Bead Color Ideas: Bluest Bugles

Right now I feel like I have all the time I need to come up with new design ideas, so naturally I’m having trouble deciding what to make or where to start. Experimenting with color palettes is always a good place to find a kernel of an idea, so this month I thought I’d start with some unused bugles from my seed bead stash.

The label calls this color patriot blue. I don’t know if it fits, but to me this color looks a lot more man-made than other shades of blue beads like turquoise, aqua, and cobalt. My challenge this time around would be to find ways to make it look less plastic-y and more organic.

The first color I went for was white-lined black diamond, which is essentially an intricate gray. I paired this with lovely metallic iris olivine. Together I think the seed beads definitely have a rocky look, like something you’d find on a mountain hike. Although they do make the bugles look good, I think a deep turquoise would be even better for this trio.

Next I turned to an all-new color that I’ve been dying to use. I ordered some of these sol gel rainbow rose seed beads for a cherry blossom project that ended up being scrapped. Now I keep hoping to find another way to use them in my regular designs, because they're incredibly pretty. I paired the rose with a custom mixture of whites and creams, hoping that the non-opaque seed bead duo would help the bugles out. I love this combination, though I think it would need a very careful application to get an organic look.

Finally, I found the magic ingredients. As I got to the end of my stash of colors, I was thinking about some yellow iris but turned to transparent lime iris instead. I was looking for another great shade of green to use when I considered checking out the blues I had skipped over to see if anything would work. Aqua white-hearts did the trick, and all three of these colors together could look gorgeous in an aquatic or garden-inspired design.

Have you ever come across a bead that just couldn’t be worked into a palette? How did you end up using it?

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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Work in Progress: Ruby Bugles

Projects are chugging along on my bead tray once again, and it’s great to finally have a rhythm going. I’ve just finished up a tagua and St. Petersburg necklace that turned our rather nice with some summery yellow highlights. Now I’m about to cut into my hank of transparent ruby bugles and make a new cuff.

I had planned on a new and interesting pattern for this bracelet, forgetting that I don’t have any opaque black bugles. I had to scrap the idea and I’m going to go with something simpler this time around. I’ve shelved the idea to use with another palette in the future.

Next up I’m thinking of making a new rope and fringe necklace with a striped rope. I haven’t yet decided on accents, but a palette is forming and I’m sure I’ll be able to find just the right beads for the job.

What are you making right now?

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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April Bead Stash Favorites

I haven’t been getting quite as much beading time in as I would like over the past few weeks, so I’ve spent some of my days off avoiding more tedious tasks and just stealing a little time with my beads. Rather than finishing up my inventory counts, I’ve finished and started two projects, and I’ve planned out a few more. Since I’ve just finished combing through most of my stash, I’ve got a lot of inspiration to work with this month.

I’m most eager to work with these amazing transparent ruby bugles. The color is so delicious, like raspberry juice, and I think it will look fantastic with some cobalt blue in a new cuff. I was so pleased with the way the blue satin one turned out, I’ve been excited to make another, and this color is too good to pass up again. The only thing I have to decide is which color of Fireline will look best with the color and stitch.

I’ve been amassing a small collection of coin beads over the last year or so, and I just had to move them to their own spot in my stash to accommodate the different styles and colors. I think the latest addition is these two-tone face beads, though they’ve been around so long I can’t remember. I did start a medallion with one, but it kept getting pushed to the back burner for other things. I’m looking forward to seeing what else they can do.

Finally, I re-discovered quite a few slices of tagua in my natural beads compartment and had to wonder why I’ve let them go unused for so long. I’ve got a long list of new pendant ideas to help cut them down a bit, although it might be tricky finding ways to use all of the purples. It's not a color I work with often, but the choices were limited when I bought these, and I was pretty obsessed with the style at the time. Hopefully some color inspirations will appear soon!

What kinds of beads are inspiring you right now?

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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Work in Progress: Slowpoke Cuff

I think that this new blue bugle cuff might be the reaching the record for the longest I’ve ever worked on a piece, not counting the Cornucopia lariat, which I took a few months off from way back when. For the past couple of weeks I’ve been laying low with a ridiculous cold, and as a rule I never bead when I’m feeling ill. I’ve also been working through my illness at the day job, which left me with very little energy left for anything creative.

Luckily, things are getting back to normal, and I’m almost ready to add the trim on this pesky cuff and move on to something new. I’m still debating whether I should work on an all-seed bead collar that I’ve been craving, or make use of some of my many untouched accent beads. It will be nice to get back to working again! Now I just have to find the motivation to finally do inventory and taxes, so I can just focus on beading.

What are you making right now?

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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Work in Progress: Belated Bugles

This week my workspace is feeling totally neglected. I caught one of those early spring colds that feels as if you’re being sucked back into the depths of winter, and it put me into a huge creative slump. Luckily, I have made a bit of progress on the new bugle cuff, but things are slow going. It has been nice to get in a lot more relaxation time than I’m used to, though. Hopefully, I’ll figure out where my motivation is hiding and get back to my normal routine soon.

