Hello everyone, since I am fairly new to the Art Bead Scene Blog I thought I would give you a little peek at the process I use to make my wood burned beads. A little known fact about my studio is that it is actually in my bedroom. It is one of the many joys of living in a two bedroom townhouse. Luckily, my husband built me an awesome desk to work at, and I have beautiful natural light coming in through my window.
When I am going to design a bead, I almost always start in my sketchbook. I have been doodling and sketching since gradeschool and I find that it helps me work out designs without messing up wood pieces on experiments. The best time for me to sketch is during church. It is nice and quiet and I can relax and doodle without worrying about all the things at home that I need to be doing. If church isn’t your cup of tea, car rides or nice comfy armchairs work just as well.
I don’t have any templates, so I sketch each wood bead by hand. Here is a before and after picture of one of my bee beads.
I use a regular old wood burned to create my designs. As you can see by the scorched block I work on, it took quite a bit of practice to get the steady hand I needed to keep my lines straight and even.
Wood burners can be tricky things, so I suggest if you try it, to always have a scrap piece of wood handy.
Some of my bird beads, half painted.
All these beads have been burned and are now ready for a quick sanding, and then paint! 
Fun fact: I have been using the same paint cups for the past 7 years!!! I love seeing all the color drips on it. 
Here is the finished product, all painted and sealed with a couple coats of polyurethane.
Most days, my time is consumed with making beads for orders and I rarely get to play with them myself. I am trying to make designing more of a priority. I have to say, the more I design with my beads, the more ideas I get for new ones. Here are some of the pieces I was able to make this month.
Thanks for reading! Hope you all have a great time designing!
-Ashley Bonney
LauraSouderStudio
May 23, 2017 at 4:02 amRefreshing fun pieces! Thanks for sharing.
Lynn
May 23, 2017 at 2:08 pmLoved hearing about how you create your beautiful wood beads! Your jewelry creations with them are absolutely lovely—hope you can find the time to create more. Lynn 🙂
Divya N
May 23, 2017 at 3:27 pmLove the doodles on the beads – they all look so quirky and fun
Kristina
May 23, 2017 at 3:39 pmYour pieces are GORGEOUS! I haven't bought any yet, but I'm waiting for the right project… or I might just get a bunch and build around them.
Katherine Thompson
May 23, 2017 at 3:48 pmWonderful! I love wood burning myself. These are fantastic.
fighting_for_freedom
May 23, 2017 at 5:57 pmBeautiful work! I cannot imagine having such creativity and such a steady handy. You have a great eye for design and color.
gloria allen
May 23, 2017 at 6:14 pmLovely beads and designs. Thank you so much for sharing your process
Sarajo Wentling
May 24, 2017 at 7:03 pmThanks for sharing a bit about your process. Your beads are just lovely!!
beadlove
May 28, 2017 at 8:34 pmYour beads, as well as your jewelry, are beautiful!
beadlove
May 28, 2017 at 8:34 pmYour beads, as well as your jewelry, are beautiful!
TesoriTrovati
May 30, 2017 at 2:06 pmI absolutely adore seeing an artist's process! This is so cool. Love the way you styled the shots. It makes me appreciate the few that I have so much more when I know the love and care that went into them! Enjoy the day! Erin