I selected this pattern for two reasons: one, it incorporated a technique that interested me, and two, it would use a lot of bad beads. Say, 3–4 hanks’ worth. Osterland promised the reader we'd feel "like a Luther Burbank" by the time we were done, and I think this stem must weigh at least half a pound.

Snapdragon stem, spring 2008. Made with a lot of dyed czech beads, five kinds of wire (at least), bead mandrels, floral tape.

Osterland recommended starting with the bottom blossoms, which I duly did. After doing that for awhile, I started with the lightest colors and smallest sizes, and started working up in size, kind of meeting in the middle, which is why the purple and dark magenta blossoms are so erratic—some with the lighter color in the middle of the petals, some on the outside—it all depended whether I was using the black or purple wire and which color of beads I'd happened to string first. I did get very very very tired of making snapdragon blossoms, though never good enough at it to make even one entirely without a mistake.

I also learned how to lace correctly. One author recommended a needle, but what I found most helpful was to lace as I went along, and pull towards the center of the leaf or petal for nice tight rows.

UPDATE: here's another picture of the same piece, taken in July of 2018. Some of the missing colour is a result of slight overexposure, but most is simply the fact that the dyes have faded over the last decade. Eventually, all the pink and purple beads will revert to white, but as snapdragons come in that colour as well, it will still be pretty.^[1]

This project took days to do, and by the end, I just wrapped the whole thing together with floral tape, the standard method, because it was easiest and fastest, and I wanted to be done. I will say that by the time I finished it, I had the basic-frame techniques down cold.

file created 8may08; minor (typo) corrections 16apr13, 23apr14; updated a couple of the links (e.g. picture) back to full size, and to wire post, rather than its intro, plus add'l tags, 03apr18; new photo & caption added, 9jul2018. This image taken with a lumix & manual flash; the original, with my olympus e620 & photofloods. They're both shot on black plexi, though.

Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.