Bead Color Ideas: Blue Marble

For this week’s bead color ideas, I wanted to explore some possibilities for a curious quartet of beads from my drops and daggers stash. Some time ago I picked up four blue marble petal drops because they were on sale, and I thought they might make for interesting accents. Inevitably, they’ve been sitting in my stash ever since. Four beads can sometimes be just the right amount for a project, but with drops more are usually required, so I haven’t had any inspirations for these particular beads. Now that I’m on a mission to make lots of mini collars with whatever drops I can get my hands on, I may have finally found a way to use them. I just need to discover the perfect palette.

A two-tone finish like the marbled glass of these petals can sometimes be hard to match. While one set of colors might work really well for half of the finish, the other half might clash. I tried out several different possibilities before finally settling on these three, and the first success was a little Delft blue inspiration with opaque bone white and opaque turquoise. I think the palette would look equally good with opaque white instead, or both the white and bone beads as well as the turquoise in the right proportions. I can see this palette in something spiraled, or perhaps in a patterned broad collar.

Next I tried going a little earthier and combined opaque olive green with transparent dark topaz. The somewhat mossy-looking, plant-inspired palette makes the blue petals look like Dew Drops in the shade. I particularly like how the transparent topaz adds just a little bit of light to the palette, while also looking very mysterious like something from the deep woods. This palette would be great in something with lots of fringe and embellishments, such as a statement cuff or a cascade necklace.

Finally, I really wanted to go with some strong contrasts. I picked up the transparent ruby seed beads right away, but took some time to find a third color for this trio. At last I went with gel sol pink for a Berry Salad palette that looks lively and delicious. This palette would be perfect for a mini collar, but I can also see it in a mulitstrand piece.

Do you like to use two-tone beads in your designs?

Mortira

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