Saturday, July 13, 2013

Fancy Fish Blog Hop

I was hooked (pun intended) when Karen Williams decided to host a blog hop using her Fancy Fish tutorial.  I had been eyeing the tutorial for weeks and was excited to have an excuse to get it.

Karen mentioned in her post that she was looking for a design team and was kind enough to allow me to join.

As part of the team, I received a Fancy Fish kit along with the tutorial.  My kit contained different shade of blue seed beads, blue thread and several colors of core beads.  The core beads give shape to the beaded fish and really make them come alive.

I got to work and produced my first fish.


I used the size 8 beads from the kit to accent the tail and fins.  I added a 3mm crystal for the eye.

My husband, the fish expert, said it looked "very cool."  That is seriously high praise.  :)

I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo, but Karen uses right angle weave in her design.  In her tutorial, she illustrates how thread color can make a difference in the finished fish.  Because right angle weave is an open weave, the core bead can show through a bit as well.

Karen included a burgundy core bead in the kit.  At first, I wasn't sure how it would work, but I love it in this fish.


I love how the burgundy bead peeks through.


In the tutorial, Karen also shows how to add stripes to the fish.  In the fish above, I used that technique to create a small blue stripe.

For my third fish, I went a bit wild with the stripes and used the rest of the colors in the kit.


I also used the size 8 beads in this fish.


I loved how so many different fish can be created from the beads in the kit.

When my daughter saw me making fish, she asked for a "Nemo" fish.  I looked at a few pictures of clown fish and altered the tail and fins from the tutorial to create this.


It's not a perfect clown fish, but my daughter really liked it.

For my last fish, I used fringe beads for the tail, fins and eyes.


I like how the drop beads stand up a bit and produce a great dorsal fin.


While beading these, I learned a few things about fish that I didn't know.  I could tell that Karen put a great deal of thought into her design.

If you would like to bead some of your own fish, check out Karen's tutorial.  If you are new to right angle weave, don't worry.  The first few pages in the tutorial show you exactly what you need to know.

I was able to find a few oval core beads at Michaels, but just in case, Karen sells core beads for her fish, as well as other tutorials, in her etsy shop.

Karen, thank you for a wonderful hop and it was an honor to be part of your team.

Please take some time to visit thee other blogs in the hop.  I bet you will see some cute and fancy fish.


Alison Oman (featured on Karen's blog)
Dolores Dwight (featured on Karen's blog)


13 comments:

  1. They are all adorable!!! I LOVE your version of the fishes!!!!!!!! :D :D

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  2. Tanya - these are FANTASTIC!!! All of them!! No kidding - that burgundy core bead looks gorgeous with those lighter beads. LOVE your Nemo. And love the way you used the drop beads on that last fish. I'm 'hooked' on these too!!

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  3. Is ther anything that you CANNOT do?? Seriously?! These are so darn cute! While all of these fish are beautiful, I have to say that Nemo is my favorite!

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  4. Tanya you did a whole school!!!!! Each have their own personalities! I do love Nemo! I tried stripes as well, but mine are not as pronounced as your's. LOVE your little guys - you really did Karen's tutorial justice here!

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  5. Wow Tanya! I can't decide which I love most. It's such fun seeing what other people do with beads from my stash. Isn't it interesting how a differently colored core bead can add to the illusion of fish scales?

    But even more I love that you took my pattern as a jumping off point and made it your own. Your clownfish is such fun! What a great idea. And I love the colors in your last fish - that and the fringe beads and the more rounded tail and fins. It reminds me of a fighting fish.


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  6. That first fish reminds me of a lion fish, soooooo pretty. All of your fish babies came out just gorgeous. The drop beads as a dorsal fin are GREAT.

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  7. Oh gosh, I so fell in love with your burgundy bead one! And then I saw Nemo! Way to go, I love that look! I think I need to try a striped one next....and the drops on the last one are awesome! Now I'm thinking I need to try some of my magatamas like that...

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  8. Great fish! That iridescent one with the burgundy core bead looks like one of those deep sea bioluminescent fish. It's fun to see all of your color combos. The Nemo fish is super cute too.

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  9. The clown fish is my fave! What a great idea!

    I'm glad you mentioned that the bead CAN show through a bit, since mine does!

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  10. I love that you came up with your own variations! My favorite is the fish with the burgundy core. Fantastic!

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  11. First of all, I love your clown fish. I knew right away that it was Nemo.

    Your fish are great. I don't know which is my favorite, the second fish which almost glows or the third fish with such cool colors.

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  12. Fantastic Fish!!! The clown is adorable! Still on a "borrowed" computer but I had to see the fish :-)

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  13. Hi Tanya,
    I am back from my Florida trip and just now getting around to the blog hop. Wow you have a whole school of fish and so creative in your designs you knocked it out of the park on this one. Oh wait you always knock it out of park, that is why I always enjoy seeing what you create my talented friend. I bet the kiddo is so happy that her Mom could create a little Nemo just for her, it is adorable.
    Therese

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