Task 3a Kylea - lots of process pics

Making a beaded frame on a cabochon is  something I have wanted to learn for years. I've seen the how to information before, but it took being in this class to finally do it. (I still want to learn to do it without using backing.)

Here are the finished pics, so you don't have to go through the process portion if you don't want. 

(Mermaid process in next post; this got crazy long. I did the dragonfly first, so am posting its details first.)

I started with a couple rather large bohemian buttons. I have a few damaged ones that I picked up cheap years ago. The dragonfly has tiny tiny chips out of the edge, hard to even see or feel on this one, though a little more obvious on some others I have. (I have about a half dozen in this colour - one that I can't imagine buying, except that it was part of that lot of damaged buttons.)

I did the dragonfly first, using delicas for the first few rounds. Those first two rows are definitely the hardest.

My work looks good from this side

But it really wasn't so tidy all around

The edge/side isn't straight; it angles in. This meant there was a tendency for the edge to slide off and under until I wrapped it over the top, 

The circumference actually grew a little bigger before wrapping onto the top, so I actually added a larger bead right at the top of the sides before going to smaller beads. 

  

 Size 11 delicas, a row of size 10 rocailles at the widest point, then coming in with one more round of delicas then two rows of 15s.

Would probably have looked better (less thread showing) if I'd done one more round of delicas before the 15s. When I realized thread would show a little I switched by clear/white to coloured thread. 

 Doing that extra pass through the last innermost row really did make a difference in how smooth and solid it felt. 

 Final with backing trimmed. (Added edging before trimming backing.)