Annual Holiday Wreath, 2020 Edition

Every year I decorate a large wreath with a collection of beaded beads and pendants. I like to start by putting them in a big pile.

Sometimes I like to organize them by design or style. This year I loosely organized them by color.

Seeing all of these pieces together is a nice reminder of what I've done over the past few years. A couple of seed beads in a small piece doesn't always feel like a big accomplishment, but when you do that over and over again over a long period of time, the results really add up!

If you'd like to decorate your own wreath, make sure to exclude any piece that contains sterling-silver plated seed beads, as the silver will tarnish more quickly if it sits on a fresh wreath. Or do as I do, and decorate your wreath, take a picture, and then remove those pieces immediately afterward.

I hope that you and your loved ones have a peaceful and safe holiday season. 

Thanks for looking!

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Astral Spore Pendant

My newest beading pattern is now available.

The Astral Spore Pendant features the new Quarter Tila Bead in this very tactile, geometric pendant. It uses four colors of Quarter Tilas and a whole bunch of bugle beads and round seed beads, and it's hollow and self-supporting so you can see right through it. This beading pattern is an advanced design, and it teaches you how to weave the finished pendant.

Like the Succulent Topiary Pendant, this design uses the geometry of an icosiedodecahedron, which is like a dodecahedron but with 20 extra triangles. In this design I've embellished each of the 12 pentagons so that they stick out from the base. I've also attached a tassel-like set of matching fringe containing Czech etched dagger beads in colors that just make me swoon. The whole design reminds me of something from astronomy, like a comet, but I already have a design that has "comet" in its name (I'm going to run out of names someday!). But it also reminds me of a grain of pollen, so it's the Astral Spore Pendant.

This is actually my third attempt at stitching a geometric design with Quarter Tilas; the first two attempts were a little smaller, and the smallest one was harder to stitch than this design. The pattern contains a few photos of the smaller attempts.

The beading pattern is 24 pages long and contains 70 photos and illustrations. Kits are available in the three colorways pictured, and contain all the beads needed to stitch the finished pendant.

Thanks for looking!

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Succulent Topiary Pendant

I wrote a new beading pattern.

The Succulent Topiary Pendant features a whole bunch of shaped beads all woven together in a geometric floral pendant. This advanced beading pattern teaches you how to stitch the finished pendant.

When I set out to stitch this design, I wanted to play with some Tulip Petal beads that had been sitting in my stash for a couple of years. I didn't intend to use so many shapes to stitch these little beaded flowers and bits of greenery, but as I worked I found that a collection of Rizos, Gekkos, drops, and Spiky Buttons complemented the floral Tulip Petals. Oddly enough, by the time I finished the flowers didn't look much like tulips, but they do remind me of cactus flowers.

It's a relative of the Tila Garden Pendant. Both designs use shaped beads and Tilas on their edges, and both have dodecahedral symmetry, but the Tila Garden uses the geometry of a standard dodecahedron while the Succulent Topiary uses that of an icosidodecahedron. You can think of it as a dodecahedron with 20 added triangles. The Succulent Topiary Pendant is also quite a bit bigger.

The beading pattern clocks in at over 20 pages and 60 photos and illustrations. Kits are available in two colorways and contain all the beads needed to stitch the finished pendant.

Thanks for looking!

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Prism Blossoms Pendant for the Spring

The other day I wove a new Prism Blossoms Pendant to celebrate the first day of spring. I used some new colorful metallic Dragon Scale beads that I picked up from Beki at Out on a Whim when they were exhibiting in San Diego.

A photo posted by Cindy (@beadorigami) on Mar 18, 2016 at 12:56pm PDT

(By the way, I'm on Instagram, where I like to post candid shots of what's on my bead board, and also cats).

I wanted to pair these beads with the new opaque Duracoat seed beads from Miyuki. I had been anticipating the release of these new beads ever since they showed off samples at the 2015 Bead & Button Show. Fortunately they shipped just in time for spring and they should be arriving at your favorite bead retailer soon.

A photo posted by Cindy (@beadorigami) on Jun 7, 2015 at 12:16pm PDT

I'm quite happy with how the pendant turned out!

Kits for this colorway are available at www.beadorigami.com, and contain all the materials needed to weave the finished pendant.

Thanks for looking!

New Pattern and Kits: Opulent Deltahedra Set

I wrote up a beading pattern for the Opulent Deltahedra Set!

