Let It All Flow Over You! September BJP

Sometimes things happen. And you have to let them happen. To embrace the happening. And to let it all flow over you.

Easier said than done. For me, anyway.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with Azure Blue Dye-na-Flow.

There are three large (1 cm) square beads, some 4 mm cubes, some 8/0s, but the vast majority of the beads are smaller--Delicas, 11/0s, 15/0s, and some 1.5 mm cubes.

This piece is done entirely in the backstitch.

It is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used blue Nymo thread.

What I Was Thinking:

I was thinking about what life would be like if a person just accepted what happens. That is not my general nature. I'm an assertive, pro-active, take action, be in charge of myself kind of person. At least on the inside. I have a strong internal locus of control. But at times, we just have to let things happen because we can't control them. Out of my comfort zone... But it's good for me to think about that every now and then.

Issues That Came Up:

This page went very quickly. I finished it in mid-September. I started with the three large squares and then worked around them. Well, we all have to do that sometimes, don't we? There are so many tiny beads on this page that the trick for me was to try to balance the larger beads, especially when those silver-lined 4 mm cubes continued to call attention to themselves. The difference between the large beads and the tiny beads is much more obvious in person than it is in the photo.

I painted the foundation at night and wanted to work on it the next morning. To encourage it to dry quickly, I put the Lacy's Stiff Stuff up on a disposable plastic cup. And look what happened on the back! The area outside the cup dried first because there was more air circulation, while the area directly above the cup dried more slowly. Through capillary action, the dilute paint "wicked" to the drier areas of the Stuff, leaving this moon-like scene on the back of the page. Pretty cool, huh? This is the same way sun-printing works with paint on fabric. Equally cool!