Ugly Beads vs Lonely beads

OK, perhaps I was too harsh when I referred to the bubble gum colored beads as ugly. No, actually I wasn't, but as my sister pointed out, the way I presented them and the angle at which I took the shot made them seem much less hideous than they really are. That actually reflects the way I look at life. Sometimes things in life can get really ugly, but often when we change the way we look at them, they somehow get a bit better. I have always been an optimist and I'm sure I always will be. All this being said, I will continue to post some beads that, while possibly not the ugliest in my stash, have certainly been lonely.

There are several large baggies of polymer clay beads that I have made over the years and thought they were horribly disfigured, or just misfits. Either way, they were relegated to a life in a plastic box, under a table for a long, long time.

Here are a few, remember those awful pink things on the left, from ugly bead project #1.

On to ugly bead project #2. This next piece was created from these lonely (read u.g.l.y.) beads at the left of this photo. They were the result of my attempt to step outside the round bead box that I sometimes get hemmed into.

Well, they didn't turn out like I had planned, so I tried highlighting them with some silver paint and when that didn't go well, I tried dipping several of them in melted UTEE. UTEE stands for ultra-thick embossing enamel and is one of my all time favorite things to work with. I can usually rescue anything with UTEE. When this still didn't get the effect I was looking for, I banished them to that "I'm not happy with you box" under the table.

Fast forward to my current Ugly Bead Project. After dumping all these beads out onto my table and really studying them, I decided that the main thing the flat ones needed was continuity. So I painted all the edges black and then dotted red and yellow paint on top of that. Then I glued black square beads on the tops of the beads and then glued orange beads on top of them.

So take the continuity of the embellishments, along with some coordinating dangles and a bit of chain, and I have created a really fun piece that I like a lot.

Seems we've come full circle here. If life is giving you ugly beads, search for the continuity that is needed and then present those little beads in such a fashion that they are no longer the least bit ugly. Then pat yourself on the back and give yourself an "atta girl"!