April 2009 BJP

(My selected theme of memory books for this year's Bead Journal Project is based on the four elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.)

Fire Element

I recently read two very interesting books by Katherine Neville -- The Eight and The Fire. The Eight was written twenty years ago and it's sequel, The Fire, was published earlier this year -- imagine waiting that many years for a sequel!



The ultimate point of the stories is the quest for eternal life, hence the use of the Phoenix bird on this month's memory book. The bird's head and neck were embroidered in satin stitch with cotton perle and metallic thread. The focal stone is a piece of Sunset Calcite from Mexico. I used size 15 beads for the wings and Robin Atkins' method of "bezeling" a cabochon for the first time.

March 2009 BJP

(My selected theme of memory books for this year's Bead Journal Project is based on the four elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.)

Water Element




Ten years ago this summer, Jim and I spent the night in a cabin at Yellowstone National Park. We were driving from southern New Mexico to Spokane, Washington for our son's wedding. Before we left Yellowstone, we covered as many of the highlights as possible. Unfortunately, time did not permit to visit the most impressive area -- the Grand Prismatic Spring.


My grandson, Marcus, gave me a marvelous polished stone slice several years ago. It has sat on my desk begging to be used in a project. When I saw the issue of National Geographic featuring the Grand Prismatic Spring, I knew I had finally found the perfect use for this object.


The stone slice is surrounded by seed beads. The rocky, stony areas are made up of fossil nuggets. Can't wait for Mr. Marcus to see what I have done with his gifty!

February 2009 BJP

(My selected theme of memory books for this year's Bead Journal Project is based on the four elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.)

Air Element




Oboy, this was a fun book to make! And it is destined to become the property of my little granddaughter, Phoebe, some day.


The focal point of the design is the back of a card from a deck made by ArtChix. The fabric is very old and has an abstract butterfly design.


Many sequins of various sizes were used on the largest butterfly's wings. The crystals are acrylic -- remnants from the play bead stash of our youngest two daughters when they were still in their crafty play mode.


A piece of pink tulle was stretched over the beadwork before the binding edge was worked in pink pearls and iridescent seed beads.

January 2009 BJP

(My selected theme of memory books for this year's Bead Journal Project is based on the four elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.)

Earth Element



My ancestral heritage lies in the Mediterranean. All of my grandparents emigrated to the United States from Greece during the early 1900's. My thought for this memory book was to emulate a shard of Minoan art.


The focal piece is a large coral fossil stone and the smaller focal stones are picture jasper. I vainly tried to create a feeling of mosaic tiles. Since I am still not entirely comfortable using bugle beads, I made myself practice by including them in the borders. The fabric choice was made because it reminded me of the color of the Aegean Sea.

December 2008 BJP

(My selected theme of memory books for this year's Bead Journal Project is based on the four elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.)






Fire Element

December is a special month -- all told we have seven birthdays in our immediate family. But this month's memory book has been specifically created for my husband, Jim. And, yes, his birthday is the week before Christmas!

The dragon's eye (gotta use your imagination here, folks!) was created with a vintage crystal stone, matte finish bugles, matte and metallic triangle beads, and seed beads of every size. The three fire opal crystals at the tear duct just seemed to belong there.

The spiral rope trim on the book binding edge was an attempt on my part to represent the upward glow of a flame.