Multicolored Wildflower Fields Beaded Bead

I wove a Wildflower Fields beaded bead using six different colors for the flowers.

I describe this color distribution in the Tila Garden Pendant pattern, where each color of flower is next to a flower of a different color. I tried to use the same colors that I used for the original Tila Garden Pendant, but since the Wildflower Fields design uses additional peanut-shaped beads, it ended up a little more colorful.

I think both of them would look great in the same piece together... Perhaps at the ends of a lariat or other long, drape-y necklace. What do you think?

Cosmic Windows Pendant

In my last post about beaded cherry blossoms, I mentioned the idea of using component design to arrange several smaller beaded components into many different types of jewelry. I've continued this concept in my newest piece, this Cosmic Windows Pendant:

A Pendant of Windows

This piece features a total of six Cosmic Windows components, arranged in a tetrahedral geometry with one component on each of the six edges of the tetrahedron. This 3D arrangement gives the pendant a great deal of depth and dimensionality that photos can't entirely capture. Here it is on its edge on a jewelry bust:

The main tetrahedral body of the pendant is about an inch and a half in diameter; on the big side for a beaded bead, but not quite too big for a beaded pendant.

A Variation on a Bracelet

The Cosmic Windows design originally started as a bracelet, featuring six linked components woven with Miyuki tila beads and seed beads, which come together to frame the irregular cosmic Swarovski crystals that give the piece its name. Here's a photo of this bracelet in its original antique colorway:

With a little bit of beaded fringe and a bail for an ear wire, the Cosmic Windows components also make fancy matching earrings:

I used the same silver and blue colorway for this pendant:

Dimension and Symmetry

Each component in the pendant is joined together at the corners of the tetrahedron with additional briolette crystals and Japanese seed beads. It took a few attempts to get it to hold its shape, but I was surprised at how I didn't need that many additional beads to join the components together (it did, however, require many passes of thread!) A beaded bail and a bunch of beaded fringe finish the pendant.

I'm thinking that it would also make a very fancy Christmas ornament too!

The original Cosmic Windows beading pattern and kits are available at www.beadorigami.com. If you're interested in learning how to make this variation from the original pattern, drop me a line!

A Spiral Rope and Beaded Swatches

I finished something new; a beaded rope!

A Spiral Rope Necklace

This beaded spiral rope is a matching necklace for an unfinished pendant. I'm still waiting on an order to come in so that I can finish the pendant, but fortunately I had all the materials to complete the rope.

I don't often weave beaded ropes for my designs, but the pendant is pretty substantial, and a simple silver chain just won't do it justice. Plus, if you haven't already noticed from my experiments with beaded DNA, I have a special place in my heart for helical beadwork.

Spiral Rope Swatches

It took me several attempts to settle on the exact type of spiral rope that I wanted to weave. Specifically, it took me ten tries, as you can see from all my failed attempts:

I like to think of these false-starts as the beader's version of a knitting swatch; a small sample of the design used to gauge how the finished version will look. When I'm creating a new beading project, I save these beaded swatches to keep track of the design ideas that I've tried, and I keep them to revisit those ideas in the future.

I came up with some interesting variations. In this swatch, I tried including a SuperDuo bead every six or seven stitches:

Unfortunately, the SuperDuo beads stick out a little too much for my liking in this variation, and making the spiral stitches longer to fit them resulted in a thicker rope. I put this idea aside because a thicker rope would not complement the pendant, but I might revisit this idea in the future.

Another idea that I might revisit is combining the spiral rope stitch with right angle weave, which I tried in this swatch:

It makes the spiral tighter and less likely to twist, which has always been a pet peeve of mine. But it adds a little too much engineering for the scope of this project, so I set the idea aside for now.

The Finished Rope

The design I finally settled on was one originally suggested by Marcia DeCoster. It uses 3 mm round petrol pearls every other stitch, which gives it both movement and texture, and makes the rope the perfect thickness for the pendant.

I used the same beaded toggle clasp design that I used in my Cosmic Windows bracelet. I also doubled its loop to give the rope two slightly different lengths. It's nice to know that this toggle is adaptable to necklaces as well as bracelets.

It's quite a nice beaded rope... I think I may even wear it without the pendant!

Do you ever weave swatches for your beading designs? Do you save them? Do you revisit them in the future?

