Bead Color Ideas: Beach Glass

The found object and sea treasure appeal of beach glass is what made it a popular item for everything from knickknack bowls to jewelry, but those aren’t the only reasons why we love it. The warm glow of sand polished glass in soft colors is hard to resist for any magpie, which is why so many bead companies and artisans strive to recreate the look in a less rare - and sometimes more affordable - variety.

With the spirit of beach glass in mind, I started this month’s bead palettes with not one, but two accent beads. I couldn’t bear to decide between the two colors, each with their own summery appeal. And after all, a single seed bead color can do a lot with the right accents and patterns. Today’s trios include Indonesian glass in gorgeous tropical lime green, and beachy frosted teal. Together they look like a mermaid’s treasure - all they need is a great background.

I started with an obvious choice - the warm sandy color of transparent topaz really adds a beachy vibe. The slightly orange hue also contrasts perfectly with both the lime and teal, making for a very tasty trio. Grotto would look fabulous in a freeform piece, inspired by flotsam and jetsam on a hidden beach.

Next I wanted to really enhance the sourness of the lime rondelles, and turned to an old favorite that looks right at home with rustic bead shapes. Turquoise blue white-hearts glow even brighter than warm tropical waters, and add a lot of light to the palette. Aloha would look gorgeous in a multi-strand piece inspired by gently lapping waves.

Last but not least, I wanted to cool things down a bit with a much darker color. Black would have been much too easy, although the Java beads would look amazing on a stark neutral backdrop. Instead I went with the decidedly purple tones of cobalt iris. The shimmering finish is great for any aquatic inspired piece, and the violets and indigos play so nicely with the teal. Reef would be the perfect palette for a rope necklace or lariat with bead cluster focals.

Do you like the look and mood of beach glass in your designs? Do you prefer the handmade or traditional style?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Bead Giveaway: Broom Beads and Delicas

It’s been a long time since we’ve had a good old de-stash giveaway, and this month I have some really great picks for you. Although I still have lots of great vintage acrylics to share, this time around it’s all new goodies.

I recently received an adorable packet of broom beads as a freebie in my last bead order. I can’t resist a surprise bag of beads, even if there’s a chance that I won’t be able to use what’s in it. The unusual mixture that I found was actually really fun, with lots of colors and shapes to choose from, and plenty of multiples to make a successful project or two. Although I can tell right away that most of the pieces are glass, a few are a mystery.

It could take me more than a year to find the right projects for most of these beads, so instead I’m going to pass them on to a beader who wants to tackle them. To sweeten the pot, I’m also including a few grams of 11/o Delicas in matte transparent gray and silver-lined ruby.

How to Enter:

For a chance to win all of the beads shown, simply leave a comment on this post telling us what you would do with the broom bead mix. I can’t wait to hear your ideas!

One lucky reader will be drawn on Tuesday, June 17th. This giveaway is open to international readers.

Important: Comments must be posted here on Inspirational Beading 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!

Update: This giveaway has closed.

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Work in Progress: Golden Hues

Today my bead tray is looking rather tidy as I’m just getting ready to start a new bracelet. I've chosen all the colors, and now it’s just a matter of getting the stitching done. I’m really excited to get started, as this will be the first piece featuring one of my new Czech glass buttons. I picked up the hematite finished one because I loved the pattern, but it was a little tricky finding the right palette to go with it.

Without any other truly metallic beads in my stash - not counting the gold-tone freshwater pearls - I turned to brown iris. Like most of the Czech seed beads in the iris family, the finish gives them the look of a mix, rather than a single color. In this shade, about half of the beads look like a darker version of hematite. I've got some culling ahead of me, but it should work out nicely, especially with topaz to bring all the colors together.

What are you making right now?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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June Bead Stash Favorites

Do you suppose that it’s possible for one person to try every single bead available? It certainly wouldn’t hurt to try! Even though I’ve limited myself to only a handful of materials, I find it difficult just to keep up with my favorites. This month, I’m eyeing a few things in my stash that offer new twists on beads that I turn to often.

First up is a gorgeous strand of striped green Java glass beads from Happy Mango Beads. The colors are so summery and tasty looking. This bead style is one of my all time favorites, not only because of the very classic looking stripes, but because they are so organic. The imperfect shapes give each design a lot of personality. I’m seeing these as fringe with some sassy colors and even more stripes.

Transparent topaz has become one of my favorite colors for replacing gold in my Egyptian pieces. Dark topaz and light topaz both offer a great alternative with different moods, and I’ve been a fan of them for a couple of years now. And then I found medium topaz at Fire Mountain Gems. In any light, the color is gorgeous, and it has all the traits I look for in a not-gold bead. I’m just gonna use them in everything!

I recently did a little stock-up at Artbeads.com and picked up a few colors of Miyuki fringe beads to try out. I’ve always loved daggers, drops, and magatamas, and these little beads are right at home in my stash. I haven’t had a chance to try them out yet, but I can’t wait to see what they can do. Unlike so many drop styles, the shape of these are a lot closer to perfectly round, and they should make for some wonderful textures.

What beads are you craving right now?

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Work in Progress: Plenty of Purple

It’s been a crazy week here with appointments, meetings, and a few pre-summer nature expeditions. I’m a little behind on getting posts started for June, but I have managed to get in some beading time - and there are some exciting things happening on the bead tray right now.

I can’t exactly show you the pieces that I’m working on this week, because they’re top secret, but I can share the colors. Most of the palettes are inspired by grapes and wine, which means some fun combinations of purples, greens, and maybe a little gold. There may even be an appearance by dusty blue freshwater pearls somewhere along the way.

Last week’s rings all came out great. I experimented with tweaking my old design a bit and had great success. I also finally added cords to my most recent embroidery pendants, and they’re almost ready to join the others in the shop. Only 2 out of 4 necklaces got their photographs this week, as the battery in my new camera finally needed a recharge, but it’s a start. The bad news is, we haven't worked on a new embroidery pendant in some time, but that will hopefully be remedies this weekend.

What are you making this week?


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