Bead Embroidery Pendant/Pin Project: Strawberry

Inspired by Diana G. at her blog, I have been thinking about and planning to start a small bead embroidery project.

I know backstitch, and used to cross-stitch alot, so I feel I have a good stitching background.

I absolutely LOVE strawberries (dolphins too, but that will be a project for when I'm more skilled . . .), and thought that a bead-embroidered strawberry pendant/pin would be a nice way to start.

I thought I'd start by tracing a very realistic, from a photo, gi-hugeous strawberry, but I just couldn't figure out how I could get the detail of shading different reds in a less-than-random way, that I'd want to do if I went this route.

So, I next thought about the fact that I have several strawberry rubber stamps, in really good sizes for the type of project I'm desiring. I looked through them; some are more stylized than others. I settled on a Posh Impressions clear (but mounted on EZ Cling Foam) strawberry stamp, the outline portion of a pair of duet stamps. Duet stamps consist of a more solid image, and a more outline image, of the same item. They work well separately, and with the outline stamped over the solid image as well.

There it is; It is about 1-1/2" in size. I am not sure if it is too cartoonish-looking or not, but I'm going to stamp this on some felt in a craft/fabric type of ink. I'll cut it out, and order the beads. The seeds and outline will be size 13 silver-plated charlottes (seed beads are glass; plating is the best quality for metal-coated one can get, in charlottes and other seed beads I believe). These are so small they are about the same size as other size 15 seed beads I have. I only have pearl white, and a springy light green in size 15 seed beads though, so I'll have to order some appropriate color seed beads for the strawberry body. I'll probably order some green and metallic green size 15's for the top, just to play with options, but I'm thinking I may bead the green leaf top, in the silver charlottes as well.

So, what do you think?

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted here. I've been suffering through desperate and dangerous depressive lows (I am being treated by professionals, though, and medication, just to ease your worries if you have any!)

Diana, you have inspired me to try this. I still feel guilty about the lighthouse bead tapestry I haven't gotten back to, but I need to work out some better knot options, practice them, and then I'll get back into it (I have about 1/2" to 3/4" of that WIDE tapestry done . . .)