Hyper-RAW and Doubled Thread

I came across a photo the other day that gave me a random idea to make a tubular beading component that would both naturally curve and hold its shape. I'm certainly not the first bead artist to try this, but the experience taught me a few things about stitch and thread techniques that I thought I'd share here.

"Hyper-RAW"

My first attempts at this component used tubular peyote, and then the filled net stitch, but neither of these stitches accomplished what I needed for this component. Then I tried cubic right angle weave (CRAW), which was more promising. To make the component thicker, I expanded the thread path to six square sides instead of four, so I was making connected hexagonal prisms instead of connected cubes. Then I varied the sizes of the beads to make it naturally curve, so I was making irregular hexagonal prisms. Finally, I embellished the tops and bottoms of each prism for stability.

So technically, this stitch can be described as Irregular Hexagonal Prism Embellished Right Angle Weave, or IHPERAW. But this is confusing to spell, so I think of it as Hyper-RAW.

Single vs Doubled Thread

I also tried these components with both single-length and doubled-Fireline thread. I'm nearly always a single-thread beader, so the doubled thread was a little disorienting to get used to; I kept thinking that I had more thread left on my needle than I really had! It was also challenging to get the doubled thread through size 15° seed beads more than a few times, so I had to switch down to a size 13 beading needle. I did like how the doubled thread didn't knot itself up while I was weaving; that happens to me all the time with single thread and it drives me crazy.

The difference in the finished components is quite noticeable too. The component on the left was woven with doubled thread, and the component on the right was done in single thread. The beads and thread path are the same for both. Both components conform to a natural curve, but the single-thread version is more flexible.

Here are the same components when pinched. The doubled-thread version is stiff and hardly moves, but the single-thread version will squish!

I'm not yet sure which version I'll use going on from here. If I want the final design to be super stiff, I'll used the doubled-thread version. But I might be able to get away with the single-thread version if I'm not hanging them at an awkward angle.

A Curved Component

I'm happy with how these components curve and hold their shape. If they're continued around in Hyper-RAW, they should form self-supporting beaded circles.

For the curious, you can find the picture that inspired these components here. Yep, they're supposed to be worms. Specifically, a species of worm called C. elegans, a tiny worm the size of a 15° seed bead, which is one of the major model organisms that scientists use to study several subfields of biology, notably neurology, development, and genetics. It was one of the first organisms to have its genome sequenced, and you'll find them in use in hundreds of biology labs all over the world.

You don't often see them in bead-form though ;)

Do you use single thread or doubled thread? Or do you use both? Which one do you like better?

Cosmic Dodecahedron

Have you ever had an idea for a project, a project that you knew would be quite cool, but never seemed to find the time to sit down and build it? I've been thinking about weaving this beaded object for close to a year, but I knew it would take many hours of painstaking, fiddly beadwork, so I kept putting it off for another time. This past weekend, I finally sat down and put it together.

A Dodecahedral Variation

The result is a dodecahedral variation of my Cosmic Nocturne Pendant, and it is indeed as cool as I thought it would be! It's hollow and completely self-supporting, and surprisingly heavy for its size and lacy nature. It was also as fiddly as I thought it would be, as I had to perform several feats of Beading Needle Gymnastics to get the beads to go where they needed to go.

A Very Large Beaded Bead

This is easily the largest beaded bead that I've ever created. So much so that I'm learning towards using it as a Christmas ornament. Here it is next to the beaded bead that was previously my largest design, the Fiberoptic Dodecahedron:

And here it is next to a quarter:

It measures about 45 mm in diameter, which makes it slightly larger than a golf ball. I don't have a golf ball for comparison, but I do have a baseball. It's a little larger than half the diameter of a baseball, and with enough practice, you can get it to balance on top of a baseball:

And of course, my tiny paper cranes had to get in on the act too :)

Three Cosmic Symmetries

Together with the original Cosmic Nocturne Pendant and the Tetrahedral Variation, the Cosmic Dodecahedron variation completes the trio of these lacy beaded beads.

I'll be describing these variations in my Cosmic Nocturne Pendant class at the Bead & Button Show next month if you'd like to learn how to make your own!

The Cosmic Nocturne Pendant is just one of the projects that I'll be teaching at the Bead & Button Show this June. The class for this particular project is on Friday, June 7, from 1-4 PM. More information about the show can be found on their website.

