Geek Jewels: Aurra Sing

Back when The Phantom Menace was in theatres, I went to see the movie more times than I care to admit now. After about my third viewing, I was basically going to catch the 2 second glimpse of Aurra Sing – a then-anonymous background character watching the pod race. Lots of fans were just as intrigued, and after much demand, she was given a complete background and started showing up in comics, novels, cartoons and, of course, Star Wars merchandise.

For my second Geekspiration project, I wanted to see if I could design a piece of jewelry that would go with the bounty hunter’s signature outfit. As I started to work on an overall design and palette, I realized that it would be the perfect way to use my stash of center-drilled coconut chips. A cuff bracelet seemed like the way to go. A chunky design would have that tough, gauntlet-like look ideal for a space-travelling fighter.

I started with a base of transparent rootbeer with a bold blue stripe. I revived the Earth Mother Cuff design from Ancient Worlds Modern Beads, which has a built-in fringe and works up really fast. Over the blue stripe, I layered some of the coconut chips with purple O-beads and a hint of orange.

Although the cuff itself turned out pretty good, I’m not quite sure that I captured the look that I wanted. I wouldn’t call this one a total success, but I had a great time putting it all together.

Do you have a favorite Star Wars character? What kind of accessory would you design for them?

Mortira

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Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading

Geek Jewels: Donna Noble

The first design in my new challenge series was a quick project that I couldn’t wait to start. When I decided to start a new series inspired by my favorite nerdy themes, the very first inspiration that came to mind was my favorite Doctor Who companion, Donna Noble.

Donna was one of the toughest and funniest of all the ladies to travel with the Doctor. She was my favorite right from the start, and continued to be awesome right until the sad, irreversible end. Donna was incredibly stylish, and often rocked lovely gray and purple ensembles to compliment her ginger locks. It was this palette that I wanted to use for my inspiration, which would prove to be the biggest challenge. An overall design was easy to envision – most of her best outfits included a big pendant or opera length necklace.

I started by pulling out every single gray and purple bead that I had in my stash, just to see what my options were. While I was sorting, I spotted a recycled bottle glass pendant that I thought might come in handy. Sure enough, it was a perfect fit to outline a pretty gray shell butterfly. All I needed to do was add some chain.

I stitched up a quick St. Petersburge chain with white-lined black and purple-lined Rosaline, then suspended the bottle pendant from the chain, and the butterfly from the pendant. The double loop on the butterfly helps to keep the chains in place, and everything looks as sharp as the best temp in Chiswick.

So the first design in the new series is complete, and I’m pretty happy with the result. I have lots of other character inspired designs in mind, and I’m working on a list of some even more obvious inspirations that my fellow geeks should enjoy.

Are you a Whovian? Who’s your favorite companion?

Mortira

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Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading

Throwback Thursday: Willow’s Love Beads

It’s interesting to look back at how much jewelry trends changed over just two decades - from the big, gaudy, plastic and neon pieces of the 80’s, to the subtle and delicate favorites of the 90’s. Gigantic brooches and hot pink hoop earrings were replaced by the Y necklace and helix piercings (upper ear cartilage).

I don’t recall a huge upswing in beaded jewelry in the late 1990‘s, but if there was, it might have been partly due to the collection of daisy chain and love bead style jewelry of Willow Rosenberg - a character from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. During the early seasons, she could often be spotted in import-shop style chokers with a familiar 1970’s combination of simple beadwork and opaque color palettes.

The first necklace looks like 8-bead daisy chain, and the others are most likely Potawatomi chain.

What’s your favorite jewelry trend of the past?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Bead Inspired: Spring Swirls

Thanks to the inspirations of soutache artist Amee K., I’ve been noticing soutache embroidery jewelry everywhere lately. The wonderful swirling, curving shapes of this unique beadwork are hard to resist. There’s just something so appealing about all of those beads snuggled into the fibers.

Swirl patterns, especially organic or freeform ones, are always in style. They bring to mind some of our favorite comforting things, like tropical waves, dandelion seeds on a breeze, or just doodling while on the phone with a good friend. When I came across a beautiful pink and blue lampwork bead by Michal Silberberg, I couldn’t resist adding it to a collage. Not only does it have wonderful layers of multicolored swirls, but marching dots of glass - one of my favorite lampwork embellishments.

