped and glued scrap fabric

around the plastic core and then further embellished with fancy fibers.

 I enjoyed sitting for hours and playing with colorful scraps...remnants 

from knitted projects or sewn creations. Many, many beads resulted.

Study in fabric and fiber on painted canvas

 What did I do with them, you ask?

Well, this is one of the projects I made. This one went to a sister 

who adores the color purple. I painted a canvas, and then I created

a fabric and bead panel and affixed it to the canvas. I really had no

 idea what I was doing, but I felt a true sense of freedom as I just 

played and waited to see where I was carried by my creative muses.

Closeup of bead section

 I was really happy with the result, and my sister loved

it. Each bright coral bead held a special significance, 

and I even added a sterling silver heart charm, too.

I still have my plastic box full of beads, but I may

never use them. I have a new inspiration...

Image from The Silly BooDilly blog

Victoria at The Silly BooDilly blog makes these gorgeous beads

by the hour. She actually threads hers onto ribbons or chains and

wears them! I have something else in mind that I will work on as we

travel in the Flying Cloud. I think they're the perfect portable project.

I went to her Etsy shop and purchased her pattern, so I could learn 

her technique. It's a pdf download, so I had the instructions in no time.

Here's a link to her blog post about the beads.

Here's a link to her Etsy shop.

I'm really looking forward to playing with beads again this year.

They'll be a perfect way to use up lots of scraps...inches at a time!