Gingerbread Mini Bead Suit

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Okay! This dress has caused me much unneeded stress, but it's alllllll worth it in the end. From the first scribble of color over the previous dress I knew this was going to be a beauty. This is also the second time I've done this pattern so I was a little afraid of those sleeves. I was like, "hmm.. well... I could do it for Eumelia, I could do it again for this, right?" I wish it was a real outfit so I could prance around in fluffy frosting trim. (If you haven't caught on by now or are just joining me, this is not my own pattern - it is from a Japanese design that I've altered the colors for.)

This is also my entry for the CRArtisanCrafts monthly challenge, found here: December Artisan Crafts Monthly Challenge It's still 10:30 PM on the 31st as I write this so I hope it counts

Alright: problems. Brown seed beads are limited in color selection and that's annoying. I wanted the dress to sparkle so I used size 15 hex-cut metallic brown beads to act like sugar on cookies. I mean, my cookies sparkle, don't your's? Second problem was the creamy beads. I didn't want them to be outright white like frosting, I really wanted them to stand out like something home made trimming. I went through quite a few shades before I settled. Another problem was finding time to photograph this, which is why it's so late, and also why I had the luck of it snowing for the twelfth time in my life today so that all the photos could be perfect!
Oh, right. It was also difficult to photograph because my desk lamp I use for the light box started smoking two nights ago and I couldn't do photos inside so I was waiting for sunlight and then I was ill and slept for eleven hours straight through all the daylight... Then my editing program decided to corrupt my favorite shot from my snow day...

Colors were picked from a Design Seeds reference photo so if I find the link I'll update it here, otherwise it was posted on my facebook progress album 2. www.facebook.com/MakeItPinkEts…

Size 11 and 15 seed beads in matte-silver-lined brown, metallic-rainbow gold-brown, silver-lined red, and semi-transparent cream. Crystaletts from my friend Sharon for the buttons, real gold and red crystal www.etsy.com/shop/YadasiBeads . Threaded together with brown Japanese One G nylon using herringbone technique. She's beaded directly onto her form and can't be removed without permanent destruction.

Color Total: 4
Bead Sizes: 2
Bonus: Crystaletts for buttons!
Size: 4 inches tall, 1 1/4 inch waist, 1 1/4 inch bust, 1 3/4 inch hem, 1 1/2 inch sleeves
Time: 11 hours (six hours faster than previously!)