New Beads: Indonesia

When I first decided that my 2011 New Year’s resolution would be to try out new beads every month, I had my sights set on really unique materials, like one of a kind lampwork and vintage treasures. I have found some fantastic focals along the way, and learned a lot about my own beading preferences and abilities.

Towards the end of the year, I had to make some adjustments to my goal, since ever shrinking bead budgets left little room for expensive art beads and one-use components. Although I’m glad I had this challenge to give me the chance to try out other things, like long magatamas, I wanted to make sure that the final New Beads design was a big one. Luckily, December is always a little fatter than the rest of the year, and I was able to finally make a trip back to Happy Mango Beads for some irresistible goodies.

The selection on the website is large and varied, and since I didn’t have a specific focal style in mind for the last challenge piece, I started in the new arrivals section. Much to my delight, I came across some adorably charming face pendants from Indonesia. I was even more thrilled to discover that they are made from glass - no metals, gems, or plastic! I didn’t even hesitate to snap them up. I couldn’t walk away without a few strands of this and that, and I found some beautiful dyed buri nuts, also from Indonesia, and added them to my African Christmas beads and white hearts.

When I saw my new face pendant in person, I had a long debate about how I was going to use it. Such a beautiful bead deserves a great background, but did I want to make something so elaborate that it would take away from the fine details in the pendant? And with so many different accent colors to draw from, how could I choose a palette that would work with both the beadwork and the focal?

At the risk of boring even myself, I was drawn to use a simple beaded chain - my favorite treatment for unique focals. The advantage to such an uncomplicated necklace would be the extra room for color play. So, I gathered up an assortment of brown beads, plus orange, yellow, red and turquoise green to match the decorative glass face.

I love the natural element that the buri beads bring to the chain, and their size allows the smaller, more colorful beads to sit in the background a little, balancing the design. Although this wasn’t exactly the ‘big’ necklace I had envisioned for the twelfth and final piece, I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. Trying out these Indonesian treasures was exactly the experience that I had hoped for last January.

Thank you so much for following along and supporting me during this challenge. The new mission for 2012 will be revealed soon, and I’ll be inviting beaders and bloggers to join in the fun!


Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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New Beads: Long Magatamas

One of my favorite things about trying new beads, is that there is always an opportunity to learn something new. While this sometimes means trying a new technique, it can also help a beader learn more about the techniques they already love.

My bead budget for November was incredibly small, and once I had purchased some supplies I needed for a custom design, I had very little room left for new beads. I decided to make the most of it, and added a couple of magatama packets to the order, since I’ve been longing to try them all year. I grabbed some in blue, and I couldn’t resist the transparent lemon lime.

These leaf shaped seed beads have a lot of interesting qualities, particularly the angled holes, which make them ideal for organic inspired designs - they make excellent leaves and dragon scales. I wanted to put these beads to use in a design that would really show off their shape, instead of simply throwing them in with my usual work. Bangles have been done, and beautifully, so I had to come up with something else.

I decided it would be fun to replace the 8/o seed beads in a Dutch spiral with magatamas. They would look fantastic snuggled into the beadwork, and spiraling around the chain. After some debate, I settled on a palette of brown and gold to contrast the green and blue, and lend some more organic flair to the leafy shapes.

At first I was really excited about the idea, but after a few turns around the spiral, I started to get bored. The idea seemed to fizzle as I contemplated all the work ahead, even though the project was turning out as I had planned - perhaps better. It was then that I realized that I wasn’t interested in the project because I was forcing myself to do something that worked for the beads, instead of making the beads work for me. It was time to start over.

Instead of making a project that was ideal for the magatamas, I decided to take a chance and see how they would work in a design that was more my style. With the drop-like nature of the magatamas, I couldn’t resist trying a Chevron collar. I removed the topaz from the palette, and simply added some blue and green drops to the edge of dark brown netting.

Although taking the time to make sure that the long magatamas were facing the right direction with each stitch made the work go a little slower, it was much more fun that trying to please the beads, instead of the other way around. And now I have this fun little collar with blue and green leaves along the edge!

Have you worked with long magatamas? What’s your favorite technique to use them with?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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New Beads: Baby Blue

When I started my buy-some-neat-new-beads-every-month challenge at the beginning of this year, I didn’t anticipate any major changes in my bead budget, and I had hoped to discover lots of unique and interesting beads, particularly handmade lampwork. I have found some great glass artists along the way, but October’s budget was too small for anything quite so special.

