Beaded Koi Pattern

Now you know why I have not posted on my blog in so long.
This koi has kept me busy.
I plan to make a necklace out of him.
You can get the pattern on my website by clicking here.

Beaded Mermaid

Beaded Personalized Stethoscopes

This is an easy way to personalize a stethoscope.

Here is what you will need:

Alphabet Beads
Various Beads and Spacers
Wire Snip Tool
Crimping Tool
Hemostats
Bead String Wire
Two Crimp Beads
Two Small Slip Rings
Two Small Rubber Bands (like those used with braces)

String the beads as desired and attach the ends to a slip ring.
Then add a small rubber band on each slip ring.

The rubber band is important.
If you only use a slip ring
the embellishment will slide around and
be at risk of breaking.
The rubber bands will prevent this.

Beaded Lady Bug Bracelet Pattern

I'm losing count but,

here is another one in
the Flutterby Series.

The back story on the lady bug pattern is the legs. I had to get rid of them. Then I had to change the direction of the ladies. Designing bead patterns is such fun!

Get the Patterns & Kits on my website now!

As you can imagine I plan to put
all the Flutterbys in one collection and then
sale them at a great discount. Guess who is next?

Lady Bugs on the Bead Tray!

More flutterbys! Oh my.

Lauren Alaina

Rossville, Georgia

The next American Idol!

I grew up in Rossville, Georgia. I attended Lakeview Fort Oglethorpe High School. The same school where Lauren Alaina is currently a sophomore. Please click on her picture to watch some amazing home coming video. Watch for Chattanooga, TN and Rossville, Georgia on American Idol. Thanks Lauren for putting us on the map. I know great things await you. You got my vote!

White Moth

He's on my window now.



But these guys are next!

Hopefully I will get a Lady Bug bracelet drafted tonight. That is if I survive the falling trees around me. I am trembling as I write this. It has been raining but stopped now. I suppose that was all that was needed to add enough weight to the trees that were damaged by our recent tornado. It is very scary to hear trees suddenly start cracking and falling when the wind is not blowing and no one is running a chain saw. Especially when the first few that fell brushed the one in my power line. A huge tree top fell and I thought it was over. Moments later the whole tree fell. Scary but I like the new view.

Bumble Bee Beaded Bracelet Pattern

This bracelet reminds me of lace.
It is so dainty and light.
There are only five colors of
Delica beads needed
to make this one.
Save the Bees!
I do have the pattern and kits available on my website.

Buzz Bumble Bee Brick Stitch Bracelet and Earring Pattern

It might be a little hard to see in this photo, but this is the difference a black Sharpie can make. Sometimes white thread is the best choice. I wanted to keep the wings looking transparent. If you have some black beads on the edges of your bead work, you can go back when you are finished beading and color the thread with a black Sharpie.

You can get the pattern on my website by clicking here.

I can't wait to get this one finished.
I love Bees.
Without them we would have no flowers.

BUZZzzz! Busy little Bee!

What's Buzzing on the Bead Tray now!

Here are some beading tips for you.

Delica beads are expensive. You probably already knew that! To keep from losing beads and having them mingle with others, I highly recommend you buy a divided bead dish like the ones I sell on my website. Get them here. Only pour out a few beads in the dish at a time. You never know when disaster may strike and the whole tray winds up in the floor! Let's hope that doesn't happen but we all now it can and will when you least expect it.

If you are like me every second counts. Taking out bead work and having to redo makes me crazy. What a waste of time. I could be two rows ahead by the time I finish fixing my mistakes. To prevent this, get yourself a pencil. You can use a pen or even a crayon if you like but, I have found pencils work best because most of them come with erasers and you might need that too. Mark off each row as you go. Depending on how long a row is, I sometimes break it down into sections. Save a copy of the pattern. Who knows you might want to make it again and if you have marked all over it, you better hope that pencil came with a really nice, big eraser!

Put the pattern on a clipboard. Secure the bottom of the page with a rubber band. That will keep the bottom edge of the pattern from curling up. Not only does it work well, people with clipboards look important. Well, most of them think so anyway!

Get yourself a nice wooden tray or box that the bead dish, scissors, tubes of beads and the clipboard will all fit in. Don't sit on the couch and think the bead tubes won't go anywhere if you lay them down beside you for just a few minutes. They will disappear forever. The couch will eat them and you will never see them again!

