Bead Color Triads: Christmas Delights

It’s only November, and most of us aren’t ready for Christmas carols to play on a continuous loop while we shop, and we’re not ready to think about hauling decorations out of the attic or crawlspace. But Christmas is coming, and now is the time to start planning the year’s festivities.

So, for this month’s color palette, I decided to have a look at the classic trio of red, white and green. You can find it in everything from scented candles to shower curtains, but my personal favorite is mixed candies. Whether you like cinnamon and mint flavored jellies or not, there’s no denying that they look fabulous in a crystal bowl.

While trying to pair red and green without looking festive can be frustrating, looking through one’s bead stash for holiday palettes is great fun. The possibilities are endless!

The first palette I came up with started with a beautiful red cane glass cylinder with white swirls. Could a bead be any more Christmasy? To create a Holiday Centerpiece, I added some emerald triangle seed beads with a definite pine bough appeal, and transparent AB bugles that would make great icicle fringe.

Next I picked up some strands of white pinch bicones, and paired them with Angelic crystal rondelles in luscious red velvet. I’ve never heard a more perfect name for a bead color. These beauties have an inner glow that is irresistible. I finished off this Deck the Halls palette with some jade green 11/o seed beads.

And finally, my favorite collection features some transparent green and matte red Czech pressed glass rings. They look so much like little jelly candies that I can almost taste them! I paired these up with some white Ceylon 6/o seed beads to create a Candy Bowl palette. Yum!

I don’t make very many seasonal jewelry designs, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to create something with those jelly rings. For today’s necklace, I filled in the Candy Bowl palette with some Siam ruby crystals and jade green seed beads.

Although I was very tempted to try doing some acrobatic bezel work on the rings, I decided to go with something simple and made a three-strand necklace with the rings suspended from the center. It was fun and easy to work up, and has so much holiday sparkle.

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