The Red Rocks Paper Bead Necklace

Posted on May 9, 2009 in Paper Bead Creations | Comments Off on The Red Rocks Paper Bead Necklace

Last weekend I took a trip to Las Vegas to visit my son and his fiancee who is expecting.  My husband and I stayed at the Red Rock Hotel and Spa.  Andrea, my son’s fiancee loves hiking and is quite familiar with the Red Rocks Canyon about a mile from the hotel, so she took me there.  Although this is not my first time at the Red Rock Hotel, this is my first time to see the Red Rocks Canyon, I’m sure glad I did, it was beautiful!  To remind me of this trip I made this two strand paper bead necklace.

The materials for this necklace: white 7-8mm paper beads (Aubreys Beads), tube paper beads, brown colored stabilized chips, firepolish crystals and two focal bead stones. 

The Red Rocks Canyon is more beautiful in person.  We wonder why are the canyons red?  600 million years ago, the Red Rocks Canyon was the bottom of the deep ocean basin.  Isn’t that amazing?  Nature did its work oxidizing the minerals and resulted in these beautiful colors of red, orange and tan colored rocks.

The Red Rocks Canyon

One of the animals that live in the Canyon are burros who look much like donkeys about half the size of a horse.  These animals are well adapted to the high temperature of the Mojave Desert.  I was hoping we would see one but apparently they are active in the early morning and late afternoons.

Gray limestones found at the Red Rock today.

Janice and Andrea

For Mother’s Day Paper Bead Necklace

Posted on May 5, 2009 in Paper Bead Creations | Comments Off on For Mother’s Day Paper Bead Necklace

This Mother’s Day I decided to come up with a piece of jewelry in remembrance of this day, using paper beads.  I thought the paper beads is appropriate because my mother loved anything recycled.  I had beautiful clothes growing up but they were all bought from thrift stores and altered to fit me.  When she came to the states she was amazed at the things that we throw out that could have been fixed, recycled and repurposed.  And so, it is no surprise that I love anything old and I get excited going to thrift stores in the hope of discovering something old and valuable.

My mother Letty and me at 7 days old

I cut out a photo of her and set it with diamond glaze in a copper color photo charm.  The copper charms matched nicely with a ceramic bead I have with flower designs.  The paper beads I used for this project are about 7-8 mm in size and mainly of white color.  These size of paper beads is great also to be used as spacers in between glass beads or crystals.

My mother's photo set with Diamond Glaze

The coco chips I put in between the paper beads makes it more feminine.  My mom passed away 11 years ago at the age of 68 of pancreatic cancer.  She was brave and beautiful and dedicated her life to serving her family and others.

Necklace using 7-8mm paper beads

You can use the necklace alone with out the pendant or use another pendant, or substitute copper with color your choice of color, gold or silver.  The paper beads can also be subsituted with pearls or other type beads.  Happy Mother’s Day……..

We celebrated Earth Day!

Posted on May 2, 2009 in Paper Bead Creations | 1 comment

I am so happy of the response we’ve had at the Earth Day Festival! Quite a few people picked up paper bead strands and were truly amazed at the jewelry you can make out of them.  Part of the proceeds of this event will go to school supplies of underprivileged children in the Philippines, school year will open in June which I remember was a rainy season. 

paper beads on display at Earth Day

Weather in the Philippines is unpredictable, sunny one minute and rain fall the next.  It is quite a challenge sometimes to dry the paper beads.

Strand of paper beads hanging to dry

The women and yes men who makes these paper beads have very good eye on how the print of the magazine pages or catalog would come out as finished bead.  They are truly amazing in their dedication to perfecting this craft.

Paper beads made in the Philippines

A basketful of paper beads after they dry

For inspirations and ideas: http://janicemae.etsy.com

Bigger Paper Bead Projects

Posted on Apr 28, 2009 in Paper Bead Creations | 3 comments

While it is fun to make paper bead jewelry which you put together in an hour or two, sometimes I just feel like taking on bigger projects. I go to the local craft store and I see the different purses and totes that are made for embellishment. I found this purse made of cotton and lined w/ pockets, and picked out a pair of matching handles for it. I sewed on white color paper beads that are 1 inch long. Instead of using thread to sew on the paper beads, I used Illusion cord so that the stitches will not be visible. I wanted to show the unfinished purse, so you have an idea of the before and after look. It will probably take me two weeks or more to finish the purse and I know I will not stop at just filling it up with paper beads;  it seems like it call for fringes, some seed beads that need to be sewn here and there, so many possibilities…

Canvas purse ready for embellishment

White tube-shaped paper beads are used for this project

The almost-finished purse

I am just in the process of filling the canvas with paper beads,  I’m sure I will add more embellishment to it, like beads I have in my stash, ribbons maybe.  I was hoping to finish it before Mother’s Day, we’ll see.

Backyard Friends

Posted on Apr 27, 2009 in Events and Experiences | Comments Off on Backyard Friends

I mostly spend my time in my backyard taking pictures of my work. Yesterday, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw two ducks swimming our pool. What a nice surprise! I live in Glendora, California known to be the Pride of the Foothills, and we have all sorts of animals in our backyard from rabbits to peacocks and a hawk one day even landed in our front yard.  So, here it is my two visitors that day from who knows where taking a break and enjoying the nice weather.