Dalene Kelly by Sigrid Wynne-Evans     © February 2006   Dalene Kelly has resurected the fine art of French Beaded Flowers. I think Dalene's talent is as good as it gets for this form of beadwork. She truly is outstanding! Her flowers will inspire you to make some for yourself.

Don't miss Dalene's website, where she offers more Flower patterns, and also her books. Even if you don't get around to making one, the flowers will have you drooling! She has even made the flowers using Austrian crystals for Swarovski. Knowing the shortcomings of photography with beadwork, I can only imagine the sparkle and breath taking beauty these flowers have.

A twist on the theme of making flowers, are the wire and embroidery floss flowers that are also available on Dalene's website. My imagination can come up with all sorts of ideas to add them to beadwork bases for necklaces, hatbands, and more.

Having tried making these beaded flowers myself, I know the process is fun, fairly easy to learn, and that the result is a stunning project that you can make for gifts, or just keep for yourself!

Dalene tells her story better than I can, so I will let Dalene tell her own story.

Sampling of Dalene's Designs:
            

My name is Dalene Isobel Kelly. I grew up in Perry, Ohio, a small nursery-oriented town in the northeastern corner of the state. I graduated high school in Perry, attended Cuyahoga Community College and became a Certified Laboratory Technician. After working in the hospital system for several years, I retired and devoted my time to my family and my husband's retail business. Twenty years later I returned to college where I acquired an Associate of Science Degree in Math and Chemistry, with certificates in Civil and Construction Engineering.

I am now "semi-retired", living in Yuma Arizona, with my husband, Van, a poo-chihuahua, a conure and several turtles. Although, my husband and I raised four handsome and talented sons, our nest is now empty. Aside from beading and ganutell, my hobbies include gardening, bird watching, reading and traveling.

In the late 60's, my mother-in-law, Sally Kelly, introduced me to the art of creating flowers using the French technique. To her dismay, I could never simply stick to any given pattern. By the mid 1980's I had become an avid flower beader. Then, in 1997, I decided to make designing "French" beaded patterns my career. With no local interest, not even a bead store, I took my art to the Internet. I began by selling flowers on Ebay, then flower patterns on Ebay. Now I rely on my own website http://www.beadedflowerpatterns.com as well as bead-patterns.com and sova-enterprises.com to handle the sales of individual patterns.

My primary workspace is table with a homemade rack to hold my wire. I do not use any programs to design my flowers, it is purely a hands-on procedure. After a flower is completed, however, I take it to my computer and type out the pattern just developed.

Dalene's Workspace:
   

Recently, I have become involved with the Yuma Potpourri Artists. The group rents show space to local and visiting artists, artisans and crafters. The money raised is then donated to the local library and earmarked for art and craft related materials.

Krause Publications, of Iola Wisconsin, published my first book, French-Beaded Flowers, New Millennium Collection" 2001, and Bead & Button Magazine featured one of my first patterns, the Phalaenopsis Orchid, on the cover of the Oct. 2001 issue. In the fall of 2001, I was proud to act as co-designer and the project coordinator for the Swarovski CrystalŽ beaded flower collection. I was also involved in the instigation and contribution to, the 911 memorial wreath project. The wreaths are currently on display in the Pentagon, the Wheaton Museum and the Liberty Museum.

I am proud to announce that while my first book is now in its' second printing, my newest book, More French Beaded Flowers, 2004, has a version released in Europe and is also proving to be a success.