Artist: Nancy Peterson
Location: The Poconos, Pennsylvania

Website & Blog:
Patterns of my designs
Beading Blog

Nancy, how do you describe your work?
I think that my first love of style of beading is beadweaving. I love to learn new stitches and then take them, create and explore new possibilities. There are some that I find myself coming back to, like the various forms of peyote.

What is your creative process like?
Having two sons, my creative process can be quite chaotic. I may have an idea for a piece but then I only get to work on it in small spurts between …read more

Technique Tuesday!
The exact bead counts will depend upon whether you decide to use Delica beads or the rounder Czech seed beads.  Both are size 11/0s, but the difference in shape means that you’ll be able to fit 16 base row beads (and therefore 16 full sized petals) if you use Delicas.  If you chose to use Czech see beads, you’ll only be able to fit 14 around the circumference of the 8mm bead center.

Materials & Tools
8mm crystal beads
Delica or Czech seed beads
Nymo thread, size O
Beading needle
Step-by-step instructions

Make Art Monday!
There are so many different ways to make beaded flowers.  Some of the most intricate and beautiful that I’ve seen have been done on thin wire in the French style.  I decided to figure out a way to do mine with needle and thread instead.
You might remember awhile ago I shared a piece that I made, inspired by my mother’s flower garden.  I thought it might be nice to show you one of the simple ways that I made some of the flowers for this piece.
Gather up your seed beads, thread, beading needle, and some 8mm crystals or …read more

I first saw Olga Romanenko’s gorgeous seed bead work in her blog post at Land of Bead Fantasies about this glorious necklace called Wood Nymph:

Olga wrote to me: “I used four types of seed beads (2 green types and 2 yellow types) in order to achieve the most gradual color change. My Mom said the necklace might be used for eye relaxation because of its colors. It seems to me the necklace is similar to hair of dryad so I called it Wood Nymph.”
I asked Olga about some of her other work and whether she would please please please …read more

Sara Bayles, owner of BeAdmired, says that this is the style that she wants to become known for.  Isn’t this gorgeous?
Sara writes:
I’ve made a number of these – starting with prototypes – and each one comes out different and more beautiful (to my way of thinking) than the one before.

Technique Tuesday!
Pick a large lightweight wood or plastic bead for the base of this fun project.  Since my wooden bead was painted blue, I decided not to fight against fate, but picked a good selection of blue beads in various sizes for most of the covering.  I also threw in some contrasting beads for fun!
Step by step instructions
Materials & Tools
Large wood or plastic bead to cover
Nymo 0 thread
Delicas and/or Czech seed beads in sizes 15/0, 11/0, 8/0, or even 6/0 as
desired
Beading needle

Technique Tuesday!
I’ve been wanting to share with you about how Autumn Arbor was put together from several different components, but I neglected to take sufficiently detailed process photos while I was working on it.  For those of you who have some bead weaving experience, it’s probably easy enough to figure out. Three basic stitches were used to create the components, and then these pieces were woven together and embellished using the thread tails: tubular herringbone, free-form right angle weave, and spiral square stitch.
Step by step instructions

Question of the Month: What’s the best thing you’ve made so far this summer?
A seed bead extravaganza, made by Sheryl Stephens!
Cool Moon Creations
Sheryl writes:
Ladybug’s Realm (The Exhibition) – a flower “collar” with many different types of flowers, all inspired by the patterns in The Beaded Garden by Diane Fitzgerald. This was the focal piece of a recent art gallery exhibit in East Lansing Michigan entitled Beauty and the Bead.

Technique Tuesday!
This is a really handy little stitch, very easy to do once you get the first couple of rounds started. I like to use two different colors of beads, but you can do it all with one color if you’d prefer. This is a woven stitch that you will create in your hands and then attach to your embroidered or woven bead work later.

All you will need are seed beads, a beading needle, and Nymo thread.  I usually make tendrils with size 11/0 beads, but my process photos show you the stitch done in size 8/0s so that it’s …read more

I received word recently that Autumn Arbor has made the first cut in the Fire Mountain Gems 2009 beading contest. Now I have to send it in for the next round of judging.
Sometime later this summer I’ll see if I can write up a basic tutorial for the piece.  I didn’t take process shots like I normally do, so it’ll be a little sketchy.  Still, those who have some bead weaving experience will probably find it easy enough to follow.

Last year, my over-the-top piece called Andromeda’s Pearls won first place in the pearls category. I don’t really think …read more