Beaded Beads with Triangle Weave

You may have recognized this project from a 2015 issue of Beadwork Magazine; the Opulent Octahedron Necklace was one of my six Designer of the Year projects for 2015. These beaded beads use the geometry of the octahedron and a variation of triangle weave to make these sparkly, self-supporting beaded beads.

Five beaded beads pair with shiny crystal pearls and additional crystals for an elegant necklace:

Matching Pendant and Earrings

While I'm quite partial to the geometry of the octahedron (especially for beaded beads!), the great thing about triangle weave is that you can use it to create an infinite number of geometric objects made up of equilateral triangles. One of these objects is the icosahedron, which is made up of 20 triangles instead of eight. The Opulent Icosahedron makes a substantial beaded bead that's the perfect size for a pendant.

Additionally, a single triangle unit pairs with pear-shaped crystals for an easy, elegant pair of matching earrings.

Several Variations

The 3D shapes that can be made up only of equilateral triangles are called the deltahedra. While there are an infinite number of deltahedra (some of which feature quite cool star-shaped points), there are only eight that are strictly convex. I beaded all eight of them using the same technique that I used to make the Opulent Octahedron and Icosahedron. They make a collection of interesting structures that offer intriguing possibilities for further jewelry designs.

The beading pattern for this design includes complete written instructions on how to weave the Opulent Octahedron, the Opulent Icosahedron, and the matching Opulent Earrings. Additionally, I included several pages of variations showing photos and descriptions of all eight convex Opulent Deltahedra. The pattern is in the PDF format and clocks in at 26 pages and 89 full-color illustrations and photographs. I classify this pattern as intermediate and it's most appropriate for beaders who have already tried triangle weave and who would like to learn several possible ways to create 3D beaded beads with this stitch.

Kits for this design are available in three different colorways and in two different configurations; the Opulent Octahedron necklace kit makes one necklace with five Opulent Octahedron beaded beads, and the Opulent Icosahedron and Earrings kit makes one Opulent Icosahedron beaded bead that can easily make a pendant, and one pair of matching earrings. Each kit contains all the beads and findings needed to complete the project.

Thanks for looking!

New Pattern and Kits: Star Fragment Pendants

I finished my latest beading pattern, the Star Fragment Pendants.

Coiled Cubic Right-Angle Weave

Over the past several months I've been quietly working on this new variation on CRAW. It's an idea that originated from several places; most importantly it builds on Gwen Fisher's Twisted CRAW technique, though I recently dived through my old photos and prototypes and found related bits of beadwork dating back to 2008 (!). I started exploring this concept in earnest after taking a four-day class with David Chatt, where he encouraged me to explore versions of RAW and CRAW that twist and spiral.

That was last January, and since then I've beaded a whole box of beadwork ranging from promising experimental samples to quite ugly (but educational) failures to satisfying pieces of finished jewelry. It's been quite an artist's journey for me, full of both joy and disappointment, confusion and gradual understanding, and a whole lot of hard work. I'm looking forward to telling this story further as I present more of this beadwork, but for now I'll focus on the first design out of that box.

CRAW That Twists and Coils

The Star Fragment Pendants feature this CRAW variation that not only twists in the style of Gwen Fisher's technique, but also coils like an old-fashioned telephone cord. While others have explored these ideas with embellishment and bead size strategies, the twist of this version is generated by the specific thread path of the stitch. Like CRAW, coiled CRAW can be embellished and made into components, and the same ideas also apply to prismatic right-angle weave.

The beading pattern for this design describes how to make two different sizes of Star Fragment Pendants from embellished coiled CRAW components. In the pattern I explain the similarities and differences between CRAW, twisted CRAW, and coiled CRAW, and I introduce terminology to describe the unique features of the stitch. The pattern is in the PDF format and clocks in at 22 pages and 85 full-color illustrations and photographs. I classify this pattern as advanced and it's most appropriate for experienced beaders who have mastered CRAW and are ready for the challenge of learning this new variation. Though to be honest, I find the action of stitching twisted and coiled CRAW easier than traditional CRAW, but it's difficult to wrap one's brain around the subtle intricacies of coiled CRAW structures if you haven't already mastered CRAW.

Small and Large Star-Shaped Pendants

This design uses a collection of traditional beads; Japanese seed beads, round beads, fire polish beads, and bicone crystals. The petite pendant features one component, while the large one features two components in two different sizes. The components stack and join in an offset way that's a little tricky to assemble, but I like how this substantial component has such dimension and texture, and I'm quite happy that it also has negative space in the center (a concept that I frequently struggle with).

