The Beaded TARDIS (or "How Crazy Am I?")

[loveslashangst]

How crazy am I?

Click below and find out. (Work safe -- this is not directly related to my fics, nor is it explicit or disturbing. Just trying not to spam people's friend pages.)

All photos by my lovely and talented housemate, butmadnnw.

	The Beaded TARDIS What you see before you is the result of 7 months of labor. I started with a roll of 24-gauge black wire, a roll of 28-gauge black wire, several grams of seed beads, several spools of Fireline bead thread, and several size 12 needles.
	Artsy Angle Beaded TARDIS I loomed the sides, top, and bottom as six separate panels, using a beading loom and the pulled-warp technique, modified to work with wire. (Note to self: 28-gauge is MUCH more friendly to pulled warp than 24-gauge.) Then I hand-beaded another layer of embellishment onto each side panel.
	The Seal of Rassilon (or the Doily of Rassilon Redux) The bottom of the Beaded TARDIS is directly from http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m19/meredee/tardis/rassilon_pattern.jpg This pattern, by meredee , was intended as a doily and not a beaded project, but I adapted it more-or-less verbatim as a 40 by 40 square. I embellished 1 more layer on the bottom to stiffen it, another partial layer on the up-side of the bottom (again, for stiffening). Once the sides were attached, I used bugle beads and yet ANOTHER layer of beading on the corners to secure the sides, step them out so they look right (like layered wood framing), and to finish the edges.
	Top of the Beaded TARDIS The top of the Beaded TARDIS is 5 square layers of beads, and the most difficult part of that was turning two of the edges 90-degrees from the direction they were loomed in. I finished with bugles and an 8 mm Swarovski cube, encased in black bugles.

Why?

Because I could.

Because I've never seen anyone make one.

Because I work in a bead store.

Because I get to see David Tennant live on stage Nov. 12 in HAMLET in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England.

I made this with the hope that I'll get to give it to him.

The majority of the beads are Delica #377, which is a GORGEOUS colour of matte royal blue. It looks like the weathered wood I wanted. The beads are #11s, which means there are approximately 11 to an inch (roughly 4 to a cm). That means this entire TARDIS can fit on the palm of my hand. It's about 4-5 inches tall and about 3 inches square.

So tell me: How crazy am I?

(ONE LAST EDIT before I stop messing with this: Each "POLICE" sign was loomed separately on 28 gauge wire using size 15 beads. I tried with 11s, but the proportions came out wrong. After I loomed each one, I sewed it as an applique so it would have the offset look. And yes -- as nuts as it sounds, I'm bringing this 5600 miles on the off chance I'll get to give it to DT in person. I'll let y'all know how that works out. ;)