Beaded Fantasies: The Reveal {Bead, Book & Bounce}

Over the last two months, members of Operation Tackle That Bead Stash have been working on projects from Sabine Lippert's Beaded Fantasies. The book was published in May 2012 and I vividly remember looking through the copy that arrived at The Bead Shop Liverpool and thinking that every project in the book looked amazing - but a little too complex for someone like me to tackle. I tried to follow just the first few steps of the Granada Brooch and, confidence lacking, gave in with a crushing sense of defeat!

Just a few months later, with new beadweaving techniques conquered and a growing sense of confidence, I bought my own copy of Beaded Fantasies. Inspired by the words in Sabine's Introduction "Failure is always something to learn from. Be brave and confident." I decided that I would be - and I conquered the Granada Brooch that same afternoon. Since then, my 'brooch turned pendant' has become my favourite piece of jewellery. A little symbol of triumph!

One of the best things about the book is that the majority of the projects utilise a fairly standard selection of beads - crystal bicones, firepolished rounds, chatons and rivolis - so if you've been beading for a little while, you may already have the stash you need to tackle one or two of the projects. 

Though I'm still building my own 'reserves', I did have everthing I needed to work on The 'I Can't Dance Earrings'. The pattern uses different sized beads in the base, to create a curve using Right Angle Weave. Embellished with Size 11 and Size 15 seed beads, the pattern works up fairly quickly, but was a little on the heavy side for me to wear as earrings. I turned mine into a chunky, little pendant instead. 

The one, and only issue, that I have with Beaded Fantasies is that the written instructions, at first glance, seem a little daunting. The long length of many paragraphs made each step a little bit harder for me to follow and, glancing away to look at a diagram, I'd often lose my place. In the end, I broke some of the larger paragraphs down by drawing in pencil lines and that simple fix made it much easier for me to read through, and follow, the written instructions.

Inspiring as each design is, it's the last chapter of the book - where Sabine describes her method of designing - that is the real gem, but I'll let you discover that one for yourselves!