Work in Progress: Modified Collar

My bead tray is looking a little tidier this week and it feels like I’m finally getting back down to just one project – not counting the ongoing ugly necklace and my herringbone rope which I might just finish this weekend. Right now I’m working on the prototype for an upcoming collar tutorial. I'm keeping the palette simple which really makes a difference in how messy my creative space feels. I haven’t made much progress on the collar since I got hit with an annoying cold bug, and I have very strict rules about beading while under the weather. Even if I could manage to sit upright long enough to get any work done, I just don’t think it’s worth it.

Although my bead tray is in pretty good shape, my workspace is currently a bit of a disaster – I haven’t yet complied with my resolution to keep a weekly clean-up schedule. Once I’m feeling better I plan to do a complete overhaul of my space and then maintain it ongoing. I got some new organization tools for Christmas that I haven’t implemented yet, and I can’t wait to see how well they work into my routines.

What are you making right now?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Work in Progress: Chevron Daisy Chain

I’ve been soaking up some summer sun these past few weeks, and although I’ve been doing a lot of relaxing, I have managed to get some beading done, too. Right now I’m working on a new variation of the Potawatomi chains I was playing with awhile back, with some new chevron patterns that are rapidly becoming a personal favorite. One thing I really like about this stitch is how quickly it all comes together, even with a bit of pattern thrown in.

I find that work and summer vacation have scrambled my creative side a little bit, so I’m not sure exactly what I’ll be working on when this piece is complete. I do know that I’ve been missing just getting out the beads to play, so hopefully new inspirations will strike soon.

What are you making right now?

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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Work in Progress: Turquoise and Yellow

I’ve been so busy working on top secret projects these past few months, that I haven’t had any true works in progress to share. It is kind of fun to look at a piece I’m working on just as the beads – I’m looking forward to comparing all of these snapshots to the finished work when it’s all complete. I’m going to do my best to squeeze in a side project or two so I can share a little beadwork as well.

Right now I’m working with a really fun combination of turquoise blue and lemon yellow, plus black and white Rizos. I’ve had a lot of opportunities to work with Rizos lately, and they are incredibly versatile – much more so than regular drops. The small ends make them perfect for accents that replace other seed beads, and the long shape is really elegant in all kinds of fringe.

As soon as this project is complete, I’m embarking on a fantastic collar adventure. My African Christmas beads are washed and set out to dry right now. Can’t wait!

What are you making right now?


Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Work in Progress: Ancient Roman Glass

I had been drooling over Ancient Roman glass beads for over a year when I finally got lucky enough to spot a big sale on a fresh haul, while I had enough room in my bead budget to shop. The least expensive strands are always the first to go, so it's a race to snap them up in time. It was so exciting to finally get my hands on a strand of 900 year old glass! This week I've been experimenting with the unusual pieces for a necklace or two.

What’s interesting about Ancient Roman glass is the variations in color. Some are perfectly clear, while others have strange patterns in varying shades of brown and white. Many of them look matte, but in fact the surface is very smooth - the “flaws” are within the glass, not on the outside. I decided to use this as an advantage, and I started by sorting out my beads by color, then matched palettes to each group. So far I’m loving how they look with simple beadwork.

What are you making this week?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Summer Moon Inspirations

Last week’s bead giveaway for summery silver and green vintage beads has come to a close. Congratulations to our winner, and thank you very much to everyone who entered! This month I asked about your favorite colors for evening wear jewelry designs. As always, the answers were varied and inspiring!

The winning comment, from Here Bead Dragons, nominated silver and turquoise for elegant jewelry designs. This combination makes a great palette for all kinds of themes to grow from: Western, aquatic, fantasy and many more. With the addition of a little black and some summer fantasy elements, it’s perfect for a dreamy evening.

What’s your favorite way to use silver and turquoise?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading and Friends
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Wear It Twice: Victorian Blush

Whether you’re a bead weaver, stamper, or polymer clay smoosher, one of the best things about making jewelry is experimenting with shapes. Today I came across this gorgeous Victorian-esque choker necklace with gorgeous charms and drops. The combination of flowers, squares, circles, and briolettes has instant appeal.

