Silver Seed Beads

Over the years I've grown quite fond of Miyuki's bright silver seed beads, and I use them often in my beadwork. They're a great accent to many designs, and they'll work well in just about any color palette. The silver and black combo is one of my go-to palettes, and in these mini Disco Ball beaded beads, the silver is prominent without dominating the beaded beads.

I think it packs much more of a punch with the larger drop seed beads in this Silvery Amethyst Dewdrop Bracelet:

But much of the time, I try to use silver seed beads in a more subtle way, such as in these Squareflake earrings:

So when I was designing the kits for the Dewdrop beaded beads, I incorporated some 15° silver seed beads into the Black Rose Tips version of this design. However, I ended up taking them out for the final version. My first attempt is on the right, and the final version is on the left:

In this particular design and color scheme, there is already a lot going on in terms of texture and complexity, given the combination of the square tilas with the rounded drops and three sizes of seed beads. Plus the permanent-finish galvanized 8° seed beads already give this beaded bead some shine. This is the first time where I felt that the silver seed beads just added too much to an already busy design, so I exchanged them for some dark purple seed beads which readily blend into the finished beaded bead.

Have you ever had a tried-and-true design element surprise you like this?

Price Reductions in Etsy Shop

I've been at work on several new pieces of jewelry, some of which I'm planning on putting in my Etsy shop. To make room for these new pieces, I've lowered the prices of several older items that have been in the shop for quite some time. This is just a selection of the available items - click on the images for more information about each piece.

Amethyst and Peach Beaded Pendant, $29 Now $22

Purple and Gold Venetian Necklace, $79 Now $59

Black and Gold Crystal Earrings, $20 Now $15

Black and White Bubble Box Necklace, $65 Now $49

Light Blue and White Pearl Pendant, $40 Now $30

New Disco Ball Kits

Three new kits for the Disco Ball beaded bead are now available on my website. The first is in black and silver in a scheme I like to call Little Black Dress, because it will go with just about any outfit:

The next is in a Red Velvet color scheme:

And finally, I put together this kit with peach freshwater pearls. Since freshwater pearls vary so much from batch to batch and can be difficult to re-order in the same shape and color, this kit is going to be a limited edition:

Each kit contains enough beads and thread to create two Disco Ball beaded beads. However, with the same beads in this kit, you can elect to create five beaded beads in the smaller octahedral variation, or you can mix it up and make one regular Disco Ball and two smaller variations. Here's a picture of the smaller variation using the Little Black Dress kit:

Disco Ball beaded bead kits are available at my website, and include all the beads needed to create the design, a beading needle and thread, and a PDF of the pattern for the design (available for download as soon as you finish checkout!)

Beaded Bead Sets in the Shop

In the time that I've been beading, I've woven several beaded beads that haven't made it out of my bead box and into jewelry. So I decided to list some of them my Etsy shop. Click on any of the photos below to learn more about each set.

First up is this Disco Ball and Double Bubble Jacks set in black and silver:

Next we have this solo bronze and green Teardrop Bubbles beaded bead:

And finally, a set of Squared Circles beaded beads using Swarovski crystal pendants, in crystal AB for some rainbow goodness. These would work great in a wedding necklace:

As always, more info about each design can be found on my website.

Gold and Glass, and Silver and Pearls

I finished a few new pieces, which feature design and color variations on some of my previous pieces.

The first is a pair of mini Disco Ball earrings in purple and gold. This pair arose from a continuation of my Royal Purples color phase, although the purple Czech firepolish beads in these earrings have a goldluster finish, which tilts them towards the red direction on the color wheel.

This next piece arose from another color experiment, only in a color combination I don't usually work with. It's a pink and gold color variation of this necklace, only the lampwork beads are from the Czech Republic. I wove the Squared Circles beaded beads in colors to match the lampwork beads, and I used some Swarovski bicones as spacers.

This necklace turned out much more gold and pink than I had expected. I think it's because I usually don't wear so much pink or bling myself. If I could find these lampwork beads in red and gold, it should make a fancy holiday necklace.

For this last piece, I experimented in making 5- and 6-fold prism variations of my Double Bubble Jacks design, with peacock pearls and the appropriate design modification for pearls. Both variations worked! I used a 6-fold version strung though two points for the focal, accompanied by two 5-fold versions. I think that a 6-fold version is the limit for this design though; I tried making a 7-fold version but it didn't turn out very well.

I used Bali silver beads and green and purple round pearls to string this necklace, and I was amazed at how the green round pearls bring out the green and red colors in the peacock drop pearls in the beaded beads. Margie Deeb talks about this kind of color play all the time, and boy is it the truth!

The earrings and Squared Circles necklace are available for purchase in my Etsy shop, along with tutorials for all three beaded bead designs. As for the pearl necklace... I don't think I can part with it :)

New Earrings and Pendants in the Shop

I finally got around to listing a few new pieces that I've had sitting around for a while. First there's this pair of earrings in a Disco Ball variation, woven with Czech glass and some interesting matte seed beads:

Next I have another pair in the same design, but in a dark blue color palette and with freshwater pearls:

Then there's a Light Clusters pendant with more freshwater pearls, in red and silver...

