Garden Jewel Necklace in Beadwork Magazine

My third Designer of the Year project for Beadwork Magazine is now available in the June/July 2015 issue.

The Garden Jewel Necklace features a great big Swarovski crystal bezeled with a collection of Miyuki Tila beads, drop beads, and round Japanese seed beads. A beaded spiral rope matches the focal pendant, and several beaded beads reminiscent of the Dewdrop beaded bead design string onto the rope for added texture.

The beaded beads will just fit over the spiral rope, yet they will stay in place once strung, so they can be positioned at different points on the rope for several different looks. In this purple and green version they sit close to the pendant:

And in this silvery purple version they are distributed more evenly throughout the rope:

A limited number of kits for this project are available on my website at beadorigami.com. The pattern for this design is available in the June/July 2015 issue of Beadwork Magazine. Please note that I'll soon be traveling to the 2015 Bead & Button Show, and the last day to order kits for shipment before the show is June 1. Any kits ordered after June 1 will ship on June 9.

Thanks for looking!

Chrysanthemum Blossoms Necklace in Beadwork Magazine

My second Designer of the Year project for Beadwork Magazine is in the April/May 2015 issue!

The Chrysanthemum Blossoms Necklace features Swarovski rivoli crystals, Miyuki half Tila beads, two different colors of CzechMates two-hole triangles, and a collection of Japanese seed beads all stitched into five beaded blossom-like components. The components are joined together and finished with a matching custom beaded rope for a blooming necklace.

This project even makes an appearance on the magazine cover too:

Another colorway for this project features bronze and gold beads for a very regal look.

A limited number of kits for this project are available on my website at beadorigami.com. The pattern for this design is available in the April/May 2015 issue of Beadwork Magazine.

Thanks for looking!

Special Announcement: Beadwork Magazine 2015 Designer of the Year

I'm pleased to announce that I have been selected as one of Beadwork Magazine's Designers of the Year for 2015! As part of this special designation, Beadwork Magazine will publish a new beading pattern from me in each of their 2015 magazine issues. I've already completed several projects for this series and I'm looking forward to seeing them in print in the coming year.

Additionally, my first project in this series, the "Flowerpots Bracelet" is on the cover of the Feb/March 2015 issue! Check out the Interweave Store for more information on how to purchase print or digital copies of this magazine, or for how to purchase kits for this project.

Snowflakes Bracelets in Beadwork Magazine

Are you getting ready for the holidays? I'm getting ready by creating some Snowflakes Bracelets, fresh out of my newest pattern in Beadwork Magazine:

These bracelets feature the new 2-hole Czech twin beads, and they also work well with SuperDuo beads too. They're related to my Squareflake Earrings pattern, but instead of using the 4-fold symmetry seen in the earrings, they use the 6-fold symmetry seen in real snowflakes. These bracelets also use drop-shaped seed beads (either 3 mm magatamas or 2.8 mm drop beads) instead of rivoli crystals, as the sharp rivoli crystals can get caught on sleeves quite easily when used in a bracelet.

Several other design possibilities are achievable from this bracelet design. The individual snowflakes make a great pair of easy earrings, and I think they'd look great in a choker-style necklace too. 

The Snowflakes Bracelet pattern can be found in the December/January 2012/2013 issue of Beadwork Magazine.

What kinds of beadwork designs are you working on this holiday season?

Beadwork's Beaded Bead Contest

Today's the day to enter Beadwork Magazine's 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead Contest! While I can't enter, I wove at least one of each of these beautiful beaded beads, and I blogged about all of them here, here, here, here, and here. Here are just a couple of them:

Entries will be accepted at this link between now and 4 PM MDT on Friday, October 26. Online voting will take place between October 26 and November 5. Best of luck to everyone!

New Tila Garden Pendant for BABE! Show

The online registration deadline for the BABE! Show ends a week from tomorrow! Have you registered for your classes yet?

I worked up an additional colorway for the Tila Garden Pendant as a kit option especially for this show. I like how it gives this pendant the aura of a classic garden with a white picket fence:

I tried this colorway a few times before and I wasn't as happy with the results. My first version used a clear core bead which detracts from the drop beads:

My next version used nearly-lime peanut beads, but color-lined clear drop seed beads. The drop seed beads in this version don't have enough color to compete with the peanut beads.

