Paris is finished

I have finished the third piece. a long way behind but still plodding along.
diane's beadwork blog
Diane Lithgow

Exciting week

I haven't got very far with the beading but the power of the BJP community is great. I have just had Susan Rochlin (mermaids jewels) to stay. She found me via the BJP and we had two nights talking beading. It was great.
My theme is sorted - friends inspiring music and the first month background is done. Need to bead this weekend now.
Diane, New Zealand.

At last BJP 2008 done ... Ready for 2010

Here is! I finally ended in July and August. I just have to finish to fix them onto a painting. My mind is now free to begin the January page of the BJP 2010.

After reflexion, (without paralyzing too much my mind!!!!) I decided to work on a size bigger than last year. Circles of 4 inches or 10 cms in diameters seemed to me sometimes too small. I am going to make rectangles of 9 x 7 inches or 23 x 17 cms. So I hope to have more place to mix more materials under beads.

The snow which fell recently gave me the theme of my page of January. To make you an idea or see my realizations, here is my blog.

I had not visited blogs since a few days and it took me all afternoon long. There were so many beautiful things to see. Moreover I found good advices. A big bravo to all of you. I expect that this year will be a great one! I am impatient to see your realizations.

Hello from France !

My name is Sylvie. I've participed to the BJP 2008. First of all, I want to apologize to all the new members for my english. You will surely find many mistakes in my posts during this year.
Am I now ready for a new year of BJP ? Really not exactly ! I have to put some beads on the piece of August and I could dedicate myself to the 2010 BJP. However, I decided to have only one objective : to let the beads play with material and colors!
As Robin have written before, I've been one of those who were restricted by their theme last year. Yet, I've chosen to carry on because I want to put them together in a work already prepared.
But now I need to be free in my creating. I will take advantage to try a few new technics, materials and designs. Perhaps not new for some of you, but certainly new for me. We will see later what this will give.
I wish to all of us a good beading year and I look forward to all of our creations.

Hi Everyone!

I love that we're an international group here on BJP3!

My name is Vicki and I am from Colorado and was part of BJP1 till life intervened. I'm a creativity coach and my website for that is here.

I just realized with the completion of a bead embellished doll I recently finished that I'm not enjoying bead embroidery like I used to. So I'm going to be exploring work with wire and other construction techniques, and as long as beads are involved and I make monthly pieces, I guess that qualifies me for this project.

So I'm here to see what happens. Maybe I'll find something that I like with beads and ??? or maybe I'll end up having a Movin' On Sale.

Either way, I'm looking forward to an adventure with lots of fun and creative people!

Hello

I am Ati and live in Norway.
I have followed a few beading blogs the last year and I was wondering if I could join.
When I saw the new announcement I hit the button and here I am :)
Looking forward to start and get some discipline to do a project every month.
My projects will have the size of a CD. I made a "try-out " last November and I liked it.
It is on my blog:
http://malinaplass.blogspot.com/

pleased to be back

Hi everyone. I am diane from New Zealand didi-beadwork.blogspot.com and have completed 11 of the last 12 months which I am looking at mounting on a wall quilt. I made little men pictures and have not yet managed to send them to the BJP for including on hte photo pages.
My theme for this year is not yet decided but it will either be books, songs or poems and I am restricting the size to card size - cutting them all out before I start will help.
pleased to see some new people and looking forward to seeing the inspiration that abounds.
Diane

Hi from Augusta, GA!

Hi y'all! I'm MizDenise from Augusta, GA, home of the world-famous Master's Golf Tournament (winner wears a Green Jacket).

This is my second year in the project. Being a part of the group last year helped me to commit myself to being creative daily. With my son leaving for college last fall, I also began using my creative & sewing skills to assist several local charities and pretty much dropped out of regular BJP communication. Hopefully I will find a better balance this year.

However, being a part of the BJP has been important to me and I plan to continue this year, using 3x3 inch squares. I am hoping to explore more non-traditional surfaces this year, combining more mixed media work with beading. I also would love to do more fully encrusted pieces, but will have to see how my time -and budget- go.

My flickr page shows the completed pieces from last year, as well as some of my other creative work. (I still have to complete my final two BJP pieces, although they are designed and ready to go.) I'm looking forward to getting to know you all.

MizDenise

Excited/nervous

Hello to all, I'm Nanette from Australia (belle in the participants list) and I've been looking forward to starting this project since I googled 'beading' last year and found Robin's wonderful work, and then the previous BJP blogs.


I've done a little beading, adding it to crazy quilt projects, and a few small beaded dolls, and love the quiet, meditative aspect of sitting with a tray of beads and letting my intuition choose and stitch. I'm not very experienced, but I love beading, so I believe the rest will follow as I learn more.


I'm not planning to work to a theme, and while still not decided on a size, I like the idea of a mandala design, with a circle within a square, and I'm pretty sure I want to join them into a wallhanging at the end. I have an idea for what I'm going to do for January, as it's my birthday month, but the rest is pretty vague right now........I can't wait to see what unfolds.