Little Details by mortira featuring green booties

With so much going on in one little necklace, I tried to keep things simple with outfits that would make a great backdrop, keeping the little details like lace, fringe, and embellishments in perfect balance. I love the hint of garnet right in the center of the collar, which would be a great excuse to put on some very sassy red lipstick. The blue and turquoise stones are also small enough to leave room for extra pops of color in shoes and accessories.

If you like this necklace style, I highly recommend checking out the ideas gallery at Vintaj Natural Brass for some quick fixes, or try some of these charm and choker tutorials:

Metropolis Necklace Project from Artbeads.com





Elegant Crystal Necklace from Cut Out and Keep





Painted Rhinestone Necklace Project from Bonnin Designs





Proenza Schouler Style Scroll Necklace from Honestly...WTF





Wooden Fringe Choker Tutorial from FireMountainGems.com

For a little perspective, here are some of my favorite Polyvore collages featuring today’s picks:

New Items on Polyvore by designsbytraci featuring a pleated a line skirt

teal and khaki by ccoble featuring gucci

Untitled #762 by candy420kisses featuring high heel sandals

When making statement jewelry, do you focus on colors or shapes first? What’s your favorite stand-out component?


Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading and Friends
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Wear It Twice: Winter Lava

Unless you happen to attend a lot of holiday parties, winter isn’t exactly the best time of year for statement jewelry. In colder climates, we spend so much of our dressed-up time in heavy coats and layered clothes, where large and bulky jewelry has no place to stand out. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t pretend!

For this month’s fashion collage, I decided to do a little fantasy dressing, by combining a big and colorful statement necklace with winter fashions in warm cream and red wine. The bright turquoise and lava bead multi-strand piece that I found was the perfect way to rebel against the cold! With some simple garments, sassy boots, and a lot of leather, the necklace looks right at home - like a ribbon on a Christmas package.

Winter Matte by mortira featuring a v neck vest

Whether in natural colors or brightly painted, lava beads add a lot of fun texture to a jewelry design. Here are some fun lava bead projects to try:

Bead Embroidered Lava Necklace by Beading Arts
Knotted Ceramic and Lava Bead Necklace Project by Vicki O'Dell
Crystal and Lava Bead Necklace Tutorial from About.com Jewelry Making
Volcanic Bloom Lava Necklace Project by Artbeads.com
Jurrasic Necklace by Beadaholique

If you can’t find lava beads at your usual bead shop, you can also make your own faux lava beads from polymer clay.

Here are my favorite Polyvore collages featuring this month’s picks:

Turquoise Eyes by marastyle featuring long cocktail dresses

Hot Stuff by rchmsj6 featuring john lewis

Black leather by marastyle featuring skinny leg jeans

Color Illusion art with fashion set by lindacaricofe featuring viva la diva

Do you have a favorite necklace style to wear in winter?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading and Friends
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Collections: Totally Turquoise

Isn't it interesting how the same beads can be used to create different looks and even moods? The colors, textures, and patterns of natural beads are ideal for recreating our favorite themes. Turquoise, for example, with its pretty blue hue, is perfect for anything from Western themes to cool tropical designs.

Before we take a look at some summery turquoise blues, I want to congratulate Deb from Beetique, who's comment was drawn at random for the turquoise and horn bead giveaway. Thank you so much to everyone who joined in!

As always, it was great to get everyone's feedback, this time on the best natural beads. Deb's choice is turquoise - a definite favorite for many beaders. Whether natural or imitated, cool turquoise blues and greens are easy to contrast and complement, and always add a sophisticated splash of color.

Happy beading!

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Bead Giveaway: Turquoise and Horn

This week I am bidding farewell to some of my absolute favorite acrylic beads. I’ve combined a selection of turquoise blue pieces, and some faux horn in a variety of lovely shapes.

