A Collar a Week: Berry Salad

For this week’s mini collar, I couldn’t resist using one of the palette ideas to go with a quartet of pretty glass petal drops in marbled blue that we explored last week. The combination of transparent ruby and gel sol pink just needed a little bit of Montana blue sapphire for backup, and I had everything I needed for a cute collar.

For this piece, I worked out a new palette with angled rows of pink set into the chevron chain. At the center of the piece, between pairs of the petal drops, I reversed the angle of the pink rows to get a symmetrical look. The results look pretty good, and I think that the pattern is worth trying again in a future project. I’d like to see how it would look with more than two colors, though I like the lattice effect that it has here.

I haven’t yet chosen my accents and colors, but I am hoping to get a little more daytime beading in next week so that I can have the next collar completed just as quickly.

Mortira

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Collar a Week: Petal Pink

The latest collar in my weekly challenge is technically last week’s, but since it’s only Sunday I’m going to say that it’s still pretty much on time. Although I haven’t yet added the button, the collar is otherwise complete and turned out fairly well. It took a little longer than I would have liked, and that’s entirely my fault. I decided to use some old black and white seed beads, rather than cutting into fresh hanks, so I spent just as much time culling as I did on the actual beadwork.

I’m not completely thrilled with how the pink looks in the design. As with many lined finishes, the magatamas look a lot darker lumped together in the package than they do spaced out in a design. I intentionally used all-black for the outer edge of the chevron chain in anticipation of this, but I was still hoping for a bit more color. Still, there’s something about the very pale pink set into the totally neutral beading that works. I think it will look even better when worn than it does in photos.

The previous week’s collar with a trio of daggers at the center also turned out really well. I’m definitely going to keep the design in mind for future projects where I want to incorporate larger accent beads. The long magatamas are not my favorite accent for the collar edge, though. I do still have quite a few that I could use, but I think they’ll be passed over for a while until I’ve explored other possibilities.

Mortira

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Work in Progress: Pink Magatamas

I’m just getting ready to start this week’s mini collar, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how this one turns out. After finishing last week’s collar, I had to get going on this one right away to keep up with the challenge schedule, so I basically just flipped open my tray of assorted drop beads and grabbed the first thing I laid eyes on (that wasn’t too similar to beads I’ve already used so far). I ended up with a few grams of pink-lined crystal short magatamas.

The pale pink of these beads makes them really hard to work a palette around. Most other colors make them look really washed out. Luckily, I have an easy solution that will make the beads stand out, and allow this mini collar to mingle with my other designs. I’m going with black and white stripes! It make take a few tweaks to get a pattern that works, and I’m still not sure if I’m going to use the black 8/os. Hopefully I’ll be able to omit them and put a pretty big dent in the package of magatamas.

Meanwhile, I haven’t touched the coconut dagger project or the final stage of the new ugly necklace. I’ve got a little bit of catching up to do, and hopefully I’ll be able to find the time to run more than one project at a time.

What are you making right now?

Mortira

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Wardrobe Inspiration: Strawberry Soda

Mixing up the Pantone Spring 2016 picks again, I came across another gorgeous trio using Snorkel Blue, Peach Echo, and Iced Coffee. I love the contrast of the blue and pink, and either color would pair off so well with the earthy neutral. Once I had decided on this trio, I couldn’t wait to start looking for jewelry and garments to work with. The colors are fresh and exciting without looking too organic or floral. This is the kind of combination that would be right at home in an ice cream parlor – the perfect place to hang out when spring arrives.

Strawberry Soda by mortira featuring beaded jewelry

I couldn’t resist going with another multistrand necklace for this collage. The cascade of intense blue beads is totally captivating. Rather than contrast it with chunky accessories like in Spring Crunch, I went with very beady earrings and a wrap bracelet. The cut-out sandals and fringed bag join in with the tiny-scale theme as well.

I love how grown-up and vivacious the pink looks in this trio, while the dark blue just sings. So far this is definitely my favorite color combination of the season. The jewelry designs are also very do-able, and I was able to find lots of great projects to recreate this look.

Two multistrand bracelet projects from Beadaholique could easily be adapted to make a gorgeous cascade necklace. The Ahava Bracelet tutorial includes a lovely palette in Snorkel Blue, while the Square Root Bracelet has the cascade look that works so well in our inspiration necklace.