Kits for this design are available in three different colorways and include all the beads needed to make both pendants, though at the time of this writing the bronze colorway is currently sold out (I'm in the process of re-stocking this colorway, so check back soon for updated availability). Both pendants look lovely strung either separately or together on a silk ribbon.

Thanks for looking!

New Pattern and Kits: QuadraTile Sweet Bun Set

Since I just can't resist playing with new bead shapes, I applied and was accepted to Starman's TrendSetters program last year. My first pattern resulting from these new beads, the QuadraTile Sweet Bun Set, is now available at beadorigami.com.

QuadraTile Beads: A bead with Four Holes

This pattern features the new QuadraTile beads, which are square-shaped beads with four holes that look sort of like square buttons. Like the other CzechMates beads such as the two-hole triangles, the holes of these beads are spaced uniformly for consistency across the CzechMates line.

Working with these beads presented all kinds of new challenges, such as how to position the holes of the beads so that they point in the correct direction, and how to engineer the beadwork to make use of all four holes. But it's been a fun challenge and I came up with several ideas that I'm looking forward to talking about more over the next few months.

A Delicious Bracelet

This beadwork design combines the QuadraTile beads with two-hole triangles and Japanese seed beads to create round circular components. The components are quite sturdy, and I liked the feel of the rounded edges of the CzechMates beads so much that I joined several components together to make bracelets.

The connections between the components are rather rigid, and the bracelet is finished with a magnet clasp. While I was photographing these bracelets, I found that the magnets kept sticking to the metal surface that sits on the bottom of my photography box. This led to some interesting bracelet gymnastics shots such as this one:

A Matching Pendant

The beading pattern for this design describes how to make both the bracelet and a matching pendant using variations on the circular peyote and circular netting stitches. The pendant component uses 8-fold symmetry instead of 6-fold symmetry to make it slightly larger than the components used in the bracelet. However, this component can also be used in place of some or all of the smaller bracelet components to make the bracelet slightly longer.

This QuadraTile bead pattern is in the PDF format, and clocks in at 17 pages of step-by-step instructions with 46 full-color illustrations and photographs. This pattern is appropriate for experienced beaders who want to take up the challenge of beading with four-hole beads.

Three Kit Colorways

Kits for this design are available in the three colorways shown, and include all the beads and findings needed to make either the bracelet or the pendant (the pendant kit does not include a chain or other stringing materials). 

Thanks for looking! 

Color Play with Marsala: The Pantone 2015 Color of the Year

Marsala: Pantone's Color of the Year for 2015

I decided to try to make some beaded pendants using the color marsala, a brownish light red wine color that's also Pantone's Color of the Year for 2015. You can click over to Pantone's official site to see some of their examples of this color in action. I also colored a few of my beading illustrations using this hue:

(I should note that my illustrations tint marsala to the lighter side; the dark parts of these illustrations are closer to the official Pantone color).

First Color Experiment: Marsala Tints

I started with a monochromatic color palette made up of seed beads, Rizo beads, crystals, and freshwater pearls, that ironically enough had been sitting together on one of my bead trays since last August. Out of all the beads in my stash, a copper-lined seed bead that I found at Creative Castle most closely matched marsala, so I used this seed bead in each of the projects in these color experiments.

I decided to try to create the Tropical Dahlia Pendant with these beads, substituting drop-shaped freshwater pearls for the Czech drop beads called for in this pattern.

Unfortunately, these particular freshwater pearls are too thick at the base of the pearl, so they don't fit into this design when substituted one-to-one for the drop beads. I tried adjusting the seed bead count to compensate, but it still ended up too wonky.

So, for my next attempt, I found some reddish-brown iris Czech drop beads and also changed the color of the Rizo beads to a pink opal/sunset color, for a very monochromatic take on this design.

(Incidentally, while I was hunting for these drop beads, I learned that I have the same beads with the same color number from two different dye lots in my stash. In this case, the color difference is quite substantial!)

Second Color Experiment: Marsala with Purple

For my next experiment, I tried combining marsala with purple; I substituted shiny purple lentil beads for the outer ring of crystals, and I also used purple drop beads.

I like the look of this result, but in this particular pendant design I prefer a more even tint progression from the inner rivoli crystal to the outer edge of the pendant, so I tried again with a slightly different purple lentil bead for the outer edge, and one of those new patina rivoli crystals for the center.

I was drawn to this result color-wise, as I love purple and I like the tint progression in this beaded pendant. However the patina of the crystal competes with the complexity of the overall design, and this version has the least marsala out of all the experiments.