The set includes lots of pretty robin’s egg blue ovals. At one time, I had hoped to hand paint these beads with tiny little hieroglyphs - the smooth finish just calls out for a little embellishment. There are also some shell-like spiral beads, rounded bicones, cubes, art nouveau discs, and more.

How to Enter:

For a chance to win all of the beads shown, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post, and answer the following question:

What is your favorite natural bead material?

The Fine Print:

Comments must be entered here on the blog for entry. If you do not have a Blogger profile with email contact enabled, please make sure to include a website, email (username AT your mail.com), or other contact method in your comment, so I can let you know if you win. This giveaway is open to readers from Canada and the US. One winning comment will be drawn at random on Tuesday, July 31st.

Good luck, and happy beading!

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Lotus and Leaves Necklace

Last week I finally got around to working with a packet of wavy Czech glass leaves that have been waiting patiently in the destash box. Like many of the materials that I’m trying to use up, I was hoping that an idea would come along that would be different from the other projects I’ve done with these beads. And in the end, I once again decided to go with what works.

The last time I used these pretty leaves was in a double daisy chain for my first beaded strawberry pendant. They looked great as spacers between the strands, cinching everything together and creating little points of interest. This time around, I went with a lotus theme, and added some other destash beads: light blue pinch bicones, wooden rounds, and the last of my blue lined E beads.

To bring everything together, I used transparent dark topaz for the beadwork base, with dark beige 8/o spacers. I also added a handful of cobalt druks to reinforce the beadwork and create points where the stitches could be secured, which helps keep all of the strands smooth and steady.

Instead of cutting this necklace off at a specific length, I kept on beading until I had used up all of the leaves. Since there were an odd number, and there was no place for an asymmetrical element, I have only one leaf left, and a lovely opera length design.

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Wear It Twice: Sand and Shell

With summer heat in full swing, all I can think about is ocean breezes, ice cream, and cool clothing. 'Cool' here meaning garments that help to beat the heat, like lightweight fabrics and pale neutrals. So I went on the hunt for some summery outfits that would go perfectly with a beachy necklace.

I started with a great statement necklace in white mother of pearl, with chunky cabochons that are perfect for a day at the beach. Hints of sandy taupe and tropical turquoise make for a refreshing palette, without out-shining the paleness of the shell.

White Sand Splash by mortira featuring tote handbags

I chose garments in linen and chiffon - perfect for catching a wisp of breeze. Strappy sandals and simple accessories keep with the theme of light and breezy. All that’s left to add is an icy pina colada!

It was a little tougher than usual to find handmade and vintage pieces to match this month’s collage, so I also sprinkled in a few beach inspired art prints.

If you like these looks, here are few beach inspired jewelry tutorials to try!

Tidal Treasures Necklace
Don’t Mesh with Me Necklace

Fill Me In Earrings
Fairy Wings Earrings

America Sparkles Mutlistrand Bracelet
Beachy Keen Bracelet
Growing Tall Multistrand Bracelet
Strands of Sparkle Bracelet

And here are my favorite Polyvore sets featuring this month’s picks.

A day at sea.. by mariapia65 featuring current elliott boyfriend jeans

Summer Fun by roseyrose27 featuring a raffia handbag

Untitled #97 by anne-symanski-goranson featuring shell jewelry

The Avatar State by sunshineowlnew featuring roman gladiator sandals

Seaside Romance by hatsgaloore featuring a metallic dress

What are your favorite colors to wear in summer? Do they carry over to your summer jewelry designs as well?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading and Friends
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Bead Giveaway: Turquoise and Gold

I have the prettiest bead soup to giveaway this weekend! These are some of my favorite acrylic pieces in my collection of “Egyptian” beads. There are several wonderful shades and finishes of faux gold, plus turquoise blues and indigo AB. The set includes coins, tubes, faceted rounds, rondelles, and lots more goodies - too many to count.

How to Enter

For a chance to win all of the beads shown, all you have to do* is leave a comment on this post, and answer the following question:

What is your favorite metal or metallic bead color?

