What's the deal with glow in the dark?

Those of you who don't know me very well (and it's not many that do), might not be aware of my penchant for glow-in-the-dark supplies. It's nothing you see me use very often and it's not like I have some compulsion to buy all kinds of glow-in-the-dark stuff. It's just that I have this childish fascination for glow-in-the-dark (aka GITD) craft supplies like glass beads, embroidery floss, yarn, clay, paint, craft and beading wire, sequins, inkjet paper etc.

Therefore you can right now find GITD sequins, Accu-Cord beading wire and seed beads (including twin beads) on my wishlist. Things some of you probably weren't even aware of existed. As for the two first items, I didn't know they existed until I got the idea to google it. I mean, it's GITD. If I can imagine a product in GITD, surely, someone out there somewhere must have already thought of it and begun making it. And it looks like they did.

As the days are getting darker, it feels like the perfect time to start thinking of some glow-in-the-dark project to make.I have made one, a GITD light garland, the which you can read about here (and/or here for a tutorial in Swedish). I do quite enjoy that one. I put the lights up in my bedroom and now that the evenings and nights are darker, I fall asleep under my own little starry sky.

In that post I also mentioned how my sis and I painted a night sky on a ceiling. I'm sorry to say it's just impossible for me to get a decent pic of it as it's so discreet in daylight (we tried our best to do it in a grown-up, stylish way...) and so hard to photograph at night. The best I can give you is one of the walls were you can see the house with GITD windows. I mixed the GITD paint with the wall paint to get a subdued glow, not as strong as in the stars but rather diffused (a trick I learned from a woman who gave me a tip about GITD polyclay and how I could mix it with other colours of clay). There is a constellation further up on the wall, but it's pretty much impossible to see in that artificial light.

(Yeah, painting those apple tree branches was a slight PITA. First tracing them on the painted wall using a strong lamp and a branch placed in the right angle and distance from the wall and then painting the whole thing using small brushes and paint mixed to one or so shade darker than the wall. Fun fact: guess how long it took before the cats dirtied the wall? Yepp, that fast.)

Anyway, back to my GITD stash. Many things are still just on my wishlist, but I have a few fun things to play with anyway.

First there's this glow-in-the-dark polyester embroidery floss from DMC. Really good glow in it and very soft and pliable. This thread is part of DMC's Light Effects range, no. E940. Do believe there are other GITD embroidery threads available too, but this is the only one I have.

Then there's my never opened package of nightglow Fimo polymer clay. Have thought about using this as mentioned above, blended with other colours. Not sure exactly what I want to do with this, though.

Then there's my beads. The starfish pendant actually belongs to my sis now. It's one of those sold without the GITD particles in it mentioned. Fun surprise for some, not so fun for others. My favourite amongst the few czech and chinese GITD glass beads I have are without a doubt the czech pinkish flower and leaf beads. Unlike many beads, the GITD effect isn't that apparent in daylight. No spooky-coloured spots or whitish lines as in the other beads in the pic. They look very normal -- unlike you turn off the light.

In the background you can also see som of my Hama "perler beads". When I got the idea to make my GITD lights, I had to buy a whole package of these beads, about 1 000 of which I used perhaps 100-150 for the light project. So I have a lot of plastic beads left to play with.

And that's pretty much it. They things I have to work with for a GITD project right now. I wonder what I'll do with it?


PS! For a longer, but still far from complete, list of GITD supplies of interest to beaders and jewellery makers, see this post in my other blog.

PPS! Couldn't keep from making a new Pinterest board: Glow in the dark craft ideas.

Just got a new obsession: sea urchins

I mean, I've seen pics of sea urchin shells before and found them very pretty, but for some reason it wasn't until last night that I fell head over heel in love with them. I'm just totally fascinated by the shape, texture and colours now. They're so delicate and irresistable.

Before, I've mostly seen sea urchin spikes as jewellery materials, but now it's the shells (or tests, as it's also called) that have me captivated. As seen on my new sea urchin pinboard.