Scissors. Get yourself a nice pair of itty-bitty ones. If I didn't already have so much stuff I would start a scissor collection. They too will find comfort and safety in that wooden tray mentioned earlier. Never run with scissors. Not even the itty-bitty ones. You could fall and hurt yourself.

Always use black thread when ever possible. It likes to hide in the shadows. White thread can be colored with Sharpies. I am going to use this trick on the honey bee. I'll post more on that later with pics and everything!

Store your needles in a wooden needle case. It's a tradition of great bead artists. Bead around that needle case and keep an eye on it because some of my favorites have disappeared and it was not the couch that ate them!

If you have any beading tips please feel free to share them here.

Until We Bead Again, Beth Murr

P.S.

Bead thread works great in a pinch when the couch has eaten your dental floss.

Beaded Cecropia Moth

If I had been looking for a shirt with the same colors as this beaded moth
I would have never found it!
It can only be explained by
the Law of Attraction.



Now all I have to do is turn it into a necklace.

Sneak Peek C. Moth

Here's a Sneak Peek at the C. Moth

Here's what is buzzing in my head to do next!

Free Hugs Coming in July

Click Here
to get the free
Free Hugs pin pattern.

This a great project for learning
flat peyote.

Over One Million Google Results

I haven't Googled myself in a while so...

I thought I would check it out.

About 1,290,000 results!


Stevie Nicks sings,

"Do you always trust
your first initial feeling?"

"With beads, I do. I've always loved them.

When I look back over the past two years I am amazed at how much I have learned and how many people I have met from all over the world. I want to say Thank You for your overwhelming acceptance and appreciation of my bead work. Many mornings after a hard night of critical care nursing, my soul has been lifted by your gracious comments and emails. Bead work is my sanity, my therapy and my most cherished creative outlet.

Until We Bead Again, Beth

Beaded Cecropia Moth

Happy Mother's Day !

Next!!!!

Beaded Luna Moth

The beaded Luna Moth pattern is now available on my website.
Click Here to get it.

Did you know Luna Moths have no mouth?

They emerge as adults solely to mate, and as such, only live approximately one week. They are more commonly seen at night.

Sneak Peek The Beaded Luna Moth

I LOVE Luna Moths!

I designed and beaded one half of this moth in one night! There are 1970 Delica beads in this pattern. You do the Math! That's a whole lotta stitching going on. LOL! Thank goodness for bifocals and full spectrum floor lamps!

Great news! I got my internet back! No more surfing the internet in fast food parking lots.

I hope to have the two new patterns in the
Flutterby collection up for sale on my website tonight.
Click here to see the collection.

Eastern Swallowtail Beaded Butterfly Pattern

The Eastern Swallowtail is the second butterfly in the collection.

It may be a while before I can get the pattern on my website.
This WiFIi internet surfing in various parking lots is
a bit different than the high speed internet I'm used to.
Add to that the challenge of a new laptop.

Please forgive the delays in deliveries and email responses.
Our post office had to work by flashlight for several days.

My night job.

My night shift job.

National Nurses Week begins each year on May 6th and ends on May 12th,
Florence Nightingale's birthday.

I am posting this now because I have no idea when my internet service will be back on.

Please continue to keep the victims of the tornadoes in your thoughts and prayers.

Why you haven't heard from me

I received a text from my daughter. She said, "If we die I love you." Fortunately my family is safe. Others were not as lucky. There were multiple tornadoes in Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. I continue to hear the same story from so many. Few had any clue what was about to happen. I lost power about 9am. Shortly after that I fell asleep. I had no idea a tornado was just a few blocks away from me ripping down power lines and the rooftops off of houses. Late in the evening I stood outside and watched the storm in the distance. It looked like a battlefield. There were flashes of yellow, pink and purple lights that lit up the whole sky. It was several days before I was able to get on the internet and see the damage in Ringgold, Ga. and Apison, TN. No words can describe the devastation. Many lives were lost. Some of the stories I have heard from fellow employees at the hospital are too sad and shocking to share. Some of the victims from as far away as Alabama are still recovering in our hospital. Please pray for them and their families.