Bitten by the Silver Bug

I've been bitten by the silver bug...

It started with a pear-shaped Swarovski silver patina crystal that had been sitting around my studio for the past several months. I incorporated it into a Prism Blossoms Pendant, and complemented it with silver half Tila, bugle, triangle, and seed beads.

I used a crystal clear rivoli for the center to keep the emphasis on the silver beads and the flowers. To keep the focus on the silver portions of this piece, I also used a relatively simple complementary color palette of oranges and blues for the Dragon Scale bead flowers.

For my next silver piece, I turned to the Annular O Necklace. This colorway features silver patina rivoli crystals, but these shiny crystals are paired with more muted pewter seed beads. A touch of purple adds color to the necklace.

Finally, I collected a bunch of Tila, half Tila, bugle, and seed beads as well as crystal AB crystals for a Half Tila Technocluster beaded bead. I left the half Tilas clear in an attempt to blend them in with the crystals, and I think I was successful on this point, however the resulting beaded bead does not show the sharp lines that some of the other colorways of this design.

I also experimented with reflective surfaces for this photo, but it didn't quite turn out the way that I would have liked. So the photography of this piece remains a work-in-progress.

Beading patterns for all three of these designs are available at beadorigami.com, and kits for these colorways and more are available as well.

Which do you prefer? Silver, gold, bronze, or another color entirely? Drop me a line in the comments :)

Thanks for looking!

New Pattern and Kits: Annular O Necklace

My third O bead design of this year weaves these little ring-shaped beads into bezeled rivoli crystal components, and into a custom, matching beaded chain in my Annular O Necklace.

Four Bezeled RivOli Crystals

This necklace features an intricate focal woven from four connected rivoli crystals, bezeled with seed beads, round beads, and shaped seed beads using a unique method that somewhat resembles circular MRAW. If you've ever woven my Rivoli Kaleidoscope or Tropical Dahlia pendants, this bezeling method may seem familiar, as it starts off with similar (but easier!) thread path. The O beads in each beaded crystal component, however, came together in a delightfully surprising way to both support the attached bicone crystals, and to echo the circle shape of each component.

A Custom Beaded Chain

The necklace is finished with a simple, delicate beaded chain, again featuring O beads and just two sizes of Japanese seed beads. It works up very quickly, and since it can go with a wide variety of beaded pendants, I'll definitely be using this O-chain idea in future designs.

Three Kinds of Swarovski Crystals

The completed necklace is finished with a Swarovski briolette crystal to complement the bicone and rivoli crystals in each component. A final small rivoli component (not shown) serves as a matching toggle clasp.

The Annular O Necklace pattern is available exclusively at beadorigami.com, and beading kits for this design are available in the three colorways shown above. Each kit contains all the beads needed to make the complete necklace!

Thanks for looking!

O Beads!

I've been working on a set of secret beading projects for the past few months, and I'm very excited to talk about them on the blog today!

A New Bead Shape!

All three projects utilize a brand new bead shape, the O bead! This little glass bead is in the shape of its namesake, measuring about 4 mm in diameter with a relatively big 1.5 mm hole. But it's very thin - only about 1 mm wide, so it can be readily used as a glass sequin! 

Can you spot the O beads in the bracelet below?

They also make great spacers, especially between crystals and other beads. This property came in quite handy in this crystal necklace (which I've taken to wearing quite frequently as of late!)

The O beads are made by the same folks who brought us the Rizo and SuperDuo beads, so they come in some similar, gorgeous colors. I fell in love with the shiny purple finish on the O beads in this beaded bead:

When used in the off-loom types of beadwork that I specialize in, the O beads present an interesting design challenge because their large holes allow for a lot of movement in the surrounding beads. But this is a useful and convenient feature for designs with high bead density, as it provides more space to pass your needle through the bead.

O beads will be available for purchase worldwide on December 1. Patterns and kits for these designs are coming soon!