...and in red and gold:

All of these pieces can be found in my Etsy shop. I also have tutorials for these designs as well if you'd like to make your own.

What's Your Springtime Fancy?

Spring is in the air! Why not celebrate with a pair of very flowery earrings?

...Or perhaps spring makes you think of fields of green?

...Or a tropical paradise?

Maybe it's all about stargazing under the night sky...

...In a matching ensemble...

...Or is it time for something fancy?

...Or something fancier?

...Or is it all about a rustic walk through the woods?

...Or an artful Venetian vacation?

Whatever your fancy, I'll have something for everyone this weekend at the knit-one-one craft sale this Saturday! I'd love to see you there!

Royal Purples

Sometimes I go on a roll in a particular color scheme; once I get a particular palette of seed beads all set up on my bead mat, it can be hard to stop making beaded beads! Here are some of the results of my latest marathon, all of which are available in my Etsy shop.

An amethyst beaded bead pendant, just because. It's just a few beads away from a similar pendant I made last year using the same strand of amethyst beads from Rings and Things.

A Disco Ball necklace, with beautiful dark purple Czech glass beads. I love the shape of the fluted firepolish beads between the beaded beads!

Another beaded bead necklace, this time with Double Bubble Jacks beaded beads made to match the dark plum Venetian "luna" style beads. This was really fun to make; I've never used gold, silver, and copper-plated seed beads all in the same beaded bead before. The copper-plated seed beads are part of Toho's "Hybrid" line, and while I usually prefer Miyuki seed beads I'm really digging these Toho hybrids.

Finally, some lavender pearl earrings, made to match a necklace in my Etsy shop. I used the last of the particular strand of lavender teardrop pearls used in both pieces to make these earrings. Gotta find some more of these pearls - I love this color!

Etsy isn't the only place where you can find these purple pieces. I'll be at the knit-one-one craft sale on March 6 from 10-4! If you're in the area, stop by and say hello!

Pinks and Pearls

It's February, which means it's time for lots and lots of heart-focused jewelry. To be honest, I'm not much of a fan of Valentine's Day, but I am a huge fan of freshwater pearls and working in pink. So when Artbeads.com declared January as their month of Valentine's Day for their blogger program, I headed straight for the pearl section to begin fawning over their pink pearl choices. I chose three different strands for these pink projects.

A word about pearl purchasing - I usually buy my pearls at bead shows for a few reasons. First, the bead shows offer some fabulous pearl deals. Second, I get to examine the pearls in person for the best size, shape, luster, and color quality that I can find. There is just so much variability in pearl quality out there that it's really hard to know what you're getting when you order them online.

That being said, I was very impressed with the pink pearls I received from Artbeads. The shapes are very consistent from pearl to pearl, which is a big must for my beadweaving designs. This is evident in the first necklace I made for this post:

This pendant is in my Disco Ball beaded bead design, which is also available as a tutorial in my Etsy shop. The pearls in the pendant are pink rice pearls, and have the best luster of the three strands I sampled from Artbeads. I had to increase the number of seed beads in the overlay to make the Disco Ball from these pearls, since the pearls are closer to 5 mm in length than the 4 mm called for in the tutorial.

I strung this pendant on a necklace with alternating rice pearls and fuchsia potato pearls. The dye job on these fuchsia pearls is very consistent:

I also managed to have enough of both pearls left over to make a matching bracelet:

For the next necklace, I used more of the fuchsia potato pearls and some pink large nugget pearls from Artbeads, combined with some larger magenta rice pearls from my own stash (although these pearls are a close substitute). I wove five Light Clusters beaded beads from 11° Japanese seed beads and the larger rice pearls, and strung them with the other pearls to create this necklace:

I love how the Light Clusters beaded beads look like fresh berries!

In all, I'm quite happy with how these pieces turned out and with the quality of Artbeads' freshwater pearls.

Full disclosure: The pink rice pearls, pink nugget pearls, and magenta potato pearls used in these projects were received as a gift from Artbeads.com. No payment was made for the review of these products.

Craft Show This Saturday!

I'm participating in a craft show this Saturday, December 12, from 10 AM to 4 PM at the knit-one-one studio in Berkeley, CA! The show will feature about 10 local artisans, who will be displaying all kinds of crafts including jewelry, textiles, pottery, and papercrafts! The show will take place in the intimate knit-one-one crafting studio at 3360 Adeline Street, Berkeley CA, so it's a great chance to do some holiday shopping without the hassle and crowds of the malls.

I'll be bringing a wide selection of earrings, necklaces, and bracelets to the show, as well as some print copies of my beaded bead tutorials. In addition to the pieces available in my Etsy shop, here's a sneak peak of some of the items I'll have on sale at the craft show:

If you're in the area, I'd love to see you there!