A Trio of Rizo Triangles Necklaces

I've finished a new colorway of the petite version of the Rizo Triangles Necklace, this time in copper and bronze, with a touch of purple. I'll be teaching this project at the BABE! Show next weekend.

Here's an earlier version of this necklace in soft purples and golds:

And then here's the original colorway, in purple, green, and silver:

I love all three colorways, but the new bronze and copper colorway is just perfect for the fall, and I've already enjoyed wearing it a couple of times :)

I'll be teaching this class at the BABE! Show on Sunday, November 16. Please visit the BABE! website for more information. Online registration closes on Saturday, so don't delay!

A Trio of Rizo Triangles Necklaces

I'm in full preparation mode for the 2014 Bead and Button Show! The Rizo Triangles Necklace is one of the six classes that I'm teaching at this year's show, and I've finished three different colorways of this very fancy necklace.

For the gold colorway, I used a combination of neutral and purple hues, with accents of gold-plated seed beads, and golden shadow Swarovski crystals.

This colorway uses several shades of bronze with hints of purple and copper accents, all paired with crystal copper Swarovski crystals.

Finally, the original colorway combines purples, greens, and several accents of silver. I love all three colorways, but this one remains my favorite :)

I'll be teaching this advanced project on Tuesday, June 3, starting at 9 AM. More information about Bead & Button class registration, as well as general show information can be found here. I'd love to see you there!

Which colorway is your favorite?

The Evolution of the O Stars Pendant

Sometimes when I'm working on a new beading design, I'll have a specific idea in mind that I'm trying to achieve. This was the case with some of my more floral and geometric designs such as the Sakura Bouquet Necklace and the Tila Garden Pendant. Other times, a new design will evolve from a previous beaded component or set of components. This was the case with my most recent design, the O Stars Set.

Lucky O + Snowflakes + Rizo Triangles = O Stars

The O Stars Set started as a variation on the Lucky O Bracelet, one of the first designs that I completed using the new O beads:

While I liked the open, lacy look of these components, especially when paired with bugle beads in the bracelet, I noticed how the Lucky O components can also almost perfectly enclose a Swarovski rivoli crystal. A few bronze seed beads and two rivoli crystals later, a pair of such components quickly became earrings:

Since the wintertime was just beginning, I wanted to expand on the six-fold symmetry of these components to see if they could become snowflakes. I had already experimented with a more open version of beaded snowflakes in the aptly-named Snowflakes bracelet:

This bracelet gave me the idea to use SuperDuo beads for snowflake points, however I wanted to make the new components a little stiffer than those in the snowflakes bracelet. Another one of my designs that makes use of SuperDuos as points in beaded components is the Rizo Triangles Necklace, and, while this necklace is more complicated than the snowflakes bracelet, each component is more heavily engineered to be solid and self-supporting.

With these ideas in mind, I began work on combining the ideas from all three pieces together.

First O Stars Pendant

My first attempt at executing these ideas turned into these two components. In the medium component, the SuperDuos are added with sets of O beads on each side, as well as one on the top of each point to further decorate the component with these shiny little sequin-like beads. Interestingly, the result is more star-like than snowflake-like, a surprising but pleasing development. I immediately paired both components together with a briolette crystal to make a petite little pendant.

While I was very happy with how this pendant turned out, several people told me that it needed something more. Several friends said it would work better as a three-component pendant instead of two, and my husband said I needed to make a larger version to complement both smaller components. I was reluctant to step up to the challenge of more bead component engineering, but I also knew that they were right...

Final Pendant and Earrings Set

As it turns out, designing the large component was similar to the process of designing the large component of the Rizo Triangles Necklace; it's more challenging to create, but the result is definitely worth the effort. Here's a picture of the completed set of all three components in one pendant, plus two small components in matching earrings:

How do you explore new beading ideas? Do you find yourself returning to your previous work for inspiration? Drop me a line in the comments!

2014 Bead & Button Show Classes

It's my pleasure to announce that I'm teaching seven classes (!) at the 2014 Bead &Button Show next June. The show jury accepted five of my new proposals, and two classes that I taught last year as well. When I was submitting these classes for review, I noticed that these projects fall into three general themes: geometry, botany (with an emphasis on flowers), and chemistry, so I figured that would be a good way to cover them in this post.

Geometry

First up in the geometry category is the Rizo Triangles Necklace. This is an expanded version of the class that I'm currently teaching at The Beading Bar this week. In this 7-hour workshop, you will learn how to create three different beaded triangular components, along with a matching triangular-themed beaded rope. Rizo beads and SuperDuo beads give a ton of dimensionality to these components, which can also be incorporated into any number of matching earrings, bracelets, or pendants. Personally, I love how I feel like royalty when I wear this piece!

