More Picture Frames

I'm having too much fun with these things.  I went to Michaels and stocked up on more blank frames and more hanks of beads.  Got a few in different frame shapes too.  The beads are Blue Moon beads and made in India.  The sizes and shapes are very random but that makes for more interesting texture on the frames.

I keep learning as I go.  I've found out it's easier and less stinky to use Aleen's Tacky Glue instead of contact glue.  I've also learned that keeping baby wipes on hand is an easy way to get glue off my hands when I accidentally touch a spot I've just glued.  The baby wipes are also great for going over the sections of beads and pressing on them to make sure they're all well stuck in the glue.  The wipes help remove excess glue so I can see what I've missed and if the wipes are still wet the beads won't stick and pull beads out of place.

As much as possible I use the beads still on the strings and after sticking them in the glue, pull the string out.  Another things I've learned is that if I'm not being careful I tend to drop the string of beads land get beads every where. (Can't walk and chew gum too well either)  Attaching large beads and filling small areas with seed beads is still one bead at a time.

The frame below is shades of blue and grey.  The picture area is offset from center with a larger area to the right of the picture.  On that side I've used three graduated sizes of mirrors for accent.  The lines of beads were purposely placed in wavy lines and kind of make me think of a pool of water.  Since all the beads are odd shaped it would be impossible to get straight lines.

The frame below was almost too much fun.  I had several small pieces of glass that I fused to play with color and didn't really have a plan for any of them.  Those pieces of glass have been sitting around gathering dust.  I put those pieces in a bag and whacked them with a hammer, then glued them to the frame like glass tile.  Then I went back and filled open spaces with seed beads.  The seed beads were left over from the first frame I made and I didn't worry about what color, just stuck them on as I went.  The outside and inside edges were covered with randomly strung seed beads.

The frame below is a variation on the first one I made.  It features crosses and chunks of colored glass.  After gluing the beads to the front I put all the left overs in a bead spinner and strung them for sticking to the sides and inner edges. 

Think I'll Do Another

The picture frame is finished and it was so much fun I'll do a couple more but this time to sell.  Every time I do something new I learn a little more.  With this one I started out on foil for easy clean up and to protect my work surface from paint and glue.  It sounded like a good idea but the reflections from the foil make it hard to see the work.  It also makes the photos difficult.

Below is a shot of the frame with the beads glued to the front.  Like I said before the glue smell is so strong I could only work on it for short periods.  Once all the beads and glue were dry on front I trimmed the strings and overhanging beads.  I found out that using a hot fabric burner with a small tip is a great way to cut and finish the strings and burn away dried glue that was in the wrong spot.

I glued lines of beads around the inside and outside edges.  After all that I went back and used clear Elmer's glue to fill holes where beads didn't stick or I needed to fill small spaces where I couldn't attach beads still on the string.

Below is the frame with all the beads attached.  The opening in the frame is 4 x 6 and it starts out as a plain pine frame I bought at Michael's.  The strings of beads were made in India and also bought at Michael's a couple years ago.  They are fairly crude and uneven in size and color. The crosses and chunks of glass are from Fire Mountain Gems and Beads. The carved coral rose at the top to the top cross is also from Michael's.  The turquoise skull is from a sting I bought at a bead show in Memphis.

Now that the frame is done it's Bob's job to find a picture he wants to put it in and find a place to put it in his "shrine".

Included below are pictures of the other items in the shrine.  The shrine started with just the Our Lady of Guadalupe candle in the center of this picture.  The other candles were gifts or purchased from various places around town.

Like I said before, Bob has a thing from the Sacred Heart.  He picked up this picture just last week.

The heart and mirror are from a shop in a small Texas town.  The ornament hanging from the mirror is a recent gift from our best friends.

Don't know where he got this, I think from that same shop in Texas.

This is piece of bone with an ink drawing of a dancing skeleton in a shadow box frame.  He picked this up in Florida.

The candles below I couldn't resist.  I purchased them from, Vicki Berndt, a seller on Etsy.  They were a surprise Christmas gift.

Shrine

For anyone that has been to my house you know that we are a little strange.  You could say we have a somewhat warped sense of humor.   With that in mind you wouldn't be surprised to see my husband's shrine in our downstairs bathroom.

It's just one of those things that started as being silly with one simple item and grew from there.  He has a fondness for Sacred Hearts and Day Of the Dead stuff.  Besides the things he's bought, friends have also given gifts to add to the shrine.  Now I'm adding to his shrine with a beaded picture frame.

 I started with a simple plain pine frame and painted it flat grey to seal the surface and provide a good bond for the glue.
 

I'm using contact glue to attach the beads and can only work for short periods without getting a headache from the smell.  I started by wiring a turquoise skull to the bottom of a primitive glass cross and a small, pink, carved, coral rose to the top of the cross.  That was glued to the top center of the frame.  Then I glued on various bits and pieces of colorful glass chunks to the bottom of the frame.  There was no pattern in mind, I just stuck on what fit.  That was all I could do the first day.

Tonight I started by gluing on a couple more crosses and then strings of beads.  I'm using heavy toothpicks to push the beads into place so I don't get so much glue on my fingers.  Still stuck my fingers to it but it could have been worse.  Didn't get too far with it before having to leave the basement and get away from the glue.   Gluing on the beads means my nose is really close to the work and the smell is really strong.

Stay tuned for more.