Mini scale maille earrings are the perfect way to recreate our Iced Coffee dangles, and this tutorial by Karen Karon on Jewelry Making Daily is great for beginners. These would look gorgeous in just about any color.

The Peach Echo teardrop and bugle earrings would be super easy to recreate. For variation, I found a gorgeous tutorial for extra large teardrop earrings with a wirework frame by Rena Klingenberg at Jewelry Making Journal.

There are oodles of tutorials out there for making leather wrap bracelets with crystal cup chain instead of individual beads. I like the Leather Wrapped Cup Chain video by The Potomac Bead Company. To get the same look with another take on the traditional method, try the Sonoran Sunset Bracelet project from Artbeads.com.

What’s your favorite combination for salmon pink?

Mortira

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Bead Color Ideas: Pantone Spring 2016

In previous years I’ve always been quick to snatch up new color inspirations via the Pantone Color Institute’s spring and fall picks. This year I’ve sort of dragged my feet, mostly because I find the Colors of the Year totally uninspiring. For the first time ever, there are not one but two annual highlight colors. This should have been pretty exiting except that the colors Pantone chose are Rose Quartz and Serenity – basically baby pink and baby blue.

I know that I was quick to reject Rose Quartz and Serenity partly because I’m so very opposed to gendering colors and toys, and these two colors are a pretty strong reminder of a tired custom. But it wasn’t just the baby-ness of the colors that makes them fall flat for me. Although either shade would look fine in an adult garment or piece of jewelry, they’re not exactly exciting. The pink hue in particular, Rose Quartz, looks sun bleached, especially when held up against most of the other colors in this year’s fashion palette. Serenity has a hint of steely gray with lots of potential, but next to an equally soft pink it’s hard not to see outdated onesies. With these two colors leading the pack, I just wasn't eager to explore the new picks.

When I finally got a chance to really browse through the eight other colors in the Spring 2016 color line-up, of course I found plenty of inspirations. Nothing gets ideas flowing like playing with color. Once I tossed out Rose Quartz there were lots of possibilities for trio palettes to experiment with. I wanted to avoid making obvious choices like combining the very crayon-like Fiesta, Buttercup, Green Flash, and Snorkel Blue, as well as find a way to use Serenity that would bring out its moodier, less baby-blue undertones.

I started with my favorite color in the mix, Snorkel Blue. I’m always keen on shades similar to cobalt, so I wanted to begin where I saw the most potential for inspiration. It took some time to finally decide on a palette for this color. I felt that Fiesta red would be too obvious and Buttercup yellow too easy. I finally matched my blue up with Green Flash, then tried on a few different colors until settling on Limpet Shell, which completes the trio perfectly. For beads I chose transparent cobalt and transparent lime, with some aqua blue Czech teardrops. I love the light in this palette, which would be so great in a lightweight collar or some super long duster earrings.

Spring Lagoon

For the next trio I started with Buttercup. I knew that Fiesta would have to go with it, as it’s much too orange and would look garish next to most of the remaining colors. The final addition was Serenity, which looks much more blue next to these bright hues. Likewise, the softness of the blue seems to have a cooling effect on the red and yellow as well. For the beads, I picked some lustered lemon seed beads and lovely translucent red Java glass rondelles. The closest thing in my stash to Serenity blue was a pair of Picasso coins in a pastel aqua. I’d definitely want to use this trio with bead embroidery with lots of overlapping circles and whorls.

You Can't Take the Sky From Me

The three remaining colors make up a lovely pastel palette with Peach Echo, Lilac Gray, and this year’s neutral, Iced Coffee. I love this trio for spring, especially with the watermelon-esque Peach Echo. This is a hardworking pink that look's like it would be at home just about anywhere. For beads I started with my closest pink match – gel sol rainbow rose seed beads. Lavender-lined 6/o seed beads stand in pretty well for Lilac Gray and are a good match in finish. I finished this trio with some voluta shell heishi which look gorgeous next to these two candy hues. Although I’d love to use this palette in a multistrand piece, I think the voluta spacers would look much better as accents for a cuff or a fringed lariat.

Iced Peaches

Now that I've given the Spring 2016 colors a chance, they're providing all kinds of inspirations. The round up is much better off without Rose Quartz, although I wouldn't mind seeing that one with some chocolate and mint, or perhaps midnight black.