I don’t like to give up on a good challenge, especially one that helps inspire new ideas and ways to use beads. In order to keep the New Beads challenge going, I had to break a few of my own rules. The upside is that it allowed me to make use of some beads that have been rattling around in my stash for a long time.

Years ago, I purchased a vial of mixed Czech glass beads, and sorted them out by shape and color. All of those beads have long since been used, except for a handful of rough cut Picasso tubes in black and red. When I first gathered them up, I was inspired to pair them with pale blue or turquoise, possibly in a multi-strand necklace. I saw them nestled randomly along strands of Czech seed beads - the slightly irregular shapes would pair up well with these speckled little oddities. I’ve been carrying around the image of this necklace ever since, and whenever I pass by the bead section at my neighborhood dollar store, I think of it. The big packets of delightfully wonky* Chinese seed beads call out to me, saying “Wouldn’t we look great in a multi-strand necklace?”.

Since my budget was so small, I decided to grab some of these quirky seed beads in baby blue, and finally create the necklace that my little Picasso beads were meant for. I was excited about finally tackling the project, but because I wasn’t going to be selling a piece made with something from my taboo list, I have to admit that I wasn’t eager to spend a lot of time making beaded caps and metal-free ends to hold a lot of strands woven in and out. I had to come up with something new - an easy way to put lots of beads together in one place.

I decided to put my one spool of neglected Nymo to good use, and strung almost the entire packet of seed beads with the Picasso chips and a few black 8/o’s for texture. I wanted to use up as much of the beads as I could, so I left the thread on the spool and watched the strand get longer and longer. When I was running out of ‘good’ beads, I tied the ends together and wove the tails in to get an enormous connected loop of pretty beads.

After that, all I had to do was wrap the strands together into a suitable length, and lashed them with short spiral ropes stitched to a beaded clasp. The necklace has the look and feel of a traditional eye pin multi-strand project, and even twists up nicely. Although I appreciate the softness and drape that the Nymo provides, I think I’ll switch to my Fireline if I ever decide to recreate this piece with better beads. It turned out so nice, I think it’s very likely that I will do it again!

*Wonky is a widely excepted technical term for beads that aren’t quite right.

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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Bead Embroidery Pendants

Trying out a new material or medium can sometimes be a little intimidating, but excitement usually overshadows those doubts. And if we keep at it, we are often rewarded with a new skill. Last month, I decided it was time to finally stop procrastinating, and I used my New Beads budget to try out some wool felt as a material for bead embroidery. It was money well spent!

I shared a little peek at what I’ve been up to with the felt last week, but it was just the first in a parade of new designs. The felt is a fantastic base for embroidery, and a delightfully soft backing as well. It holds up well to lots of stitching, even with Fireline, and the colors are awesome. I chose a set of three shades from Material Evidence - a versatile palette of black, blue and brown.

I was having so much fun that I just keep stitching, and made a series of pendants without stopping to make necklaces for them. I like to think of it as a little primer for designs to come. I won’t be switching over to embroidery full time, but it’s wonderful to have an extra technique ready when inspiration strikes.

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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New Beads: Cowry Shells

Ever since I started looking for new Egyptian jewelry inspirations, I’ve been on the hunt for cowry shells. Like many ancient cultures, the Egyptians loved the look and feel of cowries, and considered them to be a feminine symbol and a way to promote fertility. Cowry shapes appear often in Egyptian jewelry designs, so I wanted to get my hands on some and see what they could do.

Unfortunately, I had a hard time finding anything but sawed cowry shells, which are often used in hemp jewelry and other pieces as charms and dangles. I wanted the full effect, especially the smooth shell backs with their pretty, organic designs.

I had almost given up my search for whole, preferably drilled, cowries, when I got lucky. I was out doing some thrifting, and spotted a long, luxurious shell necklace made almost entirely from whole cowries. I didn’t even hesitate to scoop up this treasure, and took it home to disassemble it and see just how lucky I was.

Sure enough, the necklace design relied on the cowries being drilled once, allowing the strings to be fed through the inside of the shell, and out through the spout on the opposite side. Pairs of cowries were then anchored together by a single shell, hiding all of the strings and making a nice, neat necklace.

All I had to do was come up with a beadweaving design that would make the best use of the cowry shape. Dangles and fringe would likely be askew and not very pretty. I finally decided on spiral rope, which would allow the shells to hug the beadwork, and show off their pretty backs.

Weaving with cowries isn’t the most fun I’ve ever had. Most of the time, I was able to feed Fireline through the tiny, curved spaces by hand. Occasionally, I needed a little help from a twisted wire needle, which is now hopelessly kinked and mangled from the job.

