>Steel Town
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Before I show you plans for my next piece, I'd like to take a moment to show you a beaded treasure. It is an antique beaded handbag that I inherited from my grandmother a few years ago. I was surprised to find it amongst her belongings. It was hidden somewhere in the back of a dark closet in an old box, and it had probably been there for decades. When I picked it up, it felt old and dirty, but it was still beautiful. I imagined what it must have looked like when it was new, which was probably in the 1920's or 30's, or maybe even earlier...
This handbag measures 7" x 6" wide, and it has a 3" netted fringe on the bottom. When you look at the photos below, you'll see that the entire bag is made from antique metal seed beads. Most of them are French steel cuts, which means they are faceted and very sparkly. These steel beads are also quite heavy, so I'm not surprised that the bag came apart at the frame. I can't imagine adding even more weight to it by carrying lipstick, makeup, coins, and cigarettes inside... (click for more images)
The funny thing was, when I packed this handbag into my carry-on luggage at the Pittsburgh International Airport, it made all the metal detectors go off! Suddenly several security officers were standing before me. I think they thought I had some kind of weapon inside... They were certainly surprised that it was only a handbag, and they let me pass through...
Since this handbag is a beaded piece of history, I'd like to eventually find someone to restore it, although I'm not sure that it's possible. This bag is in rough shape, and I'm not even sure it would be worth it to restore. If it is, I'm not skilled in this type of beadwork at all, nor would I have the patience... LOL. So, if you know anyone who could possibly do this kind of work, please let me know!
Also, just a couple of quick announcements:
Princess Cat's Pajamas was kind enough to bestow the Nice Matters Award upon me. I thought that was so sweet!! I'm passing the award along to Beadexplorer, Crymson, and Phoenix. Please stop by all of their blogs to say hello:)
And, here's one that Jafabrit will appreciate. Today, my latest piece, 'History Repeated' made it onto the Urban Art website. This site is powered by Flikr, which is how my piece was discovered, and it is listed under the Banksy Graffiti category! You can view the entire page HERE.
That's the news for now. Please stop by tomorrow to learn about my next piece:)