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?

Wild Forget-Me-Nots Set

Now that my newest beading pattern is complete, I thought I'd talk about an (almost) complete set of the different kinds of jewelry that you can make with this Wildflower Fields pattern. All of the pieces in this set are in the light blue Forget-Me-Not colorway, which is one of the colorways for this design that's available as a kit.

A Pair of Charm Earrings

The first piece that this pattern teaches you how to make is the basic Wildflower Fields charm, which uses a variation of the circular peyote stitch. This self-supporting charm includes an 8° seed bead at the top, so you can easily attach it to a jump ring. Two of them make for a pair of hanging earrings.

The great thing about this charm is that the beads on the back balance out those on the front, so the resulting earrings are balanced; they don't lean forward, rather they hang straight, facing the viewer.

A Pair of Post Earrings

The second piece in this set is the pair of post earrings. I was very excited about this part of the set, as I had never engineered a pair of beaded post earrings before! They're really easy to make and quick to work up, so you can easily make a different pair for each day of the week. The ear post is bezeled into the middle of the flower, so no glue is needed!

I used stainless steel posts for this particular pair of earrings, but I included sterling silver posts in the kits to minimize any potential metal allergy issues (though apparently, titanium ear posts are the best for metal allergies - is this true?)

A Matching Topiary Ball Pendant

The cornerstone piece of this set is the pendant, which looks like a beaded topiary ball. The pendant is what puts this pattern into the "advanced" category, as it is built from a net of seed beads over a round core bead, using the geometry of a dodecahedron. The thread path of this net is a little counter-intuitive, although I included many illustrations in the pattern to explain it properly. If you've ever had the chance to make the Tila Garden Pendant, this design will be quite familiar.

The core bead in this pendant can be made of any material, however this particular pendant uses a plastic core bead, so it's very light! I think it would also look great as a focal bead in a more elaborative necklace... What do you think?

New Pattern and Kits: Wildflower Fields Set

My newest beading pattern, the Wildflower Fields Set, is now available at beadorigami.com! This all-seed bead design features a collection of seed beads, including shaped seed beads such as drop beads and peanut beads, which all combine together to make a cute flower charm that can make earrings, a bracelet, or a beautiful pendant!

A Beaded Topiary Ball Pendant

The cornerstone piece of this set is the pendant, which measures about 28 mm in diameter and can also serve as a large beaded bead. The pendant is in the geometry of a dodecahedron, with twelve little flowers spread out evenly around the piece.

A Twisting Bracelet

Several individual wildflower motifs can be beaded together to form a petite little bracelet:

Post Earrings

In this pattern, I also describe how to create post earrings out of a pair of wildflower components. The ear post for each earring is incorporated into the middle of each beaded flower, which secures it in place much like a beaded bezel on a rivoli crystal. No glue required!

The complete Wildflower Fields pattern is appropriate for Advanced beaders, as the thread path of the pendant is a little tricky. However, Advanced Beginner beaders who are comfortable working with size 15° seed beads should be able to complete the charm and earrings, and, when ready, move on to the bracelet and the pendant.

Kits in Three Colorways

Kits for this design are available in three colorways: Pink Blossoms, Lavender, and Forget-Me-Not. Each kit contains all the beads and thread needed to make one pendant, one bracelet, two charms, and one pair of stud earrings!

The beading pattern and kits for the Wildflower Fields Set is available exclusively at beadorigami.com!

Wildflower Fields Collection

Bead Fest Philly is just around the corner, and I've been busy putting together the instructions and kits for the three classes that I'll be teaching there. Yesterday I wove a purple version of my Wildflower Fields Pendant:

A Topiary Flower Ball Pendant

I must admit that it's been an interesting process to re-focus on this design. I first came up with it over a year and a half ago, and at the time I was totally in love with its petite, little wildflower components that only require a minimal number of round and shaped seed beads to weave. But since then, so many other interesting bead shapes have come to market, and in my flurry of experimenting with two-hole beads and rizos, this design fell by the wayside. I was worried that re-visiting this design wouldn't be as exciting as when I first beaded it.

But I was pleasantly surprised at how this piece is still satisfying to create, and how adaptable it is to many different kinds of jewelry. The flowers are five-sided, so twelve of them can join together make a cute little dodecahedron-shaped pendant that reminds me of a floral topiary ball.

(Such floral topiary designs are quite common in modular origami, as I've noted on this blog before!)

Earrings and Charms

These little wildflowers are a great source for component-based jewelry design. Just one flower can be attached to a jump ring to make a cute little charm, and two pair together for a quick pair of earrings. But unlike my other beading designs, these flowers can also be incorporated into stud earrings. Neat huh?

Many Possibilities

The wildflowers can also be connected together for a twisting little bracelet, that matches both the pendant and earrings for the complete collection.

I also like how easy it is to develop different colorways for this design. The primary colors in this piece are only from two shapes of Japanese seed beads, so I don't need to worry about matching different kinds of crystals and glass beads from three different countries to come together into one piece (although that can be a fun challenge too). And since shaped seed beads come in dozens of colors (and round seed beads come in hundreds!), many different colorways are possible.

I'll be teaching this project at Bead Fest Philly on Saturday, August 24, from 8:30 AM-4 PM. More information about how to register for this class can be found on the Bead Fest Philly website.

Are you going to Bead Fest Philly? I'd love to see you there!