People all over the world seem to find sea uchins along the coastlines, but I have never seen even one around here. Are there no urchins on the beaches I visit (which, it could be added, are lining a bay and maybe sea urchins are found further out in the sea) or is it just that I look in the wrong place? From what I've read people have found them on or near the beach, not always diving for them but just picking them up. I find lots of seashells, stones, driftwood, trash, dead jellyfish (not that I pick that up!), seaweed, feathers, coins and occasionally some sea glass, but no sea urchins.

Not buying any right now as there are so many things I want to buy (and a very limited budget...), but sea urchins will go on my wishlist now.

Is it possible...

...to have too many books on a subject? I've spent the beginning of this weekend seeding my latest book purchace (Goldwork by Hazel Everett and A-Z of Stumpwork). Both include a few bead embroideries/embellishments (or designs that would look good with a touch of beadwork), which made me think of starting a new bead embroidery project. And then, at the end of the A-Z book there was a page with other books from the series. Which included A-Z of Bead Embroidery. "That might be an interesting book. I should add it to my wishlist just in case or at least check it out."

Now, do I need another bead embroidery book? I have three. Three very different ones: The Art of Bead Embroidery by Heidi Kummli and Sherry Serafini, Designs for Bead Embroidery by Kenneth King and Bead Embroidery: The Complete Guide by Jane Davis. (I also have the free download of Robin Atkins' One Bead at a Time, but I haven't read it all yet...) Isn't that enough? Of cause not!

First of all, many book have different profiles, styles and ideas. My books span over bead embroidery jewellery (Kummli and Serafini), bead embellished clothes and home décor (King) and beaded "traditional" embroidery stitches (Davis). Bead embroidery is such a wide subject that even three books can't encompass all faces of it. Also, I''m always looking for new ideas, inspirations, applications and points of view.




So what bead embroidery books can be found on my too long craft book wishlist? Below is a list of books I for some reason or another have added to the list. Some I'm just dying to buy, others I know very little of and just added because the seemed more or less interesting.

The bead embroidery book wishlist

Source: larkcrafts.com via Kristina on Pinterest

Dimensional Bead Embroidery by Jamie Cloud Eakin: interested in her jewellery style and I've seen this stitch index (pdf) for her two books, which looked promising. A complement to my Kummli & Serafini book.

Source: perlesandco.co.uk via Kristina on Pinterest

La broderie de perles by Yukiko Ogura: Have seen a few pretty pics from the pages of this book. Lots of flowers, which I like. I do believe this is the french version of a japanese book that's called Bead Embroidery in the english version. The english version appears to be out of print as I can't find it in my usual online book shops so that's why I'm listing the french version eventhough I don't speak french. (You don't always need to be able to read a craft book to enjoy it and find it useful -- I have books in japanese and dutch too.) Update: Ignore that -- I was wrong. Have since bought this book and seen a preview of the english book -- which I know can find again -- and it's not the same. This is a great book, though, no doubt about it! So glad I couldn't resist the urge to buy it.

Source: bookdepository.co.uk via Kristina on Pinterest

Bead Embroidery by Yukiko Ogura: Another book by the same japanese embroiderer. This one focuses more on techniques while the french book is all about flower patterns. A book that's gotten many good reviews and based on what I've seen in her other book, I'm sure it's very much worth buying one day.

Source: bookdepository.co.uk via Kristina on Pinterest

Bead Embroidery by Valerie Campbell-Harding & Pamela Watts:  Found it while stumbling on an embroidery technique called "trapped beads". Description says it also includes machine embroidery. Not that I touch a sewing machine if it can be avoided (always have preferred hand tools in all materials), but it's interesting and not that usual in books [I've blogged -- on my other blog -- about machine bead embroidery if you want to learn more.]

Source: bookdepository.co.uk via Kristina on Pinterest

Bead and Sequin Embroidery Stitches by Stanley Levy: A book mentioned on Saturday Sequins in her bead embroidery resource post (good read if you want to give bead embroidery a try!). Why not expand and learn some more about sequin stitches/techniques too?

Source: bookdepository.co.uk via Kristina on Pinterest

A-Z of Bead Embroidery: Ah, yes, this is the book mentioned in the beginning of this post. Flipped through the preview at the publisher's website and it seems of some interest.