Cosmic Tetrahedron

One of the themes of my talk at the San Diego Bead Society this weekend is how a simple change in geometry can lead to a new beaded structure. With this theme in mind, I wove a variation of the Cosmic Nocturne Pendant.

A Tetrahedral Variation

This particular variation uses the geometry of a tetrahedron. Can you see its similarity to this beaded tetrahedron?

I like how this design accentuates the faces and the points of the tetrahedron, but it also leaves a big space at the edges. This is unlike most of the beaded beads that I've seen (like the one above), which usually have at least one bead lying on the edge of the structure.

Variation vs. The Original Version

The tetrahedral variation is slightly smaller than its original counterpart, but it's still a nice size for a petite version of this pendant.

The Cosmic Nocturne Pendant is just one of the projects that I'll be teaching at the Bead & Button Show this June. The class for this particular project is on Friday, June 7, from 1-4 PM. More information about the show can be found on their website.

Tila Garden Pendant with Rizo Beads

In preparation for my classes at the San Diego Bead Society later this month, I re-illustrated most of the Tila Garden Pendant pattern to reflect my most recent illustration style. I think it's easier to understand, though I'm going to see how well it works in the class before updating the version that's on my website. While I was illustrating it, I decided that it needed a few more step-by-step photos, so I wove a new Tila Garden Pendant for myself with a simple variation...

Another Rizo-Bead Substitution

Yep, yet again, I substituted the fringe drops for rizo beads, which is becoming a recurring theme on my bead tray nowadays; I previously swapped out other beads for rizo beads in my Double Bubble Jacks, Tila Droplet, and Sparkling Compass designs.

"Burst" Variations

The rizo beads wiggle around more in this pendant compared the original version, but it also makes the pendant more tactile and it gives the flowers a burst effect. Plus I'm loving the colors! I've gotten several positive comments about it from the ladies in my local bead circle, so I'm thinking of offering it as a kit option for this and my Bead & Button classes. What do you think?

The same burst effect can be achieved with Swarovski briolette pendant crystals, as seen in this pendant that I wove last year:

More Matching Earrings

Continuing with my goal of designing matching earrings for my pendants, I put together a pair to match this pendant too. It actually took a pretty big design-concept-paradigm-shift on my part to come up with this earring design, even though the end result looks so similar to the flowers on the pendant. They're quick to weave together too.

The class that I'm teaching at the San Diego Bead Society will take place on April 21 starting at 10 AM. There's still one space left, so contact the bead society at sdbeadsociety@gmail.com for more information about how to register. I'm also teaching this project at Bead & Button, and there's still space left in the session on Sunday, June 9, from 9 AM - noon.

Tropical Dahlia Pendants: Larger Variations

While I was designing the Tropical Dahlia Pendant, I experimented with the idea of using a larger central rivoli in the middle of the pendant...

Original Version: Ten Units

The original Tropical Dahlia Pendant has ten units of beadwork around the central rivoli; ten rizo beads, ten Czech teardrop beads, and ten rivoli pendant crystals, accompanied by a collection of Japanese seed beads.

Larger Variation: Twelve Units

To create the larger variation, I used an 18 mm rivoli in the center, and increased the units of beadwork from ten to twelve. The result is a slightly larger pendant with the rotational symmetry of a clock face! Can you see the difference?

This variation also required some additional minor adjustments in the size and count of the seed beads on the back of the pendant, which I describe in detail in the Tropical Dahlia Set pattern.

I think that a collection of Tropical Dahlias in these two different sizes would make a gorgeous necklace...

The pattern for the Tropical Dahlia Set is available exclusively at beadorigami.com if you'd like to make your own!

What's your favorite kind of variation on a beading pattern? 

Fiberoptic Easter Egg Earrings

On the heels of creating the Fiberoptic Egg variation of the Fiberoptic Octahedron beaded bead, I've put together three pairs of earrings using this design!

Fiberoptic Easter Egg Earrings

The first is in very floral pinks and purples, with just a touch of orange and yellow:

Floral Pink and Purple Fiberoptic Egg Earrings

The next pair is in tealish-green with purple:

Spring Green and Purple Fiberoptic Egg Earrings

And the last is in silver and black, since this color combination goes with everything.

Black and Silver Fiberoptic Egg Earrings

All three pairs of earrings are available in my Etsy shop!

