Hello From A Newbie

Hello Everyone,

My name is Paula and this is my first time participating in any kind of project like this one. I'm very excited to be in the midst of such talent as displayed in the photos from the 2007 PJB.

I've been beading for about 8 years now and I'm mostly self-taught. I have attended some bead classes but for the most part I've learned from bead magazines and books. I do stringing, a little wire work, and off-loom bead weaving. I can't say what I love best; each project I do, no matter what the vehicle, is my favorite at the time.

I've read all the posts and have been mulling over what I might like to do this year. I'm thinking something small. Maybe something that would include my own photos of flowers, or maybe something with birds being the focal. I envision something that would all fit together at the end of the year and maybe look like a stained glass window. I'm still working out what to use as a backing and what I might use that would look like the black metal used between the glass in a stained glass window. Did all that make sense?

I've never done any bead embroidery before, does anyone have a favorite book or website that I could use as reference? I'll walk upstairs and check my own books in a minute, maybe there's something up there that I can use.

I look forward to reading each post and watching as all the pages are posted. Thanks to everyone who make this work!

Paula