Monkey Business

First off I would like to say that I give Dot Lewallen (Speedie Beadie) a lot of credit for all the beanie babies she has beaded!  It is a tremendous amount of work, but fun at the same time.  This is one that I beaded for a very good friend for his birthday.  It is one of the mini beanie babies (from McDonald's happy meal toys) which is good because I have done a full sized one before, and that was pain in the booty!

I did the whole body in shades of brown, with some jasper beads, some Czech 3mm and 4mm fire polish and some bone here and there for interest, like the medallion on his tummy and the swirl around his tail.  I used cream colored beads for his tail, ears, face and paws.  I really like how he turned out!

I am so happy that he was well received, and will be a nice addition to a collection.  The man I made it for is wonderful, and he and his wife have really made my life more fantastic.  I REALLY enjoy spending time with them, and learning all that I can from them.

Here's a good tummy shot, where you can clearly see the bone medallion.  

And of course a good back shot, where you can see his curly tail.  And let me tell you that tail was no fun to bead.  It was hard to keep the natural curl that he had pre-beads, but I managed, and then tacked it down for good measure.

This is a booty shot (glad this monkey doesn't blush easily!).  You can kind of see the bone swirl that surrounds the base of his tail, and of course you can see the tail is staying curly.  Just the way I like it!  I am really happy that I have the ability to bead, so that I can share it with my friends and family, and of course, the world.  Hopefully my arthritis wont take that away from me!