The Fiberoptic Egg beaded bead is a variation on the Fiberoptic Octahedron from my Fiberoptic Duo Beaded Beads pattern. This SuperDuo beading pattern is available exclusively at beadorigami.com if you'd like to make your own!

Fiberoptic "Egg" Beaded Bead

As a full-fledged science and math nerd, I like to explore many possible geometry variations in my beadwork. Along these lines, I recently wove a new variation of my Fiberoptic Duo design:

The beaded bead on the left is an original Fiberoptic Octahedron, one of two beaded beads described in my Fiberoptic Duo pattern, while the beaded bead on the right is the variation; a Fiberoptic Triangular Bipyramid.

Octahedron vs. Triangular Bipyramid

While their names sound nothing alike, the octahedron and triangular bipyramid (aka triangular dipyramid) are actually fairly closely-related polyhedra. Both have sides made up only of triangles, and when the sides in the triangular bipyramid are equilateral, these polyhedra make up two of the eight deltahedra. This is a special class of structures where all of their sides are made up of equilateral triangles.

You can think of a triangular bipyramid as two tetrahedra stacked up against each other. I also like to think of it as an octahedron that's just missing two of its sides. A triangular bipyramid has six sides instead of the eight in the octahedron, and nine edges instead of twelve.

A Geometry Variation

Because it's so closely related the octahedron, the triangular bipyramid makes for a straightforward variation on an octahedron beaded bead design. I wove this variation by skipping just one repeat of a step in the original pattern, and by substituting the seed beads in the core of the beaded bead with 15° seed beads. The tricky part is the seed bead overlay: I had to use quite a bit of thread tension to get this overlay to fit right without too much thread showing through. 

The resulting beaded bead is oval-shaped, and slightly taller than the original octahedron. Maybe it's because Easter is coming up, but it looks a little like an egg to me:

Fiberoptic Octahedron (left) and Triangular Bipyramid (right) Beaded Beads

I had some fun balancing this beaded bead on its precursor:

Even one of my tiny paper cranes got in on this balancing act:

Fiberoptic Egg Earrings

Finally, I incorporated this beaded bead and another into a pair of earrings. Aren't they cute? I'm beginning to prefer oval-shaped beaded beads for earrings compared to round ones... What do you think?

The Fiberoptic Duo Beaded Beads pattern is available exclusively at beadorigami.com if you'd like to make your own!

What's your go-to method for a beaded variation?

Chocolate Molecules

What's better than beaded molecules from coffee and tea? How about one from chocolate?

Beaded Theobromine Molecule Pendant - Dark Chocolate

Theobromine

Caffeine is just one of a class of molecules called xanthines, which also includes a compound called theobromine. It actually doesn't contain any bromine at all, but it rather gets its name from the plant name Theobroma, from the greek roots "Theo" (God) and "broma" (food), meaning "food of the Gods." And really, is there any better way to describe the tree that gives us chocolate?

Theobromine is the primary alkaloid found in chocolate and cocoa powder, though it's also found in lesser amounts in coffee, tea, and yerba mate. It has a similar but more subtle effect on the nervous system compared to caffeine. Chocolate also contains hundreds of other compounds, including caffeine, a third xanthine called theophylline, and phenethylamine, the so-called "chocolate love chemical."

Caffeine vs. Theobromine

From a structural chemistry point of view, theobromine and caffeine differ in just one way: caffeine has a methyl group where theobromine only has a hydrogen atom at the N1 position. I've circled this difference in their chemical structures below:

So, if we want to make a beaded version of theobromine, all we need to do is weave the structure of caffeine, and leave off that extra methyl group. Can you see where the methyl group sits in this green tea caffeine pendant?

Beaded Caffeine Molecule Pendant - "Matcha" - Green Tea

Chocolate-Themed Theobromine Pendants

I tried this variation with chocolate-themed seed beads, and got so carried away with myself that I wove three different theobromine pendants. The first is in carmel chocolate flavors:

Beaded Theobromine Molecule Pendant - Caramel Chocolate

The next is a milk chocolate:

Beaded Theobromine Molecule Pendant - Milk Chocolate

And finally, the last is in my favorite of all chocolates, a delicious dark chocolate:

Beaded Theobromine Molecule Pendant - Dark Chocolate

All three pendants are available in my Etsy shop!