With most of the nation facing severe cold weather this season, the southeastern US is no exception. We’ve had to endure ice and snow and cold temperatures that are very unusual indeed. What better way to shake off the winter blues than creating a few flowers.

I decided on two flowers using an off-white floss spun with silver and embellished with silver wire and beads, and added a light blue flower with some silver accents. I thought it made a nice winter bouquet. Here’s a photo of the finished piece.

I know I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. Ganutell flowers offer unlimited opportunities to be creative and expressive. This is just one  more example.

I’ve had lots of requests for some basic instruction in this art form, as well as the bead and wire flowers, and I’m currently working on a new e-book. Be sure to register for my newsletter, as I’ll be emailing an announcement when it’s available.

In the meantime, stay warm, and bead something pretty!

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Life gets in the way, right?

I had to take a brief hiatus from blog posting and focus on work and life issues … not nearly as much fun, but there it is. Happens to all of us, right?

The good news is that being away from it has given me an opportunity to review and regroup — to think about what direction I want to take next. I love to learn new arts and crafts. Can’t help it; when I see something pretty I often want to learn how to make it. I’ve done most crafts at one time or another, and enjoy just about all of them.

Thing is, I keep returning to bead and wire flowers, specifically Ganutell. These delicate little flowers are fun to make, offering lots of opportunities to be creative. They’re unique, and people love them, and I think I’m quite obsessed with making them.

So there’s my new focus. I’m looking forward to sharing lots of information on how to make these lovely flowers, resources to purchase the hard-to-find tools and supplies, and interesting ways to embellish them. I’ll even give you some new ideas on how to use your work in projects.

I’m looking forward to sharing Ganutell with you, so visit often!

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Beaded flowers have been crafted for centuries. The French beaded flower technique is only one of several, and it is not exclusively French, but is believed to have been born in France and in Italy, and was popular throughout Europe for centuries. I recently came upon information regarding the vast production of beaded flowers in Venice during the nineteenth century. In Victorian times, bead flower sprays and wreaths were often used as wall hangings and memorials.

During the 1930’s American families decorated their homes with French beaded flowers imported from Europe, but it wasn’t until the 1960’s that the technique itself became popular. With the publication of instructional books by Virginia Nathanson, Virginia Osterland and others, crafters learned to create French beaded flowers, and the technique flourished through the 1970’s. Patterns found in these books are still used extensively today.

Currently, French beading has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity, and with the availability of new instructional materials and patterns we are seeing lots of interest in learning the technique.

I’ve been excited to find more contemporary designs in these new patterns, with a fresh and whimsical style, and the availability of glass beads in a vast array of colors and textures. What great inspiration - positively makes one’s mind spin with new ideas!

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