Although I was happy to be able to use up the blue and white bead mixture I accidentally created this summer, and I like the ocean theme, I sort of wish I had gone with an earthier palette. I don’t have quite enough shells left to make another necklace like this, but there are enough for a few bracelets. I’d like to give them another try in a more tribal design.

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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New Beads: Tomb Treasures

I have some very exciting bead finds to share with you today! Over the past few months, my favorites and bookmarks have been filling up with wonderful beads and cabochons with an Egyptian flair. As soon as mail service opened up again, I just had to scoop up two sets of gorgeous hieroglyph tablets from Ms. Bijoux Beads.

These Czech glass beads are made in the classic Egyptian revival style that was popular in the 1920’s, and the colors are fantastic! While I was shopping, I also came across some lovely Czech glass skull beads, and didn’t hesitate to grab them. I searched high and low for some affordable skull beads last fall, and came up short. Everything seemed to be either turquoise, which I don’t use, or ceramic, which is a bit expensive, and also on the fringes of my taboo list.

The very first thing I made when my beads arrived was a Halloween inspired collage pendant. I’ve been experimenting with this necklace style a bit lately - taking a swatch of beadwork and weaving it through with fringe and dangles. This one combines skulls and rustic Christmas beads with black and brown.

The orange hieroglyph beads created a bit of a challenge. What sort of palette would work well with such a vibrant orange, and have a distinct Egyptian flair? I started with cobalt AB druks, and matching blue seed beads. A dash of light cream and parched desert wood beads rounded things out nicely.

I was really happy with how the orange pendant turned out, and then I got to work on the jade green, and actually surprised myself a little. I love this palette of turquoise, black, topaz and olive so much, I’m very tempted to use it all again in a different design.

I have a bunch more of these little hieroglyph beads, and I can’t wait to explore more possibilities. I’m hoping that they will take a peyote stitch bezel - they’d make great focals for cuff bracelets.

What’s your favorite bead style of late?

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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New Beads Mash Up

My 2011 resolution to try out new and unique beads every month took a bit of a detour in June. Because Canada’s postal service was delayed and cut off for most of the month, I wasn’t able to purchase any exciting beads in time to make designs for this post. Instead, I thought I would show you some of the other new beads that I’ve been working with.

My favorite new stash addition is a set of gorgeous vintage glass scarab cabochons from Emmy’s Earrings, which I purchased back in May. These tiny little beetles were made in Germany, and have a gorgeous translucent finish in dark and pale minty green. I’ve used one of each so far for Egyptian rings, including a huge ivory and blue cocktail ring, and a smaller one for myself. I’m hoping to incorporate some into a Bracelet a Week design eventually.

Before the postal lock-out, I was able to purchase some basic supplies like thread and seed beads, and I also picked up a whole bunch of bright gold Swarovski pearls, and a tiny LillyPilly Egyptian eye pendant. The shell charm is still waiting to be paired up with some tagua, but I finally managed to create the necklace that the pearls were meant for.

Earlier this year, while sketching out new collar designs, I saw a glimpse of an all black, freeform collar with gold accents. At some point, I decided to add chevron chain to the mix, and came up with this combination collar and bib. The gold pearls look exactly right against the black seed beads.

Since I couldn’t buy any new beads in June, I did a little experimenting with beaded beads. Using the simple seed bead-covered bead technique, I created a trio of beaded beads in exotic colors, and paired them with one of my favorite tribal palettes - black, red and green.

These beads are so much fun to make, and open up lots of fun beading possibilities. You can learn how to make them with a simple beading around a bead tutorial from FusionBeads.com.

What new beading discoveries have you been making of late?

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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Red Desert Garnet Collar

I am really excited about my new Egyptian jewelry challenge, and not just because Ancient Egypt is one of my favorite topics of inspiration. This experiment will give the a chance to fashion some new netted collars, which are one of my favorite things to make.

Even though getting vertical netting started is not the easiest of beading tasks, and the following stitches are so easy that they risk being dull, a netted collar is fun to stitch from start to finish. I’m not sure why it’s so much more diverting than it’s beading cousins like peyote stitch. Perhaps it’s because once you’ve established a pattern, you only have to repeat simple bead counts - after awhile, they become almost soothing.

The first collar of the line is really simple - the most ordinary and uncomplicated collar I’ve ever made. I chose a simple design because I wanted to show off the fabulous limited edition garnet beads that I acquired just for the challenge.

Like many of my “New Beads” finds, I came across these beads quite by accident. I was looking desperately for some more 6mm tortoise druks, which have become contenders for my all-time favorite beads ever. Unfortunately, they are a limited edition finish, and when I went to purchase more, I found the original source had dried up.