One of the challenges I've set myself is to use what I already have in my bead stash as much as I can, and not buy anything..a good test of my willpower when I walk by a bead store!


I'm looking forward to being part of this group, to share, be inspired and learn, enjoy the support we can provide each other on this beading journey, and to see where it takes each of us.

Thankyou too, to Robin, for all your hard work and energy in setting up each BJP, welcoming us all, and providing this wonderful opportunity.

Welcome Everyone to the 2010 Bead Journal Project

We begin the third year of the BJP with 287 members, many of whom are returning to the project after participating in either or both of the previous years! A special warm welcome to our new members! For you, it may seem bewildering or even a little scary. Not to worry, you’ll soon find your groove. The BJP blogs will help, as you can post questions here any time.

To both returning and new members, please read the following guidelines! I believe they will help us all to stick with our commitment to this one-year project!

Relax and have fun with it! Bend the rules a little if you need to. The commitment you’ve made is 100% for YOU, for your own benefit and enjoyment. So, each month, as you begin your piece, try to please yourself… not me, not the other members, not your beady friends… YOU!

There are only three basic rules… A. Make one piece a month. B. Include some beads on each piece. C. Make all 12 of your pieces the same size/shape.

If your initial plan/idea doesn’t work for you, change it! In the past two years, I notice some members dropping out because their plan/idea was too ambitious or sometimes because it suited the first few months but didn’t fit well after that. You are free to make changes anytime during the year.

You don’t have to apply a theme to your work, although some find working with a theme very compelling. But, if you start with a theme and later get tired of it, feel free to let it go at any time.
Consistency will naturally happen. You do not have to strive for it. Actually, it’s not a problem at all if your work seems inconsistent!

The BJP is non-competitive! Each and every piece is valid. Each and every piece has merit. Each and every piece is an important step in your personal development as an artist and craftsperson. Each and every piece is an accomplishment! We are a supportive group, encouraging each member to do what works for them in the best way they can. Try to look at your own work with the same non-judgmental eyes that you would use for the work of others in the project.

There are no BJP police! You don’t have to post pictures. You do not have to report to anybody that you finished your piece each month. You can bend the size rule (that all 12 pieces should be the same size and shape) if it will keep you active in the project. Although we encourage you to do one piece per month, you can start a month’s piece early, do two in one month, skip a month… again, whatever it takes to keep yourself active.

There are many possibilities to explore each month! You might try visual journaling or telling the story of your life during this month in a visual way. You might set yourself a learning goal, such as to try one new technique each month. You might consider using your BJP pieces to “get out of the box” and experiment with colors, design and/or style. You are free to set your own goals for the year’s work, if you wish.

If you’re looking for inspiration, I suggest looking at the member pages on the BJP website, here and here. You are eligible to have your own member page when you have completed 8 pieces for this year. Also, I posted pictures of 42 of my favorite pieces from last year’s BJP on my blog, here.

Don’t stress about finishing… about how you will finish each month’s piece or what you will do with the year’s work. Some members have a clear idea of what they want to make with their pieces at the end of the year; many do not know at all. Some will create a wall hanging or a book-like assemblage, while others may not make anything at all with their pieces. Either way is fine. Remember, the real payoff of this work is doing it each month!

You are not required to have a personal blog or website. You don’t even have to take pictures of your finished pieces. All of that is voluntary. However, it’s my impression that those who do post about their BJP experiences and progress on a personal blog seem to develop a wonderful sense of support and community with other BJP members. So, although it’s not required, I do encourage you to give blogging a try.

The BJP blogs are your link to the group! We do have a few guidelines about the blogs as follows:

1. We have three BJP blogs because Blogger limits every group-blog to a maximum of 100 authors. To accommodate all of us, we have divided the group into three equal sub-groups. You are assigned to one sub-group and are able to write a post on that blog only. However, I encourage you to follow and read all three blogs!

2. All posts must be relevant to the BJP. In other words, please don’t post text or pictures about other beadwork you are doing on the BJP blogs. However, when you believe it would be of interest to most BJP members, you may post a sentence or two about a non-BJP topic and a link to a post about that topic on your own personal blog.

3. Please do not post pictures of your monthly pieces on the BJP blogs until after April 1st. The reason for this is that some members prefer not to be influenced by other member’s work until after their own style is set a little. You are welcome to post pictures on your own blog (if you have one) or on our Flickr page at any time. During the first three months, you are welcome to post a link on the BJP blogs to pictures posted elsewhere so that those members who are non concerned about being influenced can take a look. After April l, you may post pictures of your BJP pieces here on the BJP blogs.

4. Please, no movies or sound on the BJP blogs! We want to keep it easy and fast to download. Also, since we’ll have well over 1,000 posts by the end of the year, we have to be mindful of Bloggers “space limits.”

That’s about it, folks! Thanks for taking the time to read through these guidelines. If you have any questions, feel free to post them on the BJP blog or email them to me. Now it’s time to pick up some beads and get started!

Again, welcome everyone! I am in awe of you all for making this commitment and I totally look forward to getting to know you and seeing your BJP pieces!

Beadily yours,

Robin Atkins
Founder of the BJP