Spring Swirl by mortira featuring surgical steel earrings

I added some more swirling, soft, and curvy elements, as well as a good dose of stripes. I was so eager to get started that I didn’t spend much time around the shop. There are some even more inspiring designs in amazing color combos. This is one of my favorites, which features a gorgeous contrast of black, lime, and orange:

Rainbow Lampwork Focal by Michal Silberberg

And, while I was at it, I decided to make use of a favorite bracelet clipping from my round up of Pantone inspired emerald goodies. I'm a sucker for chunky bangles when looking for collage ideas, especially transparent ones. Even though I’m anti-plastic in my designs, I can't help but love the look of chunky resin - probably because it reminds me so much of glass, but in delightful abundance.

Dorothy's Lunch Date by mortira featuring lime green handbags

Whenever I see crystal clear emerald green, I instantly think of the scene in Return to Oz, when Dorothy must rescue her friends who have been turned into emerald figurines. It’s a favorite collage and treasury theme of mine -there’s something so great about the combination of ruby red, emerald green, and a chicken.

What’s inspiring you today?

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading and Friends
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Bead Color Ideas: Mockingjays

When I first began to look for common three-color palettes to explore in beads, I imagined that there would be plenty of inspirations to choose from. Neapolitan ice cream and ribbon candy were easy targets, but it wasn’t long before I had to choose larger palettes and split them up into groups of three. This month, I have a solid three-color palette for inspiration, and it might be one of my favorites to date.

If you’ve been anywhere near a television or computer in the past year or so, chances are you’ve heard of The Hunger Games, either as an upcoming film, or as a fantastic series of dystopian teen novels. When I first learned about the books by Suzanne Collins, there was already a lot of hype. All three books were on the market, and schools everywhere were putting The Hunger Games on reading lists. I decided to give it a shot, and ended up losing a lot of sleep, staying up all night to devour each book.

The books themselves offer an interesting palette of black, red and blue that would look fantastic in beads, so in anticipation of The Hunger Games movie release this week, I went looking for some matching trios. The red was quite difficult to imitate, because it’s actually an orangey tomato-red. Only one of the palettes I mixed comes really, really close, but they all look fun anyway.

First we have The Reaping - an all seed bead palette with three different finishes. The matte transparent ruby AB 11/o seed beads were one of my first picks, because their shimmer is so reminiscent of the cover of Catching Fire, even if the color is a little too pink. For some extra drama, I added noir lined aqua AB long magatamas - the shape gives a totally new look to lined seed beads. These intense colors are backed with simple opaque shiny jet black 8/o’s.

The sky blue shade of the Mockingjay cover was almost as difficult to match. For Panem, I started with some turquoise blue art nouveau coins that almost do the trick, and have just the right touch of mystery. Dark orange fiber optic cat eyes look wonderfully fiery against the matte black seed beads.

I couldn’t resist building around some red white-heart beads, which have an intensity that can’t be ignored. Tribute stands out from the rest with the addition of a Swarovski Elements cosmic triangle in jet black. A handful of pretty turquoise seed beads adds a soothing quality that ties the black and red together.

So it’s true that inspiration can come from anywhere, and unexpected color combinations can be made widely appealing through popular association. Have you ever used inspirations from fiction in your work?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
Suzanne Collins and Scholastic
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Coordinating Complementary Colors

Do you know where your preferences for color come from? Do you embrace the colors of your past, or avoid them and explore new possibilities?

I started to think differently about color choices recently, when I was confronted with some old memories of the role complementary colors used to play in my artwork and crafts. I had borrowed a copy of Disney’s Fantasia from the library, and hoped that my bead helper would enjoy the movie as much as I did when I was young.

