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!

Scenes from Bead Fest Philly

I'm back at home and decompressing from a fun trip to Bead Fest Philly, and I thought I'd share a few of the pictures I managed to snag while I was there.

Susan took a few minutes between the Wildflower Fields class and the Tila Garden class to find some black tila and round seed beads on the show floor. She combined them with the beads from the Rizo Flowers kit to create this striking version of the Tila Garden Pendant:

I had a nice classroom space for this class, with a whiteboard and everything! I used it to point out some helpful tips for this project:

Several students finished one piece or another of the Sparkling Compass Set in class! Here's a completed bracelet in the Golden Denim colorway:

And the earrings in the Jet Cosmos colorway:

I managed to do a bit of shopping on the show floor too. I picked up some buttons and Czech glass beads from Nirvana Beads, filigree from Kabela Design, Swarovski flat backs and Miyuki long drops from Beyond Beadery, and a Crystal Katana from the Ninja herself!

I'm looking forward to playing with these new components this week. Next up on my schedule is a class on the Cosmic Nocturne Pendant at the Beading Bar this weekend in San Diego, followed by preparation for my classes at the BABE! show in November. If you're interested in any of my BABE! classes, be sure to register soon, as some are close to selling out!

Bead & Button Show Class Update

A reminder that registration is open for classes at the 2013 Bead & Button Show, and the classes are filling up! The Friday session of my Tila Garden Pendant class is already full, but there's still some space in the other session on Sunday. I'm teaching a total of six classes at the show (click on the images for registration information on each class).

The first class that I'm teaching is the Raindrop Flower Necklace. In this six-hour class, you'll learn how to make three different kinds of beaded beads with drop-shaped beads, as well as a very flowery teardrop beaded focal that can also stand alone as a pendant!

Raindrop Flower Necklace - Thursday, June 6, 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM

The next class is the Tila Garden Pendant, where you'll learn how to weave tila beads and shaped seed beads into your own little miniature garden. This advanced project uses quite a bit of geometry, but it's so satisfying to wear once it's done!

Tila Garden Pendant - Friday, June 7, 8:30 - 11:30 AM Sold Out!

and Sunday, June 9, 9 AM - noon

The night sky-inspired Cosmic Nocturne Pendant uses Swarovski crystals, round and shaped seed beads, and either twin or SuperDuo beads all together in this self-supporting, hollow pendant. This layered, tactile pendant is such fun to wear because its look changes depending on how it's strung, and since it can be strung through about a dozen different openings, you can customize how you want it to look when worn!

Cosmic Nocturne Pendant - Friday, June 7, 1 - 4 PM

The Ice Queen Necklace uses 17 individual Pagoda charms for a beautiful statement piece. You'll learn not only how to make these eclectic little charms, but also how to use redundant thread paths to strengthen the beadwork. The class kit actually comes with enough materials to make 20 Pagoda charms, so students can elect to make a slightly longer necklace, or a necklace of the same length plus a matching pair of earrings! Last year, many students completed the matching pair of earrings in class.

Ice Queen Necklace - Saturday, June 8, 9 AM - noon

Finally, the Sparkling Compass Set is perhaps the most versatile of the classes that I'm teaching at the show. It's a class for all levels of beaders, where you'll learn how to make the Sparkling Compass component and weave it into earrings, a bracelet, and a beaded bead! If you're a beginner, you would probably want to start with the earrings, and you'll be able to finish at least one of them and probably the pair in the class. Advanced students can elect to skip right to the beaded bead. The class kit contains materials for all three pieces, and it even works with rizo beads too!

Sparkling Compass Set - Saturday, June 8, 2 - 5 PM

More information about class registration, as well as general show information can be found here. I'd love to see you there!

Sunset Sparkling Compass Set

I finished a new set of samples for the Sparkling Compass Set, which I'll be teaching at the Bead & Button Show this June. I picked up some cosmic crystals in astral pink, and found that they blend together really well with one of the colors of the new rizo beads. So I paired them with various shades of purple for a very warm, sunset-y colorway:

The Sparkling Compass beaded bead looks quite different with these rizo beads! It has much more of a flowery, burst effect compared to the more angular original version.

For the earrings, I couldn't use the rhombus crystal pendants because they're not available in astral pink, so I switched to the asymmetric galactic pendants. I was wary of this shape at first because they don't match the four points of the Sparkling Compass component, but when you position the crystals in different directions for each earring, I think it ends up working just fine:

Here's the whole set in this sunset colorway:

And here's the second colorway, in dark, cosmic hues that remind me of images of distant galaxies:

And finally, here's the original colorway:

The class for the Sparkling Compass Set includes instructions on how to make all three pieces in the set. Students can expect to either complete the earrings in class, or they can elect to start the bracelet. The class code is B130659, and it will be taught at the show on Sat. June 8, from 2:00pm-5:00pm. I'd love to see you there!

