Saturday, February 19, 2011

A Bracelet a Week: Winter Frost

Snow White Bead Palette

No matter how much we love skiing and making snow angels, there usually comes a time when winter becomes old hat. But no matter how much we long for spring, it’s still hard to ignore or forget the things we do love about the colder months, especially all the beautiful sights. There’s nothing quite like the look of evergreen boughs covered in frost on a sunny winter morning.

I wanted to capture that look in this week’s bracelet, so I started with white pearl Ceylon finish seed beads in 11/o and 6/o sizes. I think that this shimmery finish makes for really gorgeous snow-inspired designs. Better than stark opaque white, they seem to capture that sparkle of tiny frost crystals.

Snow White Fringe Bracelet

To add a bit of ice, I used crystal luster druks. The shiny finish on the transparent glass looks exactly like water that has just frozen. It has that perfect glossiness to it that makes them perfect for a winter inspired piece.

This design really brought out one of the issues that often kept me from making a lot of bracelets in the past. Because they need to fit just so, it’s often difficult to decide on the proper dimensions to use. Some designs, like this one, will change in length as you work, so there’s no sure fire way to tell how long a bracelet will be until it is finished.

I over estimated the amount of shrink the leaf fringe would cause, so this one ended up being in the plus size range. But now I know for next time! Every beading mistake is another valuable learning experience.

I would like to thank Artbeads.com for providing the seed beads and druks used in this piece. Inspirational Beading has not received paid compensation for including Artbeads.com products or reviews in this blog post. I have shared my honest opinions about the products used in this design.

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading


1 comment:

  1. As tired as I am of the winter, this bracelet moves me. It is gorgeous, reminds of hoar frost on a clear morning.

    ReplyDelete

Blog Widget by LinkWithin
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads

Inspiration Topics

accessories amulet Ancient Worlds Modern Beads animals April's Army art ArtFire astrology astronomy autumn awards awareness bangle beach Bead Inspired Bead Shops bead soup bead spotlight bead stash Bead Trays beaded beads beading theory beads belt bezel birthstones black blog spotlight blue boho bone book spotlight bracelet Bracelet A Week branch fringe brick stitch brown bugles buttons cabochon ceramic chain maille challenge charity chevron chain christmas collar Collections color Color Ideas color triads conservation craft shows crafts crochet crystals cuff Culled Beads current events Current Faves daggers Daily Sets daisy chain Delicas Destash drops Dutch spiral earrings Egypt Egyptian Gods embellishing embroidery environment etsy exotic fair trade fantasy fashion Favorite Beads Favorite Techniques feminine fibers film findings fire polish fixtures Flashback Test flickr inspiration flowers food found object free form fringe Geek Jewels geekery gemstones geography giveaway glass gold gray Greece green herringbone hex cuts history holiday home decor insects inspiration tip inspired beader Inspired by... Inspiring Links ivory Jewelry Stash knitting ladder stitch lampwork lariat leaf fringe leather lights literature loomwork macrame magatamas Master Class Medallions metal free metalwork Mini Collar a Week mixed media mixture Mood Board MOP multi-color multi-strand music natural beads nature necklace Necklace a Day Nepal chain netting New Beads ocean ombre orange paint paper patterns pearls pendant peyote photography Picasso finish pink Pinspiration PMC polymer clay poster sketch purple quick inspiration rainbow RAW red resin ring Ring a Day rivoli Rome Russian spiral scarf science seed beads shell silver soutache spiral rope spring square stitch St. Petersburg steampunk stringing stripes summer tagua TBT The Elements thread Tilas Time Capsule tools trade beads triangle weave tribal tropical turquoise tutorial two-hole beads Ugly vintage Wear it Twice weather white winter WIP wire wishlist wood World Beaders yellow
Blog Home * About * Beading Tutorials * Advertise

Learn About Sponsoring Inspirational Beading with Project Wonderful
Affiliated With ShareASale.com and Amazon.com