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!

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!

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 :)

New Pattern and Kits: O Stars Set

I finished my fourth O bead jewelry pattern, the O Stars Pendant and Earrings Set!

Seeing Stars!

This pattern describes how to weave three different six-pointed star components from Swarovski crystals, round and shaped Japanese seed beads, two-hole SuperDuo beads, and O beads. The pattern starts with the relatively straightforward small component (a close relative to the Lucky O Bracelet component), and gradually works up to the more complicated large O Star component. I've classified this pattern as advanced because each component is engineered to be self-supporting from many rounds of beadwork, and it uses different bead counts and shapes in each round, so it keeps you on your toes towards the end of the pattern. However, each step is described in my usual level of detail with several full-color illustrations and photographs, so intermediate students should be able to complete the small and medium components and then work up to the large component.

A Cascading Pendant

The cornerstone of this pattern is the O Stars Pendant, which features all three stars connected together. A beaded bail and a briolette crystal complete the pendant for a long, cascading design.

A Matching Beaded Chain

I liked the diamond chain with O beads that I used in the Annular O Necklace so much, so I also included instructions on how to make this beaded chain to match the O Stars pendant. It's a fast, easy design that makes a light, delicate chain, and it's not sewn into the pendant, so it can be used for other pendants too! I'll definitely be using it more in the future.

Matching Earrings

Finally, two small components pair with additional briolette crystals for a cute little pair of matching earrings, completing this 3-in-1 pattern set.

Four Kits!

Kits for this design come in the four colorways seen above, and include all the beads and findings needed to make the pendant, earrings, and a beaded chain up to 24 inches long. The components can also be incorporated into many other jewelry designs!

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!

New Tropical Dahlia Pendants

In preparation for the BABE! Show this upcoming November, I wove two new Tropical Dahlia pendants with specialty rivoli crystals. This one features a black diamond Swarovski rivoli with the glacier blue coating.

It was a little tricky to position the drop beads optimally on this pendant, as they're coated on one side but not the other. I like the whimsy of this color scheme, and I'm sure I'll be wearing it a whole bunch.

This pendant, on the other hand, features muted golds, amethyst, and a glacier fuchsia rivoli for a very autumn feel.

I think it has a little too much amethyst though...

I used a sparkler light bulb for these photographs, which seems to work well for crystal-focused pieces such as these.

Which pendant do you prefer?

New Kit: Special Edition Heliotrope Tropical Dahlia Necklace

New kits are now available for the Heliotrope Tropical Dahlia Necklace:

I received so many compliments about this piece at the Bead & Button Show that I had to put it together as a kit. Unfortunately, after the show I learned that heliotrope Swarovski rivolis are a limited-edition crystal, and it took me a while to source more of them. Since I don't know if I'll be able to source them again, this will be a Special Edition kit.

Each kit contains all the beads needed to make the complete necklace, including Swarovski rivoli crystals, rizo beads, Czech teardrop beads, Japanese seed beads, large sterling silver jump rings, and a sterling silver clasp (please note that you will need to supply your own Fireline thread to complete the necklace). The necklace is choker-length, however you can add to its length with a couple more jump rings or a short bit of chain.

Heliotrope Tropical Dahlia Choker - Finished!

Presenting... The Heliotrope Tropical Dahlia choker, now finished!

Finished Necklace

I previously blogged about how I went about exploring this colorway of this design. To connect the individual Tropical Dahlias together, I took a cue from Gwen Fisher's Rivoli Sunflower bracelet and used sterling silver jump rings. I wanted to give an illusion that these beaded flowers were floating on the neck, so I used a minimal number of connecting seed beads between them and the jump rings, and no additional beads for stringing. I think it's a rather minimalist approach, but this rivoli + rizo + drop + rivoli pendant design is so detailed in the first place that they don't need much else to look fabulous.

I wove a total of nine Tropical Dahlias, which is just enough for a choker-length necklace. It's a bit shorter than the length that I usually wear, but if I made it much longer, the Tropical Dahlias wouldn't sit quite right; although the jump rings between them can move freely, the flowers tend to lean forward if they're not sitting right up against the neck. If I had to make this necklace in a longer length, I'd angle the connection bails to balance the piece out.

The jump rings themselves are pretty big, at about 14 mm in diameter. They're closed jump rings, so they should be more resistant to bends than open jump rings. I think I will eventually get a larger clasp for this piece, but a small S-clasp serves as a convenient temporary replacement.

Matching Earrings

Since I have a compulsion to create my jewelry in sets (my bead doctor has officially diagnosed me with "setitis"), I just had to weave a pair of matching earrings.

I had already created other versions of these earrings as part of the Tropical Dahlia Set pattern, but with only the floral component. For this version, I added a Swarovski briolette drop crystal to the bottom of each earring, which really kicks them up to the next level. It's amazing how this technically-simple bead addition adds so much to these earrings!

