More buggy beauties for I Might Make That! Monday

Steampunk bug bead tutorial by Christi Friesen

A couple of months back, I did a roundup of eek-free beaded spiders for my Monday feature. It got a lot of page views--who knew it would resonate? Then a few weeks back, this book popped up on a lot of craft sites. I think I spotted it on CraftGossip and was going to blog about it, but then Mortira at Inspirational Beading and a few others beat me to it.

Beaded Bugs by Nicola Tedman 

So instead, I'll blog about some other cool insect beadwork I've spotted on Pinterest, Etsy, Artfire and elsewhere. Some are tutes and some are here for inspiration. (So amusing to discover that Googling "beaded beetles" turned up dozens of blinged-out Volkswagon images but no decent scarab patterns!)

So let's start with the top photo. It's Christi Friesen's steampunk bug made of polymer and clock parts. Most polymer work does not interest me, but I love the look of mixing it with metal. The free tutorial is very detailed, with lots of photos.

Here's a free flat-peyote pattern for a butterfly its designer calls "Three Roses."

Beading pattern from The Glass Butterfly

I like that it shows enough detail that you could do very realistic color gradations if you wanted.

Here's a cute pattern for a beaded ladybug pendant from Craftsy. It's not free, but here's the link to it.

These butterfly earrings are from Anthropolgie (no longer available). No tute, but with the right filigree component, I think I could concoct something similar.

Pearl of The Beading Gem's Journal did an excellent roundup of dragonfly jewelry tutorials last year, so I won't duplicate her efforts. 

The beauty below is not a tutorial, but I'm a fan of Ornan Volokh (a/k/a Snivli) and her blog Beads Fantasy and I have featured her work before. (You'll need Chrome or Google Translate, unless you happen to read Russian.)

Winged Insect byOrnan Volokh/Snivli

Everything below is offered up as more design inspiration. 

Beaded grasshopper by Spirys

Copper lacewing insect hairpin
by Sue Runyon Designs via Artfire

Source: etsy.com via Annie on Pinterest

A beaded leather bib necklace from lovisetto's Etsy shop. She has several variations for sale. 

PhD Beads makes jewelry out of real insect wings and resin.

P.S. My apologies if this post is displaying funny. Blogger seemed to be having issues when I wrote this, and the type was not looking normal in the page previews.

Anyway, for newcomers, the archive of my IMMT!M feature can be found by clicking the link in the top right corner. 

Girly beaded spiders and more for I Might Make That! Monday

Beaded spider from Shawkl

Arachnaphobes, stay away!

Last October, I spotted a pattern for a beaded spider--I think it was on CraftGossip. I didn't save the link, but in Web-surfing this weekend I stumbled across the creator of those beaded spiders and the tutorial that accompanies them.

Beaded spider from Shawkl

These beauties are from Kathy Shaw of Shawkl. What I like about them in that they're girly, not Goth. Not the least bit  Halloween-y. Just a nice alternative to the dragonflies and butterflies you see everywhere. Kathy Shaw's tute is here and is linked to caption of the rose-colored spider, below, as well.

Beaded spider from Shawkl

These appear to be freestanding spiders, to be used as ornaments or whatnot, but you could easily wire a pinback to them. She has other tutes on her site, too (mostly sewing/quilting/embroidery), which is how I landed on her page to begin with.

Cabbage rose from Shawkl

Check out this darling cabbage rose, for example. I won't tell you what it's made from. Click here to see. I think a cute mixed-media necklace could be made by sewing a dozen, each cupped by a bead cap at the base, onto ribbon or kumi braid, along with lots of pearl and crystal dangles.

Here are some other beady spiders for inspiration:

This green fellow here is from So Crafty; there are instructions for a couple of different variations, plus a video. I like the unbeaded legs effect:

So Crafty spider

And from Etsy (it's sold; I wonder if the buyer wore it as a bride?):

Bridal Spider from Souldier

This one here is getting pretty meta: a beaded spider in which one of the beads is a beaded bead. Whoa.

Meadow Treasures via Alibaba.com

Here's a netted ornament that is inspired by "the legend of the Christmas Spider." Hmmm. Not familiar with that legend. But it does explain why so many of the spiders I'm finding are ornaments, not jewelry. Excuse me while I Google.

OK, I'm back. For those as ignorant as me, a version of the Christmas Spider legend can be found here.

And here's a steampunk bad girl spotted on Pinterest. L-O-V-E this one.

Source: Uploaded by user via Kimi on Pinterest

OMG, the Pinterest search for "beaded spiders" turned up some amazing beaded spider webs. I'll post a couple, but then I really have to stop. Really.

Source: threedeadkings.tumblr.com via Kelli on Pinterest

Source: ehow.com via Liz on Pinterest

(For blog newcomers, the I Might Make That! Monday Archive can be accessed by clicking the IMMT!M link in the top right corner.)