Which Spring 2016 color is your favorite?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading
Pantone, Emilio Sosa and TOSIA

Work in Progress: Threads and Dregs

This week my bead tray is in ordered chaos as I once again tackle multiple projects at once. Over the weekend I started a new collar with a simple pattern in black and pink. I still have to finish weaving in all of the tail threads, but I couldn’t wait to move on to my next idea and get it rolling.

I’ve been collecting up a reserve of seed bead dregs – all of the 1 and 2 gram remainders of colors I don’t plan on stocking again. I’ve already used some of them up in colorblocked herringbone cuffs, but many colors are too low in quantity to really make a big impact. I finally thought that it would be fun to incorporate dozens of colors into a single cuff, with bold black stripes to balance everything out. This piece should help put a big dent into the leftovers.

My helper and I have also picked out beads for a new embroidered medallion, starting with a dove oval and some forest green triangle seed beads. That piece will be underway once I’ve finished with the threads on the new collar.

What are you making right now?

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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Bead Wish List: Pink Appreciation

If colors can be controversial, pink is definitely near the top of the list. I myself have never been much of a pink fan, not only because I prefer darker hues, but also because it’s been so gendered and stereotyped. Even in recent years, I found pink to be just a bit too youthful, at least for my beadwork designs. And yet, that vitality does have its allure. Pink is becoming much less gendered now, particularly in fashion. Perhaps it’s time to take another look at this color.

Pink is the color of many things that are delicious, like bubblegum and strawberry ice cream. It can be found in amazing places like a really great sunset or at the bottom of the sea. Many things just wouldn’t be the same without pink, such as flamingos, the art of Lisa Frank, or the Japanese Hanami festival. And did you know that the name for this color sort of has the same roots as the shears that create a scalloped edge to fabric?

In celebration of the sometimes overlooked versatility of pink, I went in search of the most gorgeous and inspiring beads in this not-so-girly color. With a strand of pink seed beads waiting on my desk for inspiration to strike, this journey was very reassuring. These are my favorite pink picks:

Pink Vinyl Disc Beads from West Africa – HappyMangoBeads.com





Abstract Pink Glass Beads – BohemianFindings.Etsy.com





Hot Pink Impression Jasper Rounds – LimaBeads.com





Diva Pink SuperDuo Mix – AuntiesBeads.com





Alabaster Pastel Light Coral Rizos – FusionBeads.com





Unicorne Lampwork Mini Tile Beads – Artbeads.com





Fuchsia Pink Agate Faceted Rounds – MSBeadMaster.ArtFire.com





Marbled Pink and Grey Glass Rounds – GlitteramaCrafts.Etsy.com

How do you feel about the color pink? What’s your favorite way to incorporate it into beadwork or jewelry?


Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading and Friends
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Fall Jewelry Colors Part Three

Our final trio of Pantone fall colors is a little late, but luckily I saved the best for last. The not-quite fall color from this year’s line-up that I chose for center stage in the third collage was Bright Cobalt. Although I had planned on exploring the possibilities a lot sooner, it does make for an excellent winter color as well. The challenge this time would be to come up with ensembles for both fall and winter, using my remaining colors Cyrpess green and Mauve Mist.

Though the other two colors in the palette both have a muted, dusty quality, I wondered how well the trio would work together in garments. Luckily it was easy to find pieces for all three, and I ended up with some fun outfits. For a casual look I went heavy on mauve and cypress, with hints of cobalt. For formal, cobalt and cypress lead with accents in mauve.

Window Shopping by mortira featuring christmas holiday decor

This time around I included jewelry designs from one of my favorite places – Faire Collection. The new line up of tagua and other natural jewelry is as stunning as ever. This month’s collage include a gorgeous Tagua Gem necklace in blue and green, Moon Sliver tagua earrings, and a two-tone bullhorn bangle in blue and black.

Faire recently added some new artists to their Ecuador team. These talented ladies help to create the gorgeous fair trade jewelry the collection is known for. If you’d like to learn more about the collection and cause, check out Faire founder Amanda Judge’s informative pieces about fair trade with Conscious Magazine.

Left to Right: Rita, Tamia, Alejandra, Marisol, Sisa and Luzmilla

What are you favorite winter colors for jewelry?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
Pantone and Rebecca Minkoff
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Bead Giveaway: Perfectly Pink

The only thing better than getting a new package of beads in the mail, is getting a surprise package of beads. There’s something so exciting about the mystery of a blind bag, the discovery of something new, and the chance to try a different material without having to choose it yourself. I love it when indie bead shops include a few samples in an order, and I’m a huge fan of bead grab bags from Auntie’s Beads. They always have a varied selection of goodies at a great price, so when there’s a sale, I try my best to get my hands on one. There’s always a chance that there will be beads or components that I can’t use, which means I get to pass on the goodness to my fantastic readers.