I'm looking forward to wearing this set at Bead & Button next week! I believe that I shall wear it on Friday :)

WIP Wednesday: More Tropical Dahlias

Today on the Bead Origami blog, I'm posting some pictures of a current work-in-progress.

I've been meaning to try out a series of WIP Wednesday posts on this blog, but so far I haven't been able to make these kinds of posts consistently. This is due to a number of reasons, partially because I sometimes hesitate to show pictures of my messy bead tray, but also because I don't generally like to post a brand new project until it's complete. I probably won't be posting any full pictures of designs-in-progress that I'm not yet comfortable releasing, but I hope to at least show some sneak peaks of the current goings-on in my beading tray.

Heliotrope Tropical Dahlias

This week, I'm continuing with the idea that I mentioned the other day for a necklace made up of Tropical Dahlia pendants. So far I've completed three of these rizo bead pendants.

I bought some big fused sterling silver jump rings that I'm thinking of using to connect them together, but I'll decide for sure once I finish more of these beaded rivoli flowers. Until then, I've left their working threads untrimmed.

The more I work with these colors, the more that they're growing on me... Why did it take me this long to work with heliotrope rivolis?

What's on your beading tray?

New Kits: Tropical Dahlia Set

New kits are now available for the Tropical Dahlia Set! The kits make both the beaded dahlia pendant, and the smaller matching earrings.

Colorway #1: Spring Blossom

The first colorway is in the very floral tones of cyclamen opal, pink, peach, and a nice sunny yellow. I've taken to wearing this one myself quite frequently!

Colorway #2: Tropical Oasis

The second colorway is in the cooler colors of fern green, teal, and deep amethyst.

Colorway #3: Desert Bloom

The last colorway is in various shades of copper and turquoise, and I think it looks like a flower that you might see blooming in the desert.

All three kits are available at beadorigami.com, and include all the materials necessary to make the the pendant and the matching earrings. Plus shipping is included in the kit price!

New Tropical Dahlia Pendants

I made a new Tropical Dahlia Pendant, and listed it along with two others in my Etsy Shop. Click on the photos below for more information about each pendant. Of course, the pattern for the complete Tropical Dahlia Set is available exclusively at beadorigami.com if you'd like to make your own!

Dark Amethyst Tropical Dahlia Pendant

Tangerine Tropical Dahlia Pendant

Passionflower Tropical Dahlia Pendant

Which pendant is your favorite?

Tropical Dahlia vs Rivoli Kaleidoscope

While I was weaving some new Tropical Dahlia Pendants, I found myself constantly comparing them to my other rivoli-centric pendant design, the Rivoli Kaleidoscope. It's an instinct I learned while working as an analytical scientist; you're always comparing your current results to previous work. So, to satisfy this itch, I wove a couple of these pendants in the same color schemes so that I could make a direct comparison without considering color differences.

Tropical Dahlia (left) and Rivoli Kaleidoscope (right) Pendants

Center Rivoli vs Outer Rivolis

A big visual difference between the two designs is the focus between the center and outer rivolis. The Rivoli Kaleidoscope has three different kinds of rivolis, and shows off more of the outer rivoli pendants at the expense of the center rivoli. The Tropical Dahlia, on the other hand, leaves much more room to show off the center rivoli. I like that I was able to accomplish this in a rivoli design, as it's often difficult to bezel a rivoli with beadwork without covering most of it up.

Tropical Dahlia Pendant

Symmetry Difference

Another difference between the two designs is the symmetry difference; the Tropical Dahlia Pendant has 10-fold symmetry, while the Rivoli Kaleidoscope has 8-fold symmetry. This difference not only gives the Tropical Dahlia more detail, but it's also reflective of the symmetries that you're more likely to see in a flower vs. a kaleidoscope.

Tropical Dahlia (left) and Rivoli Kaleidoscope (right) Pendants

Of course, as I mentioned earlier this week, the Tropical Dahlia Pendant can be woven in 12-fold symmetry for a larger variation. A larger variation of the Rivoli Kaleidoscope can be created too, and both patterns describe the changes necessary to create these larger variations.

Size Matters?

Finally, the Rivoli Kaleidoscope is ever so slightly larger than the original Tropical Dahlia, but it's also slightly smaller than the larger Tropical Dahlia variation.

Tropical Dahlia (left and right) and Rivoli Kaleidoscope (center) Pendants

They range from 27 to 32 mm in diameter.

The patterns for the Rivoli Kaleidoscope Pendant and Tropical Dahlia Set are available exclusively at beadorigami.com if you'd like to make your own!

Which design is your favorite? Drop me a line in the comments section below!