Next up is the Oscillations Pendant, which features three different circular beaded components arranged in a cascading pendant, and finished with a teardrop-shaped Swarovski crystal. It's hard to see in the photo, but the components are very dimensional, and give a shadowbox effect to the little flowers nested within. A spiral rope finishes the pendant, however it can be strung on any kind of beaded rope, cord, or chain. It's a fun design to construct and wear, as you get the feeling of looking into a special place in each component.

Botany

In the Botany category, we start off with the Tila Garden Pendant, a class that has sold out at the previous two Bead & Button shows. Above is the newest version with the very colorful rizo beads. It's a challenging design to weave, but my students have told me that they feel so very accomplished when it's complete (that's certainly how I felt the first time I came up with it!)

Next is the Sakura Bouquet Necklace, which I'm also teaching at BABE! this November. This piece features four different varieties of the cherry blossom flower, all incorporated into a cascading necklace. The individual blossoms can be used in a variety of other types and arrangements of jewelry, as I've discussed on this blog before. I'm currently working on other colorways for this project, and I also came up with a fifth beaded sakura variety which I may be able to incorporate into this class too!

Last in the botany category is the Raindrop Flower Necklace, which features a beaded focal pendant and three different kinds of matching beaded beads woven from teardrop-shaped glass beads and seed beads. I like this design because the beaded beads can be adapted into earrings, and the focal can also serve as a solo pendant.

Chemistry

The last two projects utilize the beaded molecule technique that I developed for my Endorphin Necklace. The first of these two projects is the Brain Chemistry Earrings, which feature a molecule called, γ-Aminobutyric acid, or GABA. This molecule is very important to brain function, and has a calming effect on brain cells. This 3-hour class makes for a nice introductory project to the world of beaded molecules, and give off tons of sparkle for a fun, fancy way to show off beaded chemistry!

The last project is the Red Wine Chemistry necklace, which also uses the beaded molecule technique to create several beaded molecules found in red wine. These molecules are connected together with silver jump rings for this fancy necklace, which is decorated with little grape beads for that extra enology touch. In truth, for this project I chose a set of molecules found in most alcoholic beverages, so if you're not into red wine, this piece can be worked up in different colors and styles to represent your favorite cocktail. Both beaded molecules classes include a mini chemistry lesson which will explain how the techniques learned in this class can be applied to an infinite number of molecular structures.

The 2014 Bead & Button Show will take place in Milwaukee, WI from May 28-June 9, and class registration will begin online on January 7. It's the biggest bead show in the country and it's a whole lot of fun each year! I'd love to see you there!

Golden Rizo Triangles Necklace

I wove another Rizo Triangles Necklace to prepare for my class at The Beading Bar on Friday. This one uses tans, light purples, and just a touch of gold:

It's a new colorway for me, but I quite like it!

I'll be teaching this project at The Beading Bar in the University Heights neighborhood of San Diego on August 16 from 10 AM-3 PM. More information about this class and how to sign up can be found here. I'd love to see you there!

Rizo Triangles Necklace Class

I've been hard at work on a number of new pieces for the classroom and the Bead Origami website. One such piece is this one, the Rizo Triangles Necklace:

This piece features two different kinds of self-supporting, reversible triangular beaded components that show off Rizo and SuperDuo beads, which are joined together for the focal point of this necklace. Its matching beaded rope also features a triangular element woven from Rizo beads and Japanese seed beads, and final triangular component makes for a unifying toggle clasp. Three Swarovski crystals add a nice touch of sparkle.

This is my new favorite necklace and I've been wearing it a bunch when I've been out and about. I like how it goes with everything from blue jeans to a little black dress.

And of course, the smaller triangular components make for an easy pair of matching earrings :)

I'll be teaching this project at The Beading Bar in the University Heights neighborhood of San Diego on August 16 from 10 AM-3 PM. The Beading Bar is a new local bead store to the San Diego area, and they carry a ton of the hottest new beads including Rizos, SuperDuos, Tilas, and Long Magatamas, but they also have a fascinating collection of vintage beads including glass pearls and fancy buttons! I'm stoked to have such a cute and well-stocked local bead store only 10 minutes from my house, and I'm doubly stoked to be teaching there!

More information about this class and how to sign up can be found here. I'd love to see you there!

Do you have a favorite local bead store? Tell me about it in the comments!