Virtual Beaders Dream Retreat Friends, this will be our 4th year beading together! How time flies...
It seems like it was only yesterday that the world stopped turning as Covid scared us all indoors and we needed to find a way to congregate in the safety of cyber space to create beauty together. Beauty is vital, life affirming and essential to our well being. So is calling it forth through our labor, love and obsession.
During the previous years I have offered disgruntled birds, peaceful bunnies, a very substantial and regal necklace, and now I am offering you a Chinchilla shaped purse.
The way this virtual retreat works is this: You sign up through our organizer, when registrations open. That will be in early August in this case. The kits are not included in your class fee for the three days, so you will be then eventually invoiced for the class kits from your instructors. There are three of us, and this means that throughout the three days of your retreat, you will be taking our classes one day at a time. Sherry Serafini and Katalin Budaine Nagy and I will be your humble instructors.
Although we all do bead embroidery, our styles and takes on this art form are all so different. Beaders Dream Retreat is Beki Haley's business and while she is a wonderful bead artist herself, her in-person and online retreats are also something she is well known for. Attendees find her events extremely enjoyable, inspiring and well organized. No one pampers you like Beki does. No matter what you are into: luxury cruising, destination beading or extreme pajama lounging and beading from bed- Beki has an event to make you bead happy.
In 2024, VBDR will take place two consecutive weekends: February 9-11 and February 16-18. Registration will open up in early August 2023.
Here is my project, may it tempt you to submit to your beady desire. This is Chi-mera, pronounced like cheese, children and chinchilla.
Much like Winston Churchill, I have nothing to offer
but blood, toil, tears and sweat. Just kidding: I am also offering a chinchilla shaped purse that will fit your cell phone, cash and cards and earbuds. Not into transporting such items? The purse is also perfectly sized for your pet bullfrog, collection of golf balls or invisible friends. Whatever floats your boat.
My inspiration was the small, animal shaped coin purses of my childhood. I always loved chinchillas, and wanted to make a useful sized, bejeweled, coruscant wonder chinchilla for everyday wear. I was going for high contrast colors and bold shapes and the power of adorability. The soft velvet of the outside is a durable upholstery fabric, while the lining is gloriously colorful cotton with a print of neon pink and orange squirrels and nuts.
You might think you don't need me to put beads on a purse? Sure. This class is not about putting beads on a purse. You have to make the purse first. Hand stitch it, to be exact.
If you are a sewing machine enthusiast, I suppose you could use a sewing machine. I did not, and therefore your detailed video instructions will only walk you through the process of hand sewing this purse.
Your kit will contain all the materials for the purse and the bead embroidery covering it.You may need some supplies that aren't commonly used in bead embroidery, but they are cheap and readily available and you will be informed about this before you get your kit.
For the purse part you will receive a pre-recorded video course at the time you receive your kit. This will allow you to have that part ready to go by the time our zoom class takes place. If you don't have the time to put in the roughly 6 work hours needed to create the purse, fear not: the videos will be available for you indefinitely to reference, and your in-class experience will not be any less fun just because the purse is not ready. It's up to you when you want to complete the purse, but it would be good to become at least familiar with the hand stitched purse so if the process leaves you with questions, you know what to ask in class.
During our zoom class together, we shall be working on the bead embroidered, 3D embellishments of our snazzy chinchilla. There will be video tutorials for this portion of the project available to you after your class is over.
I know that some of you, dear friends are here for the bling and can't see yourself hand stitching an entire purse. To make sure you are not left out, I am also offering a chinchilless option: A smaller kit for a bracelet created from the various embellishments of the purse were turned into a glorious bracelet for your pleasure.
Have the images of the Chimera purse AND bracelet aroused strong feelings of righteous covetousness in your inner dragon?
Fear not. Shall you require both; you may purchase both.
The Chimera purse and bracelet will also be available in an additional colorway which will be equally fabulous, but a wee bit softer in tone and lower in contrast. This colorway too will have a matching bracelet option.
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