My latest version ditches the clear color-lined drop beads, and uses a more subtle shade of peanut bead. It would probably work well with the lime peanuts too.

You can find more information about the BABE! Show here, including information about class registration and a list of over 150 vendors who will be exhibiting at the show. You can still register for classes on-site, but many classes are close to selling out, so register online before October 27 to reserve your spot in your favorite class.

Next week is also the week to enter Beadwork Magazine's 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead Contest! I can't enter, but since I love beaded beads so much, I wove a matching set of each of the five beaded beads in this series. I blogged about all of them here, here, here, here, and here.

Beadwork's 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead Contest: Dewdrop Beaded Bead

The final beaded bead in Beadwork Magazine's 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead Series is now published; the Dewdrop Beaded Bead, by yours truly.

This design features Miyuki's two-hole tila beads as well as two sizes of drop beads, which can also be substituted for round seed beads for a more sleek look to this design. Melinda writes about this and other variations on these beaded beads in her Editor's Note in the same issue of Beadwork Magazine, and Pixiloo already wove a gorgeous red version using this substitution. You can see images of it on her blog.

I wove one of these Dewdrop beaded beads in the silvery metallic color palette that I've used for the other four beaded beads in this series. I went with some matte metallic grey tila beads for this particular beaded bead, however Miyuki recently released a bluer shade of this tila bead which I think would look even better in this color palette.

Here's my complete set of all five beaded beads in this series (I tried weaving Gwen's Cube Cluster with triangle seed beads instead of 3 mm fire polish beads, but I'll switch back to the fire polish beads the next time I weave this one; the triangle seed beads don't fit quite as well).

I'm busy working on several kits for this design, which will be available on my website very soon. The kits will feature an expanded pattern, as well as a special surprise :).

More information about the 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead Contest is available on the Beading Daily website. Check out my versions of the previous beaded beads in this series here, here, here, and here.

Beadwork's 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead Contest: Sneak Peek!

For those of you who have been following Beadwork Magazine's 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead Series, I received permission from the magazine's editors to put together a special sneak preview of the fifth design in the series! Now presenting... The Dewdrop Beaded Bead:

This design came about after I created a related bracelet with tila beads and drop seed beads. I thought the bracelet pattern might look nice as a beaded bead, so I wrapped a small portion of it around a round core bead and joined the ends together. Then I wove in some netted caps to each side, and this barrel-shaped tila-and-teardrop design was born.

The Dewdrop beaded bead uses the three standard sizes of Japanese seed beads, Miyuki's two-hole tila beads, and fringe drop beads in both the 3.4 mm and 2.8 mm sizes. I've woven it in several color palettes, and several other variations are possible which I discuss in the pattern.

The Dewdrop Beaded Bead pattern will be published in the October/November issue of Beadwork Magazine. More information about the 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead Contest is available on the Beading Daily website. Check out my versions of the previous beaded beads in this series here, here, here, and here.

Beadwork's 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead Contest: Treasure Trove Beaded Bead

Over the weekend I eagerly wove the next beaded bead in Beadwork's 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead series, Cynthia Newcomer Daniel's Treasure Trove beaded bead:

This design is quite different from the previous beaded beads in this series, in both symmetry and construction, yet I love how it fits so squarely in Cynthia's unique design style. If you've ever tried her Lagoon or Geode beaded beads, you'll notice a similar symmetry and a familiar construction strategy. I think this beaded bead would pair very well with her Itsy Bitsy earrings.

This design uses a lot of thread and several repeat passes through the same threadpath in each step, and justifiably so in order to achieve the correct tension to hold the beaded bead together without unwanted wonkiness. While this approach can lend itself to tangled threads, it has the advantage of requiring next to no reinforcement to make it solid and sturdy after the final seed bead is added to the design, which is quite satisfying if you get impatient like I do.

I also tried weaving this beaded bead with round crystal pearls for the large inner beads instead of fire polished beads, which led to a slightly shorter but wider variation.

I also used a few different colors of the smaller fire polished beads, but I think I like the original color patterns better.

