Bead Journal Project - December 2010

And I did it - finally!

My 2010 Bead Journal Project pages are complete and the final page is a three dimensional floral spray.

Elegant ladies have always known the value of flowers as adornment and fresh are not always possible.

What makes this particular spray especially interesting is that it has been constructed "En Tremblant".

En tremblant" is a French term - meaning "to tremble" - given to 18th and 19th century jewelry where parts were mounted on thin, stiff wire or coils; every movement of the wearer caused the piece to move, in this case, the flight of a dragonfly or the breeze blowing upon lilies.

Faceted beads are effective for this usage, before electric light was common, evening wear required elements that would catch the available light.


I designed a display card to mount this on, with a botanical theme - the "Fantasy Dressmaker" is well aware that presentation makes all the difference!

Now that the swatches are complete, it's time to design the "swatchbook" itself - and I can tell you that it won't be in a book format, more about that soon.