Beyond Beadery presents...
Bonus Class: Zoolbia by Rachel Hungary
Tranquility by Sherry Serafini
We all need tranquility and harmony in our lives. Butterflies, with their delicate wings and graceful flight, are often seen as symbols of transformation, rebirth, and personal growth. Embracing these qualities can lead to a profound sense of liberation and harmony. It is with this inspiration that I chose a butterfly as the focal point of my design.
One of my favorite designs this year features 14mm rivoli crystals captured inside a wooden ring, showcasing a novel method of bezeling around the ring. One of these rings elegantly transforms into a beautiful paisley shape, while springy O beads create delightful fringes embellishing the other ring. This intricate, layered, and textured piece of art is suspended from two strands of 3mm leather cord, with a charming bail made of velvet ribbon.
Please note, this piece was created a year ago, some colors may differ when establishing colorways.
Projects
This necklace was created around the beautiful copper cabochon- the bamboo symbolizing the harmony between nature and humans.
You will be sure to try some different techniques with this necklace! The cabochon is surrounded by bead embroidery using a lot of varied stitches and bead types. From the beaded surround that gives the appearance of being braided, to the unusual edging using Mini Duos and 3mm round beads. And of course, adding several types of metal findings to your beadwork. Not to leave bead weavers out- the neck chain is woven in a spiral pattern with small crystals sprinkled in to add just a little bit of sparkle and a beaded toggle clasp.
There will be four colorways of this necklace available.
Harmony by Betty Stephan
I must credit my dear friend Star Mistron as my muse for this project. I visited her in August 2024 at her home in Michigan. She sat me down in her bead studio and we went through all her amazing vintage beads and components. She challenged me to pick things that spoke to me.
Among a number of other things, I grabbed this orange stone donut for some reason... I'm not a huge fan of orange and who works with stone donuts anymore? I also found a couple lovely vintage glass flowers, thinking 'they don't make them like this anymore', and away I went home.
About a week later we started a chat group with the Beyond Beadery Beadettes to discuss our pendants for the 2024 pendant swap. This pendant sprung forth in the most organic of ways. It was truly a delight.
I'm fully leaning into the donut theme with this project. "Zoolbia" is a middle eastern fritter style 'donut'. I felt the lentil embellishments were very Persian-esque, and thought the name would be a playful homage to both the feel of this project and the stone donut. I hope you'll join me for my first CBR bonus class.
NOTE: Project may vary slightly from this image due to component availability. Multiple color options will be available.
September 18 - 21, 2025
All kits are mandatory, no exceptions.
Dreamland by Kinga Bledsoe
A sweet and highly wearable bracelet featuring bespoke focals and finding by artist Patsy Wiley. This bracelet has a versatile, ergonomic shape and a smart closure that will make it highly adjustable to fit just about any wrist. The two colorways will complement each other. The moth pictured here is of cool tones: banana green, neon purple, blue and purple, lime green. The colorway featuring the deer focal (coming soon) will have softer shades of purples and lavender combined with sunset oranges. As usual, the backing is metallic Italian lambskin of matching colors. Indian sari silk ribbons will help you customize the look- there will be options offered. The silk ribbon, the bespoke component and a Czech button will form the unique closure. I firmly believe that the most valuable skill in bead embroidery is editing. The perfect design needs not to be too big, needs not to have the most variety of beads and needs not scream but gently whisper. Harmony over cacophony, form and function hand in hand.
You'll Never Bead the Same!