The Treasure Trove Beaded Bead pattern can be found in the August/September issue of Beadwork Magazine. More information about the 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead Contest is available on the Beading Daily website. Check out my versions of the previous beaded beads in this series here, here, and here.

The last addition to this beaded bead series will be published in the October/November issue, and it was designed by none other than yours truly :). I can't wait to see it in print!

Beadwork's 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead Contest: Stargazer Beaded Bead

I finished my take on the next beaded bead in Beadwork's 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead series, Florence Turnour's Stargazer beaded bead:

This beaded bead showcases the cube version of Florence's stargazer technique, which uses what I'd describe as a modified lace overlay securely woven over just the faces of the beaded bead, showing off the round beads at the edges. This effect is especially nice with the round crystals called for in the original pattern. For my version, I used Swarovski crystal pearls for a more muted effect.

This technique can also be applied to other polyhedra as well. Florence also made the octahedral and (stunning!) dodecahedral versions and shared them on her blog.

The Stargazer Beaded Bead pattern can be found in the June/July issue of Beadwork Magazine. More information about the 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead Contest is available on the Beading Daily website. Check out my versions of the previous beaded beads in this series here and here.

Beadwork's 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead Contest: Cube Cluster

I completed my version of the second beaded bead in Beadwork's 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead series, Gwen Fisher's Cube Cluster (check out my previous post in this series here).

This is a sister design to Gwen and Florence's popular Octahedral Cluster beaded bead; it uses the same lace overlay technique over a hollow cluster of beads, only with the geometry of a cube instead of an octahedron. The result is a slightly larger beaded bead (about 1 inch in diameter) which is a great size for focal bead, with a hole large enough to accommodate a cord or a chain.

After weaving together many Octahedral Clusters in the past, the Cube Cluster was quite fun to construct. My color palette was dictated by the 8 mm round beads and 3 mm fire polish beads that I had on hand, but I combined these brown and metallic beads with green patina seed beads for a near-neutral color scheme. I'm amazed the sturdiness of this hollow beaded bead; an inch in diameter and no squish!

This design can be challenging to construct if you're unfamiliar with the lace overlay technique. If you've constructed an Octahedral Cluster before, I think you'll be able to weave together a Cube Cluster from the abridged version of its pattern in the current issue of Beadwork magazine. The full pattern is available from beAd Infinitum in a 2-for-1 deal with the Octahedral Cluster pattern. Both beaded beads complement each other quite well (as you can see in this photo Florence posted in her Facebook album).

The Cube Cluster beaded bead pattern can be found at beAd Infinitum, and an abridged version can be found in the April/May issue of Beadwork Magazine. More information about the 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead Contest is available on the Beading Daily website.

Beadwork's 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead Contest: Seeing Stars

Beadwork Magazine is celebrating their 15th Anniversary with a contest on my favorite beading subject, none other than beaded beads! The magazine will publish a total of five beaded bead projects in each of their 2012 issues. To enter the contest, create a piece of jewelry that incorporates all five beaded bead designs, and submit a picture of your piece to Beading Daily by October 26, 2012. More details about the official entry rules are available on the Beading Daily website.

I'm honored to be contributing a design to this series, which will be published in the October/November issue later this year. While I can't enter the contest myself, I'll still be playing along by making at least one beaded bead from each design in the series. The first beaded bead, "Seeing Stars" by Beadwork editor Melinda Barta, was published in the February/March issue.

This design uses 15° or 11° seed beads to create eight little stars over a round or roundelle core bead. I decided to weave this one with silver- and gold-plated seed beads over a round red bead.

I made another one of these beads in a different color pattern, using metallic green and silver-plated beads. The stars in this color pattern are less distinguished, but the coloring is more uniform over the entire beaded bead:

I must admit that I'm very intrigued by the symmetry of this design; many star- or pentagon-faced beaded bead designs use the symmetry of the 12-sided dodecahedron, however this more economical design uses only eight stars instead of 12.

That being said, I'm sure a dodecahedral version of this beaded bead is possible. Will you be the one to create this variation?

The Seeing Stars beaded bead pattern can be found in the February/March issue of Beadwork Magazine. More information about the 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead Contest is available on the Beading Daily website. I hope that you'll decide to enter!