I decided to swap out the beige seed beads I had originally chosen for this piece, and use cream instead. The beige looked a bit too yellow, and seemed to clash with the blue. I still haven’t decided how I’m going to work the trim. I’d like to include both black and cream, but I might just go with a single color. I won’t know for sure until I try them both.

What are you making right now?


Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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Work in Progress: Bugle Cuff

This week I’ve got a crazy work schedule, but I am finding time to squeeze in a little beadwork here and there. It seems as if the momentum I had at the beginning of the year has fizzled out, but the plan to make use of my favorite beads and techniques is still in motion – even if it’s a little slower than I would like. I’m trying not to let too many ideas crowd in and derail my motivation. One bead or project at a time is just the way to do it.

I’m just finishing up the new bone lariat, and then I decided it was time to make a new bugle cuff. I stocked up on a few favorite colors in Czech bugles a little while ago, specifically to make square stitch bracelets, and I thought it was about time I actually started using them. I’m really looking forward to trying out this satin blue color – I just have to decide on a pattern for the black and beige.

What are you making this week?

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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Work in Progress: Beetle Green

I’m way behind on both blogging and beading this week, with a super heavy schedule of work, events, and outings. It’s even harder to be away from my workspace when I’ve got lots of new goodies to try, and this week I’m starting on a project with some awesome bead colors.

I just added several new shades of green seed beads to my stash, along with some Czech O beads and other Czech glass accents from Lima Beads. A lot of them are going into a single design – one of the final pieces for my secret project. I’m also including a few favorite druk colors, and a fresh hank of satin blue bugles. I can’t wait to get started!

What are you making right now?


Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Work in Progress: Bugles and White Hearts

I’m feeling a little rushed again this week, still working out a routine that includes school, work, beading, writing and a little R&R when I can snag it. The good news is that I’ve been getting a lot of great beading done.

Right now I’m finally getting to work with some of the new bugles I added to my stash a few months ago, using an old favorite design. It’s all very comforting, which is definitely something I need right now.

I’ve also been experimenting with some new stringing material. I’ve been wearing a quick prototype necklace that I made for a couple of months, and the results have been great. I decided it was time to combine the new cord with my white-hearts, and had a lot of fun just stringing. The necklace turned out so gorgeous, I’ve decided I just want to keep it for myself. It’s been a long time since I’ve done that, and it feels pretty good.

What are you making this week?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Work in Progress: Collar with Claws

I’m a little behind in this week’s project, because it took several tries to find just the right pattern. For the fierce and sometimes violent Egyptian goddess Sekhmet, I wanted to include a lovely brown bugle beads in a collar, along with vibrant red vintage white hearts. Things just didn’t go as planned.

As you can see from the mess, I’ve still got one failed attempt to undo. At first I wanted to incorporate the bugles into the main netting, but they take up so much room that the nets were a lot wider than I would have liked. Scratch that, and I discovered they looked really great as fringe.

Unfortunately, something was still off. The white hearts were a little too vibrant. Against the cream and brown, they had a tomato hue, and made everything clash - not to mention that they didn’t give the impression of Ra’s pomegranate and ochre ‘blood’ potion from Sekhmet’s legend. I switched the white hearts out for some transparent garnet 8/o’s, and then everything fell into place.

Last week's magatama collar is complete, but I've been so rushed this week with assorted things that I haven't had time to photograph it yet. Schedules are going to continue to be squeezed over the next few weeks, and it looks like this year's challenge is going to run overtime, though I am determined to finish and get started on a brand new approach! For 2014's theme, there will be lots more room for bracelets. I'm eager to work on some inspired cuffs!

What are you working on this week?

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading
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November Bead Stash Favorites

Yesterday morning all of the puddles in the neighborhood were frozen solid - winter has arrived. I suppose that means it’s time to start thinking about festive bead colors and holiday jewelry designs. Although I love a good red and green combination as much as anyone, I often find myself drawn to the more elegant and fancy holiday palettes, like burgundy and frost, gold and emerald, or plum and cobalt.

This month’s bead picks include two new favorites, and some beads that I’ve been neglecting lately due to so many other ideas and designs vying for my attention.

First we have a lovely bunch of shiny, gold dyed freshwater pearls. I love the organic shapes - not only are these slightly imperfect pearls very affordable, but they have a primitive quality that I adore for ancient inspired designs. Although I’ve added a lot more pearl and shell to my stash this year than I usually do, I couldn’t resist snapping these ones up.

I’ve been so busy with Egyptian Gods and craft fair goodies these past few months, I keep forgetting that I’ve been eager to make ladder cuffs using my new selections of Czech bugles from Shipwreck Beads. These opaque white bugles are perfect for Egyptian and tribal pieces, but would make for lovely frost and ice designs in winter as well. I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do.

