Thursday, October 4, 2012

Beaded Handbags in Miniature

I often find myself thinking about possible miniature projects before I go to sleep. Sometime last week, I had the idea that I could make miniature beaded bags by covering a rigid form with no-hole beads. The next day, I had to give it a try.
When I tried making them the next morning, I discovered I'd underestimated just how slow and finicky this project would be. I knew that the beads to make the flower needed to be individually placed, but what I didn't expect was that the background beads also required a lot of individual 'nudging'.

 I thought that finishing the one bag would be the end of it, but by that time, I'd already come up with a few more designs I wanted to try. One bag became three, and then I realized that it was much better to work on a few at once, so that each section of beads had time to dry before  I moved on... I think I'm hooked.
None of the bags are completely finished yet. The top three still need clasps, the middle two are completely beaded, but still need the hardware (frame, chain, and clasps), and the bottom two still need bead work. I'm also dying to stop by the craft store for other colours!

14 comments:

  1. Oh, wow, they look fantastic, what a great idea, what kind of glue did you use?

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  2. Muy bonitos,resultan de lo más elegantes!!!!
    Besos.

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  3. Dear Eliza,
    What a wonderful bags. I wonder what size of no-hole beads you used ?
    Greetins Dorien.

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  4. Great idea, Eliza! The bags look gorgeous! What kind of glue you use for these (metallic) no hole beadies?
    Greetings, Ilona

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  5. Hi Eliza, your patience has really been rewarded! These look amazing! x

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  6. Fantastic bags! So elegant.
    Bye Faby

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  7. Wow fantastic bags. They are all beautiful.
    Hugs Maria

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  8. Gorgeous bags! Brilliant idea!
    Hugs, Drora

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  9. These are so pretty! Wonderful idea! They look like they were stitched. Amazing!

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  10. Hello Eliza,
    Your beading is so perfect it's unreal. What magnificent work. they are perfect.
    Big hug,
    Giac

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  11. Thank you everyone. I started out with regular Tacky glue, but that obviously wasn't enough to hold the beads permanantly, so after each side dried, I coated it with modpodge (matte finish, to reduce the shine a little)and really smooshed it in with my finger. They feel very sturdy now. I'll add a full tutorial with pictures of each step when I get the chance!

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  12. I love the way you designed your miniature bags!
    Thank you for the inspiration to use micro beads! :)

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