Still, I had to create a pair of matching Sakura earrings before continuing :)

Third Color Experiment: Marsala with Magic Wine

For my third experiment, I wanted to get back to the red wine flavor of marsala that Pantone shows off on their website, so I switched back to a mahogany rivoli crystal and added magic wine Rizo beads, cranberry drop beads, and a light magic green shade of lentil bead:

While it's on the darker side, I think this Tropical Dahlia pendant most closely matches the red wine richness that's most appealing about the marsala color.

Fourth Color Experiment: Marsala with Matte Sunset/Tan

For my final experiment, I switched to the Rivoli Kaleidoscope design, and used lighter, browner shades of lentils, crystals, and drop beads for this pendant.

The result is more monochromatic and, with the addition of the matte sunset drop beads, a little more on the Desert Sand side of the marsala spectrum. It's probably not the best representation of this color, but I think this palette could benefit from more light peach Duracoat/PF seed beads.

I also couldn't resist making another pair of matching Sakura earrings :)

Marsala Color Experiments: Results and Conclusions

My takeaway from these experiments? I think the marsala color has a lot of potential, particularly when paired with darker, richer wine-like reds. It also blends with purple, so it could be used as a secondary or tertiary color to warm up a purple-heavy color palette. At least in my hands, marsala is less effective in a monochromatic color palette, particularly with related colors of similar value.

I was also glad to learn a couple of design lessons from these experiments. Namely: freshwater pearls don't work very well in the Tropical Dahlia design, but lentil beads substitute for the outer crystals quite well.

What do you think of Pantone's choice of marsala for 2015? Love it? No? Drop me a line in the comments :)

Rose Blossom Pendant Workshop

I'll be teaching a new floral pendant beading workshop at two venues in the next few months.

A Rose Shaped Pendant

The Rose Blossom Pendant uses two different sizes of rose petal beads to encircle a Swarovski rivoli crystal, and this pendant is further embellished with a ring of O beads and completed with a beaded bail. The petal beads in this piece sit at an angle, making the rose look a bit like a turbine.

This project uses variations of the circular peyote and right angle weave (RAW) stitches, and uses some thread paths similar to that of modified right angle weave (MRAW). It's an intermediate project that's most appropriate for beaders who are experienced with these stitches, and who are willing to try a new twist on these concepts.

A Solo Beaded Pendant

I like to wear this pendant as a solo piece, however it can also be used as a focal in a larger necklace.

Many Color Options

This design lends itself to many different color options. I prefer varying shades of purple, but it also looks lovely in light blues and silver.

You could even wear a bunch of them at once for a whole garden of roses!

I'll be teaching this project at Creative Castle in Newbury Park, CA this Friday, October 3. I'll also be teaching this project at the BABE! Show in Oakland, CA on Saturday, November 15. Registration information for both classes can be found on their respective websites. I'd love to see you there!

New Pattern and Kits: Prism Blossoms Pendant with Dragon Scale Beads

My newest beading pattern, the Prism Blossoms Pendant, is now available at beadorigami.com

Flowers with Dragon Scale Beads

This pendant features Sabine's newest bead shape, the Dragon Scale bead. It's a small, 4 mm-long diamond-shaped bead with a hole on one end, and it does look very much like a dragon scale. I was immediately drawn to the pointed shape of this bead, and I incorporated them into little five-petal flowers. I'm envisioning several different kinds of jewelry that can be made with these petite little flowers, but for this piece, I wove seven of them into a circle around a sparkly Swarovski rivoli crystal, and attached a pear-shaped crystal at the bottom for a sparkly, floral pendant.

The pattern for this design describes how to make the complete pendant, including the bezel for the rivoli, the foundation for the flowers, the flowers themselves, the Half Tila bail, and the complicated connection for the pear-shaped crystal pendant. The pattern is in the PDF format, and clocks in at 18 pages of step-by-step instructions with 41 full-color illustrations and photographs.

Three Kit Colorways

Kits for this design are available in three colorways and include all the beads needed to make one pendant. You can create one in Sunlit Garden, Ancient Garden, or Midnight Garden hues.

A Coordinating Diamond O Beaded Chain

The pendant can be strung on a variety of materials, and it looks quite elegant on a silk ribbon. Another option is to string it on a coordinating beaded chain. For this pendant, I wove a matching Diamond O beaded chain with a simple variation on the original; this variation incorporates Half Tila beads into the design.

While the pendant pattern is a for-sale product, the original Diamond O beaded chain pattern is available as a free download on its pattern page.

Thanks for looking!