*Please make sure to leave your entry comment here on the blog, and include a contact link (such as a website or email) if you do not have a Blogger profile with email contact enabled. This giveaway is open to readers from Canada and the US. One lucky ready will be drawn at random on Tuesday, May 29th.

Good luck, and happy beading!

Update: This giveaway has closed.

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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The Last Medallion

I am quickly running out of focal beads from my destash supplies, with the exception of a few pieces that just haven’t called out yet. I was really pleased to be able to tackle nearly half of my rivolis at once in a pair of collars, but that still leaves three more pieces to go. I decided to tackle the jet black rivoli first, and revive an old design that I haven’t worked with in awhile. My fondness for bezels is only slightly less diminished than my love for circular peyote stitch, so I wasn’t eager to start this piece until I had decided on a palette.

Turquoise blue was my first choice for a contrasting color, but I had only enough to do the pendant, and not much left over. I eventually settled on silver lined topaz for the necklace, and added some of my tortoiseshell druks to coordinate. I also grabbed the last of my turquoise blue pinch bicones from the destash tray, even though they don’t quite match - I was up for the risk and the challenge of mixing many similar hues.

The necklace turned out pretty well, and I love the double layer of fringe at the base of the pendant. It’s short, but still has lots of movement. Now I have only two rivolis to work on. Hopefully some inspiration will come along!

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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A Bracelet a Week: River Stripes

When I sat down to write about last week’s bracelet, it suddenly occurred to me that this challenge is nearly at an end. It seems that out of nowhere, the end of the year is approaching - there are only a few weeks left to go. It hardly feels like an entire year has gone by, let alone nearly fifty two bracelets.

I had no idea how difficult this challenge would be at the end, with so many changes to my schedule. I would love to make something big and elaborate for the last leg of this journey, but I don’t know if I can find the time. It would be nice to finish off with the best design yet, but I’ll be happy with whatever inspiration, and opportunity, allows.

In any case, I was a little worried that the designs over the past few weeks have been a little dry. While I’m certainly not wanting for ideas, I have a lot less time to execute them within the tight deadlines of a weekly challenge. For the most recent piece, I set out to do something that fits my current style, but wasn’t previously attempted. In the end, I turned to a stitch that I haven’t used in a really long time - since I first started beading, in fact.

Using plain, ordinary flat brick stitch, and a combination of fun bead colors and shapes, I worked up a simple cuff that looks so much like a rag rug that it makes me think of early 1980’s kitchens, flying carpets, and macramé wall hangings all at once. The combination of greens and blues, with a hint of black and white, has a sort of watery effect, like jewels at the bottom of a lagoon.

I’m very tempted to use this stitch one more time this year, because it was so much fun to play with a simple pattern and an even simpler stitch.

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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A Bracelet a Week: Time Piece

I find myself in a bit of a pickle this week - I’m four days behind with last week’s bracelet post, and the weekend is fast approaching. I’m going to count this as a slight hiccup in the challenge, only because I was able to finish the bracelet in the usual time. Photographs and posts are another matter.

I have discovered a new appreciation for beaders, bloggers and handmade sellers who carry on full time day jobs in addition to everything else! I used to think that there weren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done, and now I’m just happy to get the important things out of the way while everything else piles up.

I have been away from the bookstore business for a few years now, and I’m delighted to be back, despite the drastic changes in my daily schedule. I have a lot of reading to catch up on, and loving that as well. I forgot how much I missed having my nose in a book at every opportunity, and I finally have a reason to make use of Goodreads.

I have also discovered that the less time there is for beading, the more reluctant I am to do it. It seems that beading only feels worthwhile if I can devote myself to it totally. I’ve never enjoyed doing something in fits and starts. Things are going to be a little quieter here on Inspirational Beading as the holidays approach, but I’m still determined to keep this challenge going. There are only a handful of weeks left, after all. I hope to see you at the finish line!

In any case, I had an extra day to get some work done last week, and I decided I would take the opportunity to make something different, something that wasn’t a guaranteed success. I went through my list of bracelet ideas from the beginning of the challenge, but of the designs that have yet to be crossed off, I found nothing that appealed to me at the moment. I went through my accent beads, waiting for inspiration, and came away with nothing. What to do?

