Bird of Paradise bead embroidery – Inspiration

The Bible of Bead Embroidery Knowledge: The Traveller

I recommend starting here if you are new or want to deepen your existing knowledge. If you would like to bead any of the more complicated jewels in the future, you will need to be 100% comfortable with the basics. The more advanced tutorials don’t repeat all the hints and tips every time, so before you dig deeper, please, give yourself some time, and bead a Traveller. The instructions are extremely detailed, everything is recorded on video, and you can watch them as many times as you need. There are also recorded Q&A sessions from the time when I was teaching The Traveller for the first time, that besides my insight, are also deemed with knowledge and experience shared by fellow, more experienced beaders.

After watching these videos and beading your first Traveller, you’ll be perfectly prepared to play with all the beads and components in this article!

Material list

• 1x 27 mm Handmade Glass Cabochon in Vitrail Pink or Vitrail Rose
• 1x 28×45 mm Paradise Filigree Wings in Antique Bronze
• 2x 6 mm Preciosa Sew-on Rhinestone in Amethyst Opal in Gold Colored Setting
• 2x 2 mm Round Glass Beads in Grape Satin
• 2x 3 mm Round glass beads in Grape Satin
• 34x 3 mm Fire-Polished beads in Pacifica Fig
• 10x Miyuki Tila Beads in 2312 Matted Opaque Mustard
• Miyuki Bugle 3 mm in 2441 Gold Luster Amethyst
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica in 2361 Soft Pink
• 15/0 Miyuki seed beads in 2195 Lined Ivory AB
• 15/0 Miyuki seed beads in 4203 Duracoat Galvinazed Yellow Gold
• 15/0 Miyuki seed beads in 2441 Gold Luster Amethyst
• 11/0 Miyuki seed beads in 2005 Matted Metallic Copper
• 14 cm decorative chain
• Ultra Suede, 0.12 mm Fireline, Glue and pendant/pin component.

LORIA – Bird of Paradise bead embroidery

The name of this jewel was inspired by the Loria’s bird-of-paradise, with its unique plumage and tiny long feathers.

I basically followed Erika’s ‘The Traveller’ video tutorials, in following steps.

1. Prepare your beads and foundation.
2. Glue and bezel the cabochon using peyote stitch on the Ultra Suede foundation.
3. Add rows of beads according to your personal taste.
4. Add a decorative element – filigree.
5. Cut your beadwork and glue the backing.
6. Finish your beadwork with stitching the layers of ultra suede together.
7. Add a decorative chain.

After bezelling the cabochon with peyote ( I needed 3 rows of Delica beads and one row of 15/0 seed beads) I added one row of 3 mm fire-polished beads all around the bezel.

I sew the 6 mm Preciosa Sew-on Rhinestone to the line I drew when I prepared the foundation.

This is the first of the elements that got mirrored on the opposite side of the bezel.

Following the line I was able to attach the filigree.

If you follow the original pattern on the filigree on its edges, the stitches are very hard to see.

I mirrored it on the opposite side of the motif.

A row of 11/0 Miyuki seed beads and Tilas were added.

Extra 15/0 Miyuki seed beads hold the second, open hole of Tila beads and attach it to the foundation.

In the next step I added 3 mm Bugle beads + (3) 15/0 Miyuki seed beads interchangeably to the foundation.

After that I added one more row od 15/0 Miyuki seed beads to give the full, finished look to the embroidered centre of the motif.

I decorated the filigree and the empty space around 6 mm Preciosa sew-on rhinestone with extra 11/0 and 15/0 Miyuki seed beads.

I also added the 3 + 2 mm round pearl to the hollow space in the filigree. This is extending the natural line created by the Sew-on and the flower engraving, decreasing the size of each of these little elements.

I cut the beadwork.

I chose the dark, chocolate brown ultra suede as a backing.

Before the final glueing I added the pin/pendant component to the back – you can see detailed steps in this article.

I made one final cut all around the beaded motif and finished the edge with one row of Delica beads.

For adding the decorative chain I cut 14 cm / 5.5 inch.

I measured the 5 cm (2 inch) of it to find the loop that I sew to the edge. I repeated the thread path through the two neighboring Delicas.

Then I passed through Delica beads to the point where I sew the lose ends of the chain to the edge, repeating the thread path of the two neighboring Delicas, too.

Make a knot and trim.

The shape of the main embroidered motif suits well also the large hair clip.

I love how my my new brooch/pendant idea turned out. It carries the essence of the beautiful Theme through its colors, as well as the unique craftmanship of the main components and heritage from Crystal Valley – the handmade glass cabochon and historic filigrees.

TIP:

Bead embroidery is a journey, a process, that provides ongoing inspiration even if you think you’ve got your design ideas settled.

When I was attaching the first filigree I turned the motif and realized how much it resembles the thistle or rose. Additional row of Tilas and other beads would complete the “flower”.

A Preciosa rhinestone chain or glass drop pendant under the filigree would look like a stem. A perfect brooch or pendant to anyone who loves flower motifs!