Finally, I have some transparent cobalt 8/o seed beads that I can hear calling to me daily. I recently started keeping a list of bead styles and colors that I wish for when designing pieces, so that I can remember to add them to my purchases and bead shopping time. I don’t know how I ever got by without one of my favorite colors in this size, but it’s been remedied thanks to these beauties from Fire Mountain Gems. The large boxes that Dyna-Mites come in are a little too big to fit in my usual storage bins, so they’ll soon be heading for some baggies.

Do you have a new favorite bead to work with this winter?

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading
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July Bead Stash Favorites

Summer and the beach go together like carnivals and cotton candy - especially when you live in a cold climate. The few months of the year when it’s warm enough to swim outdoors are precious, so it’s no wonder that July and August are favorite months of aquatic themed designs.

Although I’m feeling pretty swamped with the approaching deadline for my Egyptian Gods challenge less than six months from now, I can’t help but be inspired by sunny weather and days at the beach. Right now, all of my bead favorites are fit for mermaids.

Shell and pearl beads are one of my biggest bead weaknesses. They are natural and sustainable, but they’re a little on the anonymous side, so I try to keep my consumption to a minimum. This is tough, because I adore the natural, organic patterns and colors in shell beads. Right now I’m craving a project for this gorgeous strand of hammer shell heishi from Happy Mango Beads. The chip shapes and soft browns are so perfectly beachy.

Ladder-stitching Egyptian inspired cuffs has really helped me get over my fear of thread-fraying bugle beads, and they’ve really grown on me. I’m starting to build up a stash of bugles again, and right now my favorites are these lovely satin aqua tubes from Shipwreck Beads. Not only do they have a great tropical hue, but the finish is perfect for breezy summer designs.

The newest addition to my stash are these pretty turquoise Rizo seed beads from Fusion Beads. I haven’t had a chance to try them out yet, but I’m eager to see how they play in my designs. I love the uniform shape, which should provide the same effect as drops, but with a little more sharpness.

What kinds of beads are you working with right now?

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading
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Scarab and Lotus Wesekh

Over the years, I’ve had a lot of different methods for keeping track of beading ideas, including notebooks and recipe cards, bulletin boards, and just letting them roll around in my head. Usually the ideas that I most want to do stay with me until I’m ready to start taking out beads, but when the inspiration for Khepri’s necklace struck, I sketched it out immediately for fear of losing it.

I was waiting to fall asleep one evening, and trying to decide what to do with a few packets of opaque red 6/o seed beads. I had failed to incorporate them into two separate projects, and I want desperately to find the right home for them. As often happens, my thoughts started wandering, and I was soon thinking of bugle beads. I have more in my stash now than I ever have, thanks to the wonder of hanks and crazy spontaneity of online shopping. I was considering some patterns for ladder stitch bracelets with my remaining crystal clear bugles, and wishing that I could trust them enough for herringbone weave.

Suddenly, I remembered a necklace I had made years ago, which did incorporate bugles into herringbone panels in small, secure rows. I didn’t want to make a strappy necklace; then I thought about small sections of herringbone, and before I knew it, I could see a collar that was perfect for the scarab god Khepri.

I chose a palette of black with beetle greens - lemon lime, teal, and a hint smoky blue. To these I added some clear bugles, teal magatamas, and a dash of bright orange for contrast. The first stage involved creating several panels of herringbone weave, with an increase at the ends. I created a lotus-like pattern, and finished the edges with the magatamas. Once all of the panels were complete, I connected them with druks and teal coconut heishi beads. Finally, I added some netting and a clasp.

Although when I look at the piece I see the shapes of Tutankhamun’s Khepri amulet, and the shiny shells of a scarab beetle, the overall look of the collar came out a bit more Aztec than Egyptian, thanks to the feathery shapes. And even though the idea sprang from bugles, if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't use them at all.

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading
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Bugle Feather Keychain

Not every project can turn out they way we want it to, but if we’re determined enough, we can make mishaps work for us. This happened to me over the weekend, when I tried to tackle some gunmetal twisted bugles. I had been pondering the idea of turning them into an embroidery pendant for awhile. At first I thought something abstract and stripey might work. Then it occurred to me that it would be easy enough to arrange the two bugle sizes in the shape of a feather.

I chose some brown felt and turquoise seed beads to complete the look, arranged some beads and made a rough sketch to follow so that the feather shape was sure to come out. I hadn’t completed very many stitches when I realized that while the idea was good, it just wasn’t going to make a nice pendant. Since I was already committed, I just kept going. It took only a second or two to figure out a use for the mediocre design.

When I cut out the beadwork, I left a little tab and sewed it into a loop before attaching the backing felt. With a keyring in place, I now have a new zipper pull for my purse. (I was a little too rough on the old one). I like the design, and the size is much better. I’m looking forward to showing it off!

Have you turned bead lemons into lemonade recently? What did you make?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Jewels and Bugles