I recently stocked up on some shaped seed beads and a few favorite 11/o colors, and got a new grab bag with my order. There were a lot of lovely goodies in the bag, and I’m giving them all away! This month I’ve got two strands of 4 and 6mm magenta glass pearls, and a strand of (I think) pink matrix jasper rounds. They look good enough to eat!

How to Enter: For a chance to win all of the beads shown, leave a comment on this post telling us your favorite colors to pair with pink. One lucky winner will be drawn on Wednesday, November 12th.

Rules: Comments must be posted directly at InspirationalBeading.Blogspot.com to qualify, but no log-in is required. Please make sure to leave a contact method in your comment if you do not have a profile with a public email address. For security, you can type your email like so: username AT yourmail DOT com. Incomplete or duplicate entries will not be included in the draw.

Good luck, and happy beading!

Update: This drawing has closed.

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Fall Jewelry Colors Part Two

In our last color experiment, we explored using purple as a fall color, inspired by Pantone’s color of the year, Radiant Orchid. Thanks to some great pieces in Cognac and Misted Yellow, I’d say it was pretty successful. This time I’ve upped the challenge with the even pinker hue of Sangria.

Although at first glance the color lineup for this fall doesn’t scream autumn, there are several colors that look right at home in the season, when taken individually. For this week’s palette, I chose Aurora Red – a somewhat lighter shade with just a hint of orange. The final player in the trio is frosty neutral Aluminum. What I like about this palette is the suggestion of winter on the horizon, which makes the addition of warm Sangria seem very appropriate for fall.

Frosted Apple by mortira featuring Lauren Merkin

The biggest challenge for this collage was finding the right balance of colors. Too much purple would make things too busy, while too much red would be overly dramatic. Luckily, I was able to find lots of pieces that almost perfectly matched my color choices, including a gorgeous fringe necklace with red ostrich feathers and an element of gray in the leather and chain base.
I couldn’t resist adding some red rain boots to go with the jackets and overcoats. All it needs is a mug of apple cider and there’s no mistaking the autumn vibe.

To create some of these jewelry styles, try these project and tutorials in your favorite colors:

1. This String Feather Necklace Tutorial by Hey Wanderer makes great use of embroidery floss.
Add a few Swarovski crystals and it’s perfect!

2. The Alison Show’s Chevron Fringe Necklace Tutorial
allows for lots of gorgeous color combinations.

3. If you love to wrap, this bangle tutorial from Paperphine is worth a try.
The project uses paper twine, but could also work with your favorite fibers.

4. Would you believe that this gorgeous Embroidered Bangle Project by Alison Strang
started out as a roll of packing tape?



If you can’t find the perfect pair of druzy stones for earrings, you can make your own using beads,
with this Druzy Beads Earring tutorial by Beadaholique

.

These are my favorite Polyvore collages using this week’s picks:

CampusChic by rellenj featuring a chain necklace

Athens by rellenj featuring pink pumps

Ruffled Trench Coat by shuchiu featuring an opi nail polish

How would you use purples and pinks in your fall palettes?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading and Friends
Pantone and Nicole Miller
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Throwback Thursday: Cubic Zirconia

Sometimes really great relationships can result from blogging, and one of my all time favorites has been working with Artbeads.com. A few years ago I was a part of their blogging program, and they were a great help in aiding my budding bead repertoire.

In December of 2009, Artbeads sent me some lovely cubic zirconia beads, and I had a great time incorporating them into my designs. I was a little on the fence about using them, with their relationship to gemstones, which is why I haven’t pursued them since. I did enjoy the unique colors and shapes, plus the hefty weight of the beads.

My favorite design was a bib necklace with soft and fruity seed beads in raspberry and wisteria, with a large honey-colored twisted oval cubic zirconia pendant. The color combination and the pattern of the beadwork were very pleasing. What I didn’t know as I was making it was that this necklace would bring me some very welcome criticism.