Source: bookdepository.co.uk via Kristina on Pinterest

Bead Embroidery Stitch Samples by CRK Design and Yasuko Endo: I've only seen the cover of this book. Maybe it's not that interesting, maybe it's just like Jane Davis' book. But I like the cover. [UPDATE: I found a short preview at the Interweave store -- it isn't released yet, by the way.]

Source: bookdepository.co.uk via Kristina on Pinterest

Beaded Dimensional Embroidery (Milner Craft Series) by Helan Pearce: Have I seen pages from this book? I must have since it's included in my list, but I can't pinpoint exactly what it was that made me list this one... (Both Pearce and Davis seem to be in the A-Z book too.)

Source: robinatkins.com via Kristina on Pinterest

 Finishing Techniques for Bead Embroidery Projects by Robin Atkins: Always useful to learn and consider how to finish a project properly. And I want to do wall hangings or something, which needs good framing/finishing/suspension and that's not always like finishing jewellery. (This book can be bought directly from the author. No ISBN = not sold in book shops.)


And that's my list. At least my list as it looks on the evening of June 23rd. Of cause, this list only includes bead embroidery books. I also have books that partially includes beads that's on my wishlist, but for this post I drew the line at bead embroidery only titles.

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If you have a good bead embroidery book that you think I should add to the list, don't hesitate to comment (preferrably with a reason for why it's so good). Or if you have read one of the above books, I'd love to hear what you thought of it: would you recommend it or should I buy something else? All and any tips and/or comments more than welcome!

If I had a birthday wishlist...

 ...I know one thing I'd put at the top (apart from money to buy beads): a Paperblanks journal. Unlined of cause: I always prefer to both write and sketch on unlined paper. They are so gorgeous. Expensive, but gorgeous. If you haven't seen or heard about them you really ought to check them out. Last time my sis and I went to a book shop that carries these, we spent ages just drooling over them and touching them. We didn't really have the money to buy any so after a while we had to pull ourselves away from the shelf before succumbing to the urge to purchase one or two or...

But here's the thing: I also know that when I buy an "eye candy" journal or notebook I desire, I don't dare using it because then it will be all "spent up". It's like with special beads, I want to save them for something special -- and end up never daring to use them. Just having them sit there waiting for the perfect idea, worthy of these special things, and never really believing that what I do at the moment is special enough. Using them for something mundane would be sacrilege! Still, I covet those journals so bad. And I do think I've learnt to accept that notebooks are meant to be used, no matter how special or trivial the notes are. It's not desecration to write on a pristine, white page of an expensive notebook -- even if it almost feels that way sometimes. I'm using them, which is what they were made for. It's silly to buy a notebook and then buy some more cheap ones as I can't write in the expensive one...

(And, no, I don't write a personal journal. I want the book as a sketch book and to jot down ideas and texts for stories etc.)

So I do hope I get at least a little money from my parents and grandma so I can buy one without feeling guilty for not saving the money for more important things. I know a lot of stuff that I probably should prioritize over a luxury journal, but sometimes you need something beautiful to brighten up your day.

But something I also really hope to be able to buy soon is books. I love reading books, both fiction and non-fiction (history, science, cultural geography, beading, jewellery making, embroidery etc). If you're curious, part of my vast wish list can be found here. It's pretty much focusing on how-to books rather than fiction (so very little fantasy) and because it's a british shop, there are no Swedish titles. My unabridged book wishlist is many times longer. In fact, it's not even one complete list, but comprised of book reviews I cut out of mags and papers, bookmarks on my browser and the Book Depository wishlist -- so not even I know how many books there's really on it! (The one below is: not a cheap embroidery technique to learn, but I really like some of the modern goldwork. Feels luxurious to work with threads like that too.)

I'm not expecting to get a lot of presents or money for my birthday, but I'm hoping it'll be enough to buy a book or two -- and hopefully a journal too. Knowing myself, though, I think it's much more likely I buy books and supplies than a journal, no matter how many years I've wanted one, as beads and books feel more useful than a blank journal. But if I ever get a real job and real income one day, I know a Paperblanks journal will be one of the first things I'll buy.


PS! Yes, I stole those photos of the Paperblanks website. Hope they don't mind it too much... That's actually not the journal/notebook I've been oogling the most, but I love the colours of the books in the Romantic Sensibility collection.