Sparkling Compass Earrings with Rizos

In preparation for the classes that I'm teaching at the 2013 Bead & Button Show, I wove a pair of Sparkling Compass Earrings with a very simple bead substitution. Can you tell?

Sparkling Compass Earrings with Rizo Beads

That's right, four of the 11° seed beads in each earring were swapped out for rizo beads! And what a difference such an easy bead substitution makes in the final design... Compare them to the original pair on the right below:

Sparkling Compass Earrings with Rizo Beads (left) and the Original Design (right)

I like this effect so much that I think I'll offer it as an option in the kit for the Sparkling Compass Set class at the Bead & Button Show (B130659, Sat. June 8 • 2:00pm-5:00pm).

Sparkling Compass Earrings with and without Rizo Beads

The Sparkling Compass Set includes this pair of earrings, as well as a matching bracelet and beaded bead. Students in the class will take home instructions on how to complete all three pieces in the set.

Check out my previous experiments with rizo beads here and here!

Bead & Button Show Class Registration Begins January 8

Class registration for the 2013 Bead & Button Show begins at noon CST on January 8! I'm teaching six classes this year; click on the images below for registration information on each class:

Raindrop Flower Necklace - Thursday, June 6, 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Tila Garden Pendant - Friday, June 7, 8:30 - 11:30 AM

and Sunday, June 9, 9 AM - noon

Cosmic Nocturne Pendant - Friday, June 7, 1 - 4 PM

Ice Queen Necklace - Saturday, June 8, 9 AM - noon

Sparkling Compass Set - Saturday, June 8, 2 - 5 PM

Last year, one of my classes sold out within 24 hours, so be sure to register early to secure your space! More information about registration as well as general information about the show can be found here. I'd love to see you there!

2013 Bead & Button Class Catalog Now Online

The class catalog for the 2013 Bead & Button Show is now online. I'm teaching six classes at this show, including this new class called the Sparkling Compass Set:

It was difficult to photograph both the bracelet and the earrings in the same shot, so the earrings look flatter in this photo than I'd like. Here they are on their own. Aren't those rhombus Swarovski crystal pendants awesome?

I just wish those rhombus crystals came in more colors - that would make it much easier to come up with alternate kit colors. They do come in jet black, so I've managed to put together this combination in a dark, cosmic color scheme:

The 2013 Bead & Button Show will take place in Milwaukee, WI from May 29-June 10. Class registration opens online on January 8 at high noon, Central Standard Time. At this point, I'm scheduled to teach all my classes in a small room in the Milwaukee Hilton, which means that, at 10 students per class, I will be able to more-readily attend to everyone's needs and it should be a quieter space too. However, last year one of my classes sold out within 24 hours, so be sure to register early to secure your space in the class!

2013 Bead & Button Show Classes

Next June I'll be teaching again at the 2013 Bead & Button Show! I'm tentatively scheduled to teach six classes from Thursday, June 6, through Sunday, June 9. The show jury accepted three of my new class proposals, and I'll also be teaching three sessions that I taught last year.

Of the new pieces, first up is the Raindrop Flower necklace, which features the new Raindrop Flower focal and two different kinds of Double Bubble Jacks beaded beads. The Raindrop Flower focal also works very well on its own as a solo pendant:

Next up is the Sparkling Compass Set, which makes a beaded bead, and this bracelet and matching earrings:

This class is appropriate for all levels of beaders, who will learn how to make the four-pointed Sparkling Compass element in the first part of the class. Each student can then choose which part of the set to work on in the rest of the class. Beginning students can finish a second element for the earrings, while advanced students may want to tackle the matching beaded bead:

All students in this class will take home the beads and instructions on how to complete the set.

I'm most excited about this design, the Cosmic Nocturne Pendant. This hollow, self-supporting design features the new two-hole Twin seed beads, but works equally well with SuperDuo beads, and includes a layer of Swarovski crystals for an inner sparkle. This pendant is the result of several exhaustive experiments with twin beads in self-supporting designs, which resulted in nine different prototypes. I'm really happy with the final pendant:

Finally, I'll be teaching two sessions of the Tila Garden Pendant, and one of the Ice Queen Necklace:

The 2013 Bead & Button Show will take place in Milwaukee, WI from May 29-June 10, and class registration will begin online on January 8. Last year was my first year at a Bead & Button Show, and I'll tell you that it's a whole lot of fun to attend whether you take a class or not. I'd love to see you there!