Watching it again, I was momentarily stunned by the memories it gave me of using color. I can clearly remember a running theme with almost anything I made, where I would create copies of the same design, and use different sets of color until all possibilities where exhausted. I kept up this habit until a few years ago, when I was making daisy chain friendship necklaces in all kinds of flower palettes - the classic white and yellow daisy, purple and yellow violets, and yellow and brown for Brown-eyed Susans, among others.

If I didn’t know any better, I would say that Fantasia had a lot to do with this trend, particularly The Pastoral Symphony chapter, or Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6. The mythical story that the creators paired with the symphony has romantic overtones, and throughout the scene, creatures in a variety of colors pair off together.

The first example of this complementary color theme is the Pegasus family. The female is a traditional winged horse in white, and her eyes are blue. Her mate is midnight black. The animators could have given him eyes of any color, but they chose red, making him the exact opposite of the female. This use of opposites inspired the concept of pairing: make one bracelet in red and blue, and the next one in green and yellow.

The Centaurs inspired a slightly different way of using color. The combinations of skin, hair and coat colors created a desire to make copies of designs in as many palettes as possible, with only minor variations. A slight change in bead shape or size, while sticking to the same pattern, allows for endless design possibilities with very little risk. I was especially fond of the zebra Centaurs, which provide a great example of how not just color, but style or pattern, can be folded into a basic design for a totally new look.

I’m not sure why these color concepts departed from my design methods. Perhaps it is because I rarely have time to make the same thing twice, and new ideas are always forming. Recalling these old ideas has rekindled that creative spark, and a new lust for color combinations. I may just have to start repeating myself more often, if only to place two identical but complementary pieces side-by-side.

Do you like to make multiple variations on the same basic design?

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading and Walt Disney Productions
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Black Swan Fringe Pendant

As a movie lover, I am a big fan of the sincere re-imagining. When a new artist pays tribute to an old one through their work, it can be an amazing collaboration. I especially enjoy films that take antiques and give them an updated twist. Michael Almereyda’s Hamlet, set in year 2000 New York City, is a fantastic example.

The fact that Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan - written by Andres Heinz - seamlessly merges a modern white swan vs. black swan story with a performance of Swan Lake isn’t the first thing that appealed to me when trailers and images of the movie started to appear. At first I was intrigued by the idea of seeing Natalie Portman in a thriller, assuming that she would only do one worth watching.

It’s unfortunate that films and stage productions do not share the same genres. Black Swan is more of a tragedy than a thriller. Though it has some spooky moments, it is much more sad than thrilling. I’m almost tempted to take a feminist stance, and shake my fist at yet another story where the heroine suffers for daring to be a woman. However, I didn’t interpret Black Swan as being ignorant to these themes, but sympathetic to them. No one in their right mind would choose the starved and solitary life that Nina (Natalie Portman) leads in order to be perfect, but she knows nothing else.

Nonetheless, I didn’t see Black Swan for the story or the cast, but for the costumes. When I learned that the ballet costumes, and much of Nina’s wardrobe, were created by my favorite fashion designers, Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte, the news wasn’t as exciting as I would have thought. This may only be because the pairing seemed like a perfect fit. Based on what I originally knew of the film, if you had asked me to guess who the producers picked to make the costumes, I would have guessed Rodarte.

Their feminine but unusual aesthetic is ideal for the themes of Black Swan, which follows a young ballet dancer through her descent from minor dysfunction into total madness. The dialogue is low key, and there are a lot of contemplative scenes with the tormented Nina. Strong visuals help keep the story alive, and the Rodarte costumes and wardrobe pieces certainly deliver.

The Inspiration:

Black Swan will be released to video next week, and I’m very excited to get my hands on the bonus materials. I love to watch the documentaries that accompany my favorite films, and learn more about them from the perspective of the creators. In anticipation, I wanted to create a necklace inspired by the gorgeous black swan costume - the highlight of the ballet.

The Beads:

Choosing a palette took some time. There are quite a few colors to consider when using the film’s images as inspiration - different variations of black, white, silver and red. Ultimately, I wanted to capture the intense, dark look of Nina’s black swan transformation. I knew that if I tried to incorporate too many of these colors, the mood would be lost.