I tried Google, but I was only able to locate some 3 or 4 mm sizes, and had pretty much given up. Then I was browsing around ArtFire, and saw some two-tone black and white druks, and decided to chase them and see if they would bring me to some tortoise beads.

Sure enough, I found a healthy supply waiting for me at The Bead Stylist. So I browsed around to see what else I could find, and came across these pretty garnet ovals, and some vintage nail heads that I couldn’t pass up, even though I have no idea what I’m going to do with them.

The ovals have a coated finished, so I had to spend a bit of time filing down the holes, but it was totally worth it. I love the way the speckles stand out to meet the black background of the netting. For a little more kick, I used black lined garnet 3-cuts for the picot edge along the inside of the collar. Their red has a little more blue to it than the ovals, but the sparkle the facets bring to the design makes up for it.

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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Combination Collar and Pendant

Have you ever created something that you absolutely loved, but got plenty of strange looks, weird comments or terrible critiques? It happens to the best artists and crafters from time to time. The real test is whether or not we take the advice, learn from the experience, get discouraged or just keep doing what we like anyway.

When it came time to decide what to make with April’s unique bead find, I found myself leaning towards a design style that got many mixed reviews the first time I tried it. It was a piece that I really liked, and despite lots of unimpressed comments, it sold almost right away, so I took that as a good sign. I wasn’t discouraged, so I didn’t hesitate to do it again this time around.

The bead in question is an absolutely gorgeous off-mandrel lampwork pendant from Firedance Beads. The studio is very close to my home, so it was a real treat to order the piece that I wanted, and then find it in my mailbox just 2 days later. I had lots of time to think about what I was going to make with it.

The Inspiration:

I really like to do simple projects with art glass, because it allows them to stand out, and it keeps the price low. But since I’m buying new beads every month as a topic for this blog, I want to avoid doing the same thing over and over. This pendant needed something besides the same old caged bead chain.

I love the combination of transparent yellow, red and green, and the way they light up. It reminds me of one of my favorite childhood treats - the Astro Pop. It seems that the giant conical lollipops are no longer being made, and I thought for a moment that it would be fun to pay a little tribute with a color-blocked spiral rope in matching colors.

The Beads:

Luckily, before I could convince myself that an Astro Pop spiral rope would look great, I realized that I didn’t have enough transparent yellow seed beads. I had to come up with something else.

Then I remembered the bib necklace that I made awhile back, with a huge Cubic Zirconia pendant, and a new idea started to form. Instead of highlighting all three colors from the pendant, I chose one - dark green. Some earthy dark topaz drops were all I needed to finish the palette and get to work.

The Beadwork:

I used the transparent emerald seed beads to make a plain netted collar. The drops along the outer edge are like tiny mimics of the pendant, which I suspended from the center of the collar in the same fashion.

Maybe adding a large lampwork pendant to a netted necklace seems strange, but I love the way it turned out. With the single color netting, the pendant doesn’t look out of place or overdone. Likewise, the netting makes a nice background for the pendant - wide and strong but not too complicated.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this design, good or bad! What’s your weirdest and most wonderful creation?

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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Tribal Fringe Necklace

My mission to discover and try out new and interesting beads every month has sparked a new obsession. After falling in love with African Christmas beads, I find myself wanting to use them in everything, and I’m always on the lookout for other exotic trade beads to add to my repertoire.

I found March’s new beads somewhat by accident, and although they aren’t trade beads, I couldn’t resist using them in a tribal design. I came across them while searching for some metal-free shank buttons for an upcoming PDF tutorial. I was thrilled when I found these adorable carved boxwood buttons with animal designs from Unique Buttons on ArtFire.

I was pleased not only with the design, but the price as well, so I kept looking around, and found the most amazing lizard button, which I’m sure will make an appearance in an upcoming challenge bracelet. Then I stumbled across a pair of horn shaped vintage Cherry Brand beads. They are so gorgeous, with beautiful yellow, white and brown stripes. I just had to scoop them up!

It took awhile to decide exactly how I was going to use these beauties. The curved shape makes them tough to design with, especially without using beading wires. I decided that suspending them in a necklace would be best, so that movement would help them look at home. And because I wanted to use both beads, I had to find a way to achieve a nice balance.

