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!

Thanks for visiting my blog! Please subscribe to my mailing list for updates on the latest and greatest Bead Origami news!

Special Announcement: Beadwork Magazine 2015 Designer of the Year

I'm pleased to announce that I have been selected as one of Beadwork Magazine's Designers of the Year for 2015! As part of this special designation, Beadwork Magazine will publish a new beading pattern from me in each of their 2015 magazine issues. I've already completed several projects for this series and I'm looking forward to seeing them in print in the coming year.

Additionally, my first project in this series, the "Flowerpots Bracelet" is on the cover of the Feb/March 2015 issue! Check out the Interweave Store for more information on how to purchase print or digital copies of this magazine, or for how to purchase kits for this project.

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: Sparkling Compass Set

I recently retired the Sparkling Compass Set from my teaching portfolio, and it's now available as a pattern on my website.

A Delicate Bracelet

The Sparkling Compass Set features the four-pointed Sparkling Compass component woven from a collection of round crystal pearls, bicone crystals, and shaped and round seed beads. This versatile component can be combined with galactic crystals for a delicate bracelet.

An Intricate Beaded Bead

Six components can be woven off of a common base for an intricate beaded bead.

Elegant Earrings

Finally, individual components can be attached to pendant crystals for a pair of earrings. This pair features rhombus crystals, but I've also created them with galactic crystals.

Several Bead Options

Different bead options are possible in this design as well. In this set of earrings, the pair on the left includes a couple of Rizo beads for a more four-pointed compass look.

Three Kit Colorways

The pattern for this design is now available on my website at beadorigami.com, and it describes how to make the beaded Sparkling Compass component, and how to use the components to create the bracelet, beaded bead, and earrings. The circular peyote and circular netting stitches are used to create each component. The pattern is in the PDF format, and clocks in at 15 pages of step-by-step instructions with 45 full-color illustrations and photographs. Kits for this design are available in three colorways, and contain all the beads and findings needed to create the bracelet, earrings, and beaded bead.

Thanks for looking!

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!

Beaded Triangles

I've been making beaded triangles... Lots of triangles.

What's more, these triangles are made out of other triangles. Two-hole triangle beads, to be exact, plus Rizos, O beads, and Japanese seed beads. Joined together, they make a nice, delicate bracelet.

But they can also make many kinds of beaded beads. Here's one made out of 20 triangles.

It's a pretty big beaded bead, so I think I'll string it as a pendant. What do you think?

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?

New Pattern and Kits: Water Lily Windows Bracelet and Earrings Set

My latest beading pattern is done! Presenting the Water Lily Windows Bracelet and Earrings Set:

Floating Beaded Water Lilies

This pattern describes how to make three different shapes of Water Lily Windows components, featuring little beaded flowers woven from Rizo beads, floating in a frame of Tila, SuperDuo, and Japanese seed beads. In the pattern, I describe how to connect them together for a twisting bracelet, complete with a matching custom beaded clasp. The pattern also covers how to make two of these components into matching earrings, and how to attach pear-shaped Swarovski crystals, with an unusual method designed to make the crystals face forward.

Tila Bead Frames + Flowers

This pattern is part of a series where I've experimented with surrounding other beads with frames of Tila beads. I used a similar strategy to make the oval-shaped components in the Cosmic Windows Bracelet:

The components in the Water Lily Windows Bracelet are more angular, resulting in square, pentagon, and hexagon-shaped framed flowers. To create this bracelet, I could have connected several square or hexagon-shaped components together in a straight line, or I could have arranged a tiling pattern of pentagon-shaped components. Indeed, several different arrangements are possible!

In the end, I settled on a combination of pentagon- and hexagon-shaped components in a nonlinear arrangement, which resulted in a more unusual, but organic look to the finished bracelet. I also experimented with using two different colors of Rizo beads for the flowers, which you can see in the bracelet below:

Three Kits!

Kits for this design are available in the three colorways shown above, and include all the beads and findings needed to make the bracelet and the matching earrings. It's the perfect design for celebrating the coming springtime!

Thanks for looking!

Oscillations Pendants

I finished two additional colorways of my Oscillations Pendant. The first uses dark brown Tila and SuperDuo beads to frame rosy peach Rizo flowers:

The second combines dark green seed beads with a lighter, metallic patina shade for the Tila and SuperDuos, which frame silvery violet Rizo flowers.

Here's the original colorway for comparison. This one is paired with a matching spiral rope, however the pendant can be strung on a variety of materials including a metal chain or a silk ribbon.

I'll be teaching this project at the Bead & Button Show on Wednesday, June 4. You can sign up for the class here. I would love to see you there!

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?

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!

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.

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!