So I went with a simple black and red palette. I already knew that fringe was going to be essential, and I eagerly scooped up some ruby crystal teardrops that I’ve been dying to use. They perfectly match transparent ruby Miyuki rounds, and provide a contrast to all of my jet black selections. I had to work with what was already in my stash, so I combined shiny and matte in hexes, magatamas, and seed beads in two sizes.

The Beadwork:

It had the worst time convincing myself not to recreate The Chimera necklace, which also works with lots of fringe. Because I don’t have metal findings as an option, there are only so many ways to put lots of bead strands together in one place. I did end up using a ladder stitch base, but with different approaches.

The straps are done in double St. Petersburg chain, with just a hint of the ruby red peeking out from the middle. The shapes and textures of the chain go so well not only with the fringe pendant, but the theme as well. They have a feathery look, that is more edgy than soft. I used magatamas for the center of the chains, which create a great raised effect and add some texture.

I think it might just be fit for the ballet.

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
Rodarte and Fox Searchlight Pictures
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Marilyn Monroe Necklace

In 1999, People Magazine declared Marilyn Monroe the “Sexiest Woman of the Century”. Although she appeared in 30 films, and had her own production company, her legacy is of the being the pin up girl that drove men crazy. Marilyn Monroe won several acting awards during her career, and would later be named the 4th greatest movie star of all time by Entertainment Weekly; yet decades later, it is her face and her shape the people remember most.

The stress of living life in the spotlight has often been blamed for the star’s untimely death - preserving her perfection in history. Like all stars who leave us too soon, we will never know what heights she could have reached. Marilyn Monroe once said “That’s the trouble, a sex symbol becomes a thing. But if I'm going to be a symbol of something, I'd rather have it sex than some other things we've got symbols of." She is known for being a sensational beauty, and has inspired countless works of art, performance, fashion, and jewelry.

The Inspiration:

While I was working on a checkerboard pendant in black and white, I became really drawn to the classic colors. With silver lined crystal seed beads thrown in, the palette has the look of pearls, velvet and diamonds. The combination is reminiscent of 1950’s fashions - the classic, chic style of icons like Marilyn Monroe. I was instantly inspired to create something that would be worthy of someone from history’s red carpet.

The Beads:

I started with a few Swarovski crystals in silver shade and white opal. These would be my diamonds. I also picked up some glass pearls, and a mystic black pear shaped pearl drop. To fill in the spaces between these beauties, I grabbed some 8/0 Tohos in Ceylon pearl and metallic hematite.

The Beadwork:

I wanted a slinky necklace, and something that could easily be split into two colors so that the black and white could remain separate. I decided to go with St. Petersburg chain, which would put the crystals to good use, and provide a nice V-shaped necklace.

I used the black and white 8/0’s on either side of a double St. Petersburg chain, with the crystals sparkling in the center. I’m really pleased with the way the black pear shaped pearl stands out at the point of the chains. I think the entire piece turned out exactly as I had hoped - simple and elegant.

Copyright 2010 Inspirational Beading

Poster Sketch: Almost Twilight

If you go to Etsy.com and type “Twilight” into the Handmade search bar right now, you will find yourself with over 800 pages of results. Somewhere around 40 of those pages will include Scrabble tile pendants and the materials to make them. On Artfire.com, the results are well over 100 pages of Cullen Family Crests and some pretty exceptional fan art. (The secret lesson here may be that if your handmade products don’t appeal to teenagers, perhaps they should!)

This week’s Poster Sketch showcase features items that could be treasured by Twilight fans, and everyone else, too. There are no Edward Cullen Domino pendants, or Team Jacob bottle cap charms. Of these 16 items, only one is directly inspired by Stephenie Meyer’s vampire saga. Can you tell at first glance which one it is?

The fourth item, “Rutilated Amethyst and Sapphire Necklace”, is from Tasi Designs - the team that created much of the jewelry seen in the first Twilight film. These talented ladies are still creating the simple and beautiful style of jewelry that made it to the silver screen, including a collection of wardrobe replicas.