Then I had to choose a palette, and a technique for the necklace base. After going through my bead stash, making sketches, and imagining different approaches, I finally decided to make an eclectic charm necklace on a herringbone base. I was tempted to go with an ice cream palette, since the beads have a sort of banana-and-butterscotch-ripple thing going on. But it would be tricky to make it look elegant, and allow the beads to blend in to the design. Luckily, my need to use trade beads everywhere took over, and I came up with a wild and fun African-inspired palette instead. I included a single bead just larger than the horns as a focal piece, as much to keep them from clinking together as for looks.

This was one of the most difficult necklaces I’ve ever made. The techniques are simple, but I ended up using a size 13 needle for the entire rope section, and after a few days of work, I was afraid I had ruined my stitching arm. And here’s a handy tip: straight needles cannot pass through curved beads. Luckily, I have a packet of twisted wire needles, and they worked perfectly.

I actually completed this piece weeks ago, but I’ve been keeping it under wraps, waiting to see if it was chosen as a finalist in this year’s Bead Star competition. This is the first year that the contest has had a category for beadweaving, and I was very excited to enter something.

The Bead Star contest is hosted by Interweave Press and Beading Daily, with prizes provided by some incredible companies like Artbeads.com and Beadalon. There are categories for seed beads, crystals, metals and other materials, as well as a fun heart inspired category. There are some absolutely gorgeous designs to see and vote on this year. Best of luck to everyone who entered!

Meanwhile, I’m still on the hunt for exciting new beads. So far I’ve discovered some amazing new styles and shops, and I’ve got months to go. I have a feeling that I’ll want to keep up with this little tradition beyond 2011.

What new discoveries or experiments in beading have you made this year?

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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African Trade Bead Rings

At the beginning of this year, I began a mission to try out some new and unique beads every month. During my February shopping trip, I stopped by one of my favorite browsing spots, Happy Mango Beads. They have some of the most unique and interesting beads you will ever find outside of a worldwide bead show.

As a seed beader, I’m a sucker for small colorful beads, so I couldn’t resist picking up several strands of African Christmas beads. They are so beautiful on the strands, with lots of different colors, patterns and shapes. I grabbed six strands altogether, in two sizes, and started planning how I would use them.

I wanted to create designs that would be worthy of the Christmas beads. Although their origins of manufacture aren’t very exciting, it’s the history that makes them special. They are traditionally worn as a symbol of love and devotion to one’s partner, which is why they are also known as love beads.

Once I had the new beads in my hands, I was buzzing with a need to bead, but I couldn’t decide what to make. I thought Ndebele herringbone would be a fitting treatment, but I wanted to make something a bit more interesting.

Then I considered some freeform work that would lend itself well to the different bead shapes. But I though that would end up looking too busy, and the uniqueness of the beads would be lost.

Finally, I decided to just get my toes wet at first, and use a few of the beads for just a hint of color. I gathered up some other favorites like tortoise druks with their leopard-like finish, and instead of bone, I grabbed some more of those claw shaped mother of pearl chips.

I had so much fun making a quintet of spring color rings last week, that I decided to do the same again. For the bands, I picked some more spring-like colors, but in richer shades that would go well with my tribal bead theme. I chose dark beige, orange, lime green, and purple. I wanted to add a blue, and I was torn between cobalt and abalone. In the end, I went with the abalone, because of it’s more natural appeal.

I love the way these rings turned out. I added a striped slice and seed bead shaped Christmas bead to each ring, and they give the tribal design a perfect hint of authenticity. Now I’m ready to make something with lots and lots of trade beads.

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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Blue Ivory Lampwork Pendant

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to start trying new beads. Particularly unique beads, like handmade lampwork pieces. My goal is to try something new every month, and make something fun with these new treasures.

In January, I purchased three gorgeous pieces from Silver River Glass Works. I immediately fell in love with this gorgeous focal bead. The layers of ivory, and black, accented with cool blue are so pretty. I wanted to pair them up with some cute blue and green spacers, but when I saw the focal up close, plans changed.

I wanted to really highlight the simple palette of the pendant, and I thought that adding green into the mix would make things a little too busy. So I’m saving them for later - perhaps they’ll make a great bracelet. To go with the focal bead, I chose a palette of seed beads and fire polish in blue, black and light beige. The jet lined crystal seed beads fit it perfectly!

The dilemma with such a great focal piece, is deciding between an elaborate design that will do it justice, and a simple design that will let it stand out without becoming unaffordable. I eventually decided that simple was best, and added a twist to my new favorite pendant design.

Instead of adding just a single ring of seed beads around the fire polish accents, I went back for a second round, and caged the fire polish within four rows of beads. The results are so much different than the typical “reverse daisy chain”. I love the way the beads seem to orbit together.

Now to find just the right method for the blue and green spacers!

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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