Review: Nicole's BeadBacking from The Beadwright

Black Tie Affair

Available in my Etsy Store.

I started falling in love with bead embroidery by following suggestions made in printed publications from the best bead embroidery artists.  It was a great place to start... but if we aren't learning something new on a daily basis then we aren't growing.

Recently I faced a quality challenge.  I had been using Lacy's Stiff Stuff (LSS) which is available through all the bead suppliers because it was recommended in the book.  What I found was that in larger, more detailed pieces, the more you pass over, around and through it, the more "fuzzy" for frayed it became.  (And to this curly girl... fuzzy is to close to frizzy and it makes me cringe)

So after putting countless hours into my masterpiece, I still had to go over it with a tweezers getting all of the fuzzies and straggler fibers off to make sure it looked perfect.

Ugh.... and then about the time you take Eleventy-billion photos, you realize there was one itty bitty thread that my eye didn't catch, but the magnified, detailed photos highlighted like a zit on your wedding day... it became a glaring object in my photo.

My search began for a better alternative... And by better, I mean MUCH better!  I've been a follower of Nicole Campanella's blog (The Beadwright) for quite some time now.  For a while I just read and drooled over her designs and saying "Someday I want to be able to do that."  Then I had this little mishap with LSS and had the perfect opportunity to try Nicole's signature product, her beadbacking.

Can I tell you... I LOVE it?!?!  It doesn't fray at all.  It's nice and stiff, and your needle slides through it like buttah... seriously.  It comes in a whole host of colors making messy dying a thing of the past (thank goodness).  And can you tell, I just love it? 

So if you are a bead embroiderer or you're thinking about trying bead embroidery, don't waste time on LSS.  Just use Nicole's BeadBacking.  It really is that much better and looks so much more professional!  Nicole's BeadBacking is sold in her Etsy store, which is where I bought it, and I think she has another online venue as well.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/beadwright

Thanks Nicole for organizing a custom package for me with the colors I use most often.  I sincerely appreciate it and can wait to share more with you.

{Hugs!}
~Dawn

P.S.  The photos above are of the first piece I finished with Nicole's BeadBacking.  What a difference black backing, with black thread makes in how a finished piece looks.  Black Tie Affair is the name of the piece and you can see it in person in my etsy store.