About half of the off-blog comments I received on the piece were positive, while the others were not. I was a bit shocked at first, because it’s so rare to hear negative comments in the beading community. We love to encourage and compliment each other. Then I realized it was this break from the norm that made me love the comments so much. It was refreshing! I knew for certain that those who didn't like the piece were really taking the time to form an opinion on it, and that was a different kind of compliment. It's good to have a little salt with your sweet sometimes.

Have you ever received negative comments about your work? How did you feel about the experience?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Mood Board: Pink Lime

Nothing fuels inspiration quite like a collage, whether it’s clipped and glued or a digital mood board. With so many different and varied things happening in my workspace right now, I’ve been craving some creative time that’s totally freeform and experimental. To shake things up a bit, I wanted to try a new approach to jewelry collage from the usual Wear It Twice segment. Rather than focus entirely on fashion, I wanted to gather ideas and designs in one place along with gorgeous beads.

Fruit Punch by mortira featuring glass vase fillers

To start this new experiment, I went in search of a great statement necklace. The one I found features a wonderful collection of pearls and charms, with a summery mix of flowers and tropical colors on a black backdrop. This piece has plenty of personality to go around.

Featured beads and components include:

Lucite flowers from Artbeads.com and LimaBeads.com
Black Java glass from HappyMangoBeads.com
Chinese knotting cord from Lytha Studios on Etsy
Magnesite flowers from AuntiesBeads.com
And Freshwater pearls from Beadaholique.com

This collage turned out pretty well for a first try, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the idea evolves! To top off the inspiration, I found some really fantastic jewelry tutorials featuring similar styles and beads.

Collect a gorgeous bunch of touchable pearls in your favorite colors with the Clustered Pearl Necklace tutorial from Dismount Creative.

Create some unique flower components with polymer clay using the Six Petal Flower Cane Tutorial from tooaquarius.

Mix fibers and beads in a cute Flower Ribbon Necklace Project from Panda Hall.

The Montery Pop bracelet tutorial from Artbeads.com combines kumihimo with long magatamas for tons of texture.

And for good measure, one more lovely Flower Cane Tutorial for polymer clay from Georgia P. Designs.

Where are you finding inspiration right now?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Bead Giveaway: Spring Jewels

After months of winter, bright and vibrant spring colors can be a welcome treat - but the soft pastels are not to be forgotten. White blossoms, soft green buds, even the mud left by spring rain provide a welcome splash of color after all the winter grays. This month I have a beautiful mix of tiny beads in the subtle colors of a garden just starting to bloom.

The mixture includes vintage acrylic: cube beads in pink and transparent brown; golden drops; faceted rounds in pink, green, topaz and purple; and pretty translucent rounds in green, peach and white. All of the beads are 3 and 4 mm - perfect for accents in kumihimo, crochet, or multi-strand designs.

How to Enter

For a chance to win all of the beads shown, leave a comment on this post answering the following question: What is your favorite spring inspiration?

Important: Comments must be made here on Inspirational Beading to qualify. Please make sure to include a contact method in your comment, or through your profile, so that I can get in touch with you if you win! Incomplete or duplicate entries will not be included in the draw.

One lucky winner will be drawn on Tuesday, February 11th. This giveaway is open to all international readers. Good luck!

Update: This giveaway has closed.

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Bead Wish List: Spring Mixes

Although winter is still technically here, it’s a great time to start thinking ahead of spring inspirations - new flowers, green grass, blue skies, and soft breezes. Bright floral palettes and pretty pastels are perfect for chasing away the remnants of winter blues. With easy to use and hard to resist pre-made palettes, these bead mixes of all shapes and sizes bring to mind all of the things we love about spring.

Fire Polish Luster Mix from Bead Soup Beads





Flora Swarovski Crystal Mix from Fusion Beads





Mixed Colors Graduated Glass Beads from Happy Mango Beads





Rainbow Fluorite Drops from The Bead Lagoon





Pastel Pink Party Mix Seed Beads from Lupin Lane Supplies





Spring Mix Czech Flower Drops from Beadaholique





Green Fire Polish Mix from Lima Beads





Spring Flowers Seed Bead Mix from Auntie's Beads





Pastel Mix Potato Pearls from Artbeads.com





Dragon Vein Frosted Fire Agate Mix from Blackrock Beads





Pastel Mix Lampwork Beads by Maya Honey





Caribbean Blue Seed Bead Mix from The Bead Stylist





Pastel Mix Square Czech Beads from simplypie





Fiery Sunset Bead Mix by Spirit Bead Beads

What are you favorite spring colors?

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading and Friends
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