I decided to let color be my guide instead, and turned to one of the western inspired palettes I had created earlier this month. I really loved the look of jonquil and aqua cube beads with transparent ruby, and created a palette very similar to the original. The cube beads inspired a new bracelet shape, with a square stitch base and bands of right angle weave. I love the watch-like shape of the beadwork, and the simplicity of the three bold colors. It was a risky project, but turned out great!




Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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Wear It Twice: Tribal Twist

I’m always very excited when the time comes to put together a little collage of jewelry and garments with a fun theme and color palette. Exploring different ways to style jewelry with fabrics, textures, cuts and colors is like a creative stretching session. I look forward to it every month, and it’s exciting to find new statement necklaces for each focus.

Animal Prints by mortira featuring leather high heels

This month, I spotted a gorgeous multi-strand necklace with hints of orange and yellow, and a big turquoise drop pendant. I thought it would be fun to pair it with different animal prints, and other elements that would highlight the bold colors. The challenge with animal prints is to avoid too much visual noise, and bring everything together for a polished look.

Both the zebra print dress and asymmetrical leopard top work well with the necklace, and a set of wood bangles with a bit of snakeskin for good measure. Extra splashes of color like turquoise accessories, teal shoes and orange leather boots tie everything together.

Putting together a chic tribal outfit is easy with handmade and vintage options.



And here are my favorite Polyvore collages featuring this month’s picks:

I go for tribal prints by beesticksay featuring a turquoise necklace

Outfit by cinta99 featuring a leather clutch

autumn time by an14kata13 featuring leather leggings

Everyone Smiles in the same Language :) by browneyez featuring a tan belt

On The Go by lby54229 featuring a black tee

Do you like to use animal prints in fashion or jewelry?

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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Bead Color Palettes: Wild West

Over the past few months, I’ve been adding to a collection of necklace inspired collages with simple themes and striking color palettes. Each collage has a basic template of an editorial photo, coordinating garments and accessories, and a few background elements to tie everything together.

So far, my favorite collage features a Western theme, with a classic palette of coral red, turquoise blue, and sandy, leathery browns. The combination of coral and turquoise is one that we see so often, it’s almost as ordinary as red, yellow and blue. But with the addition of a neutral - like warm desert brown - it really comes to life.

I wanted to see how well these three colors would work with beads alone. The challenge would be to pair up shades and finishes that compliment each other as well as the natural colors of coral, turquoise and leather.

I was drawn to use a simple combination of seed beads and druks, which would allow for a wide variety of designs, while remaining uncomplicated with just a hint of texture. Though the beads are drastically different in size, the smoothness of the druks makes them easy to blend.

The first palette began with pepper red - bold and spicy enough for a Western theme. I included creamy dark beige seed beads that seem to recede against the red. The addition of the turquoise druks balances and brings them together. Their bright, orbital appearance inspired the name Chameleon for this trio.

Next I combined slightly smoother shades of lustered cherry and turquoise. Together they look like mint and cinnamon - Hot and Cold. I topped this palette off with some brown horn druks, which have a rustic look all their own, and add personality with their varied finish.

For the third palette, I couldn’t resist switching to some different shapes, so that I could include my strand of bright red rice beads. I suppose I will have to get around to using them eventually, and this might just be that palette to do it with. To complement the transparency of the rice beads, I added dark topaz seed beads, and turquoise blue 4mm cubes. The amount of light and color in Red Leather Belt is stunning!

Do you like to combine turquoise with coral red?

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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Turquoise Blue Persuasion

Although aqua blue and blue-green are usually associated with aquatic, ocean inspirations, genuine turquoise has a distinctly earthy quality that pairs up well with warm colors like red, orange and brown. This color also shows it's versatility when paired with delicate shades like white and silver, or bold colors like lime green and yellow.

Today's collection offers a hint of some of these beautiful turquoise palettes, and a look at the variety of hues in the turquoise family.

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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