Bead Color Ideas: Leftover Druks

I’m currently working my way slowly through my workspace clean up and as always I’m making new discoveries and inspirations along the way. One thing that occurred to me as I was putting beads away in their proper places is that I still have way too many druk beads that haven’t been used in years. Some of them are nearly 10 years old, while others seemed really exciting a short time ago, but haven’t quite lived up to their expectations. I thought it was time to pair some of them up with seed beads and see if any ideas arise.

Romantic Turquoise Palette

The first trio was surprisingly easy to build, considering just how long I’ve been holding on to the pink druks. I so rarely have a reason to use pink, and this particular shade of transparent rose is way too subtle for anything I’m making these days. At first glance, I couldn’t possibly imagine what I could make with them. That all changed once I started adding the right seed beads, though. First came transparent topaz AB, which I love with this shade of pink. It’s a romantic, champagne-in-Paris kind of pairing. All it needed was a dash of lustered turquoise and...voila! I definitely think this palette needs a spiral design - perhaps a rope lariat or an embellished bangle.

True Blue-Green Palette

The next druk color still makes me a little sad. When I ordered them I was so excited to have this color in my stash of accents, but in person they just didn’t deliver. It might be because these are actually a coated finish, and not a true lime green. Even though I couldn’t wait to use them at first, I’ve barely touched these beads. The first color I chose to go with them was black-lined aqua – definitely my favorite blue right now. When the light hits both beads, they really zing. To finish the palette, I didn’t want to use a contrasting color, so I added lustered emerald instead. I almost went with metallic June bug, but it looked much too moody next to the bright green. I’d love to use this trio in something netted or freeform with lots of fringe.

Cherry Bomb Palette

The last palette was actually a pre-planned one. I’ve got something special in mind for these colors, but I wanted to test them out first and see how they played together in person, not just my mind’s eye. This palette begins with opaque cherry druks – a long time favorite that have started to lose their appeal after all these years. Although I’m sure a project or two might come up in the future where they would work, I’d really like to move on and try some other reds instead. The first seed bead color I chose for them was opaque lime. I’ve used these two colors in projects before, and they always look fresh and fruity. To keep things looking chic, a backdrop of jet black was all the trio needed. I think the palette would look amazing in flat beadwork like a cuff, but I’m planning to use it for something light and fringy!

Do you have any not-so-inspiring beads just hanging around? What was the last project you used them for?

Mortira

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