Fabric Boxes

Well, todays, here are two fabric boxes that were/are embellished with beads I made. These boxes are made by sandwiching layers of fabric, batting and more fabric together, its heavily stiched up and sewn all about. The pattern, is pretty basic, and making a box like this is really less work than you might think, or so Im told....

Two boxes, both made by the same maker, Suzanne Theriault, and both have my beads on them (on the lids and on the front of one, small beads). Small amount of beads and at least three of the beads on the lids are made on copper tube to help color match the boxes. Its not really about the beads here its more bead as subtle interest element to the box. Beads could be used as feet, latches, or other functional elements in addition to decoration as they are here.

Since we are in the fiber arena today, I should mention that I can, and have made buttons out of glass. Some of these buttons have found their way to family sweaters and such. Some were sold in MI several years ago. I have not made a button other than a demo one in some time.

There are at least two basic ways to make a button. One is to make a small bead and make a lollipop type disk and join the two. One is to make a large bead, and just before it drops of the mandrel "catch" it on a marver and you have formed the button (I believe this method is what Tom Holland calls the "bozo-drop button"). Making buttons is fun and different diversion from making beads. At one point, I probably could have focused on buttons, I was asked to do that by one retail outlet but decided not to. There is, like many things, a specific collectors market in buttons that may have been profitable to some degree but I wasnt at a point where that was what I wanted to do.

Next I will show off some of my bead totems. Im working on an altered book that will incorporate beads and an art box that will showcase some marbles. However those are some more distant projects.