Row 1:
The Vampire’s Story - from sandrandan
Instinct Pendant - by TrinketJewellery
The Rogue Chalcedony Pendant - by gypsymoonart
Rutilated Amethyst and Sapphire Necklace - by tasidesigns

Row 2:
Cherry Moon Pendant - by faerieglass
Bloody Vampire Fang Pendant - by GothicDreamsDesigns
Amber Moon Raven Pendant - by Collettestreasures
Apple Cider Brass Bracelet - by nansglam

Row 3:
Tears of a Vampyre Earrings - from CreativityJewellery
E Initial Necklace - by ERiaDesigns
Lillitth’s Ghost Choker - by ghostlovejewelry
Howl at the Moon Domino Pendant - by Hogwild1972

Row 4:
Bohemian Rhapsody Initial Charm - by TheCuttingEdge
Wolverine Fang Necklace - by prairieoats
Tree of Life Moon Pendant - by Nixcreations
Dream Happy Dreams Necklace - by Venbead

Copyright 2009 Inspirational Beading and Etsy.com

Elegant Skull Necklace

Female villains are often some of the most terrifying in film and literature. They are usually beautiful as well as cruel, which in many cases makes them all the more terrible. As the protagonist usually realizes much too late, looks can be very deceiving.

The Inspiration:

After creating a scary forest necklace inspired by Disney’s Snow White, I wanted to pay a little tribute to the evil queen. Although terrifying and cruel, she was the second fairest in the land, and surely had a wardrobe to suite. I wanted to make something that would be fitting for a queen, but with a touch of the macabre.

The Beads:

I started with some dark transparent root beer 8/0 seed beads, which have a nice color that could blend between reds, blacks and other ‘evil’ colors. To these I added opaque red 11/0 seed beads, shiny black 11/0’s, and a charming lampwork skull bead by Suzoom. I really love the ornate looking face on the skull - it looks like something a witch would use to cast a spell or tell your fortune.

The Beadwork:

At first I thought it would look nice to have a dark colored spiral rope, with the skull at the centre as a pendant. In my mind’s eye, the necklace looked great, but as I stitched, I realized that it wouldn’t quite do the skull bead justice. I went back to the drawing board, and came up with an entirely new design.

First I added some golden colored beads, which I hoped would make the beadwork look more regal. Once those were included in the palette, I decided to replace the opaque seed beads with transparent ones, so that they would blend together with the foil-lined beads, and the shiny black ones.

Instead of a spiral rope, I used the golden beads and the 8/0’s to make a V-shaped St. Petersburg chain. Once finished, I added scalloped loops in black and red, and attached the skull pendant with a seed bead fob at the end. It turned out so much better than my original idea, that I have no regrets about the spiral rope now sitting in my to-do drawer.

Copyright 2009 Inspirational Beading

Creepy Forest Necklace

Some images are so intriguing and inspiring, that they stick with us for years and years. Artists and designers of all mediums can attribute many of their ideas to experiences from the past that have never faded from memory. One of my favorite inspiration stories is the origins of the infamous villain Freddy Krueger, who has been able to scare audiences because of his creator's far reaching imagination. The combination of a childhood bully, a strange transient, and a fascination with Eastern religion gelled into what is now a celebrated cult classic film.

The Inspiration:

Although there are some exceptional family movies being produced today, not many of them have the same charm that make classics appealing years later. It's interesting that one of my all time favorite movies - Disney's Snow White - was already a classic when I watched it, and is still around for a new generation to enjoy.

One of my favorite scenes from Snow White - the one that sticks with me - is the forest scene. After being condemned by the evil queen, our heroine must flee through a dark and terrifying forest before finding refuge with seven kind little men. In particular, the life-like trees that seem to reach out and grab at poor Snow White are a thrill to see. Those trees were the perfect inspiration for some dark and mysterious beading.


The Beads:

I started with some dark brown iris 11/0 seed beads, and added black and gunmetal. For accents and color, I grabbed a few olivine Swarovski bicones, and Picasso 8/0 seed beads. I wanted as many dark finishes as possible, so I also picked out some jet AB bicones and pretty black bugle beads.

The Beadwork:

My first idea for creating some scary forest trees was to use branch fringe. After some musing and sketching, I decided to use netting as a base, and create a forest of fringe along the edge. Each point on the netted color has a tiny set of branches, with gradual increases in size. To keep the necklace from getting too busy, I maintained a strict number of beads for each fringe, with the centers of the "trees" growing larger every few rows.

Copyright 2009 Inspirational Beading

Vampire Love Necklace

Every few years or so, young women and girls everywhere find themselves head over heels for a someone or something in the media. Once there was Elvis, and The Beatles, Brad Pitt and Jared Leto. These are names and faces that have driven girls of all ages totally crazy. The heart throb du jour has taken the form of books and movies, with the immense success of Stephenie Meyer’s creation, Twilight.

When I sat down, skeptically, to watch Twilight, I was surprised to find that I didn't hate it at first. I was even more surprised to learn that much of the jewelry worn by the cast was created by an Etsy design team. Sisters Silvija and Taya Koschnick of Tasi Designs started out like many of us did. Today, they enjoy the immense pride that must go with having your work chosen for a major film’s wardrobe.

Inspiration:

After reading a Beading Daily blog post about the gorgeous simplicity of the jewelry from Tasi Designs, and how it made it onto the big screen, I felt a boost of vicarious confidence. If these two gals can do that, just imagine the possibilities for other beaders and jewelry designers out there.

I was immediately inspired to create something that had the same elements of simplicity, plus some of the sensuality that goes along with a romantic vampire movie.

The Beads:

For this project, I chose some deliciously dark reds from Artbeads.com to start with. Black lined garnet 3 cuts had exactly the right tone that I wanted, and the coral AB 8o hex beads added a splash of sassiness.

I also included some navy lined yellow seed beads. The finish has a sort of magical quality. At first glance, they look like regular blue lined crystals - then a sudden flash of yellow adds an entirely new layer of interest.

The Beadwork:

For a pendant, I made two right angle weave hoops of different sizes, using the color lined beads. I then lashed them together with some transparent red seed beads. For the necklace straps, I braided strands of seed beads and hexes, and finished them with a hand stitched hoop and toggle clasp.

The necklace is really fun to wear, but I don’t think I’ll be making another. Braiding loose strands of beads is a task for someone with far more patience than I have. Next time, I’ll stick to stitching.

Copyright 2009 Inspirational Beading

Cinematic Surprise

I was suffering from a bit of beader’s block recently, and I decided to try and find a little inspiration by watching a movie. It had to be something with plenty of visual appeal, preferably artistic, and something that had the potential to translate into beadwork.

Luckily, I have a pretty good collection of fantasy and sci-fi movies to choose from. I went over to the shelf, closed my eyes, and grabbed one at random. The film I chose was Constantine, a theological thriller based on the graphic novel Hellblazer.

The Inspiration:

It was very interesting to watch a favorite movie purely from an artistic perspective. I kept my mind and eyes open for images or ideas that I could use in beading, but I honestly expected to come up with something involving angels and demons, or perhaps ancient runes. I was completely surprised when a piece of artwork tucked into the background jumped out at me and said “I must be beaded!”

I have tried to find any mention of where these Asian lanterns originated. With no audio commentary to give me a hint, I was left with Google. Unfortunately, no one else seems to know whose painting or photograph it is. Although I wasn’t able to get a closer look at the artwork, I was still thrilled by the combination of pinks, reds and browns.

The Beads:

Finding beads for this inspiration was fairly easy. I just happened to have a really great transparent seed bead mixture of assorted reds, pinks and tangerines. Because of the shiny quality of the transparents, I went with a deep brown iris mix and white Ceylon seed beads to round out the palette.

The Beadwork:

Although attempting to recreate the lanterns themselves would have been a fun challenge, it was really the colors in the image that caught my attention, so I wanted to do something really simple that would allow the red and brown to take center stage.

A simple spiral rope - one of my all time favorite stitches - seemed fitting enough, and I used a pattern of lines with the red and brown beads. The white sits in the background of the spiral core. I picked up the red beads mostly at random, though I occasionally threw back some of the more orange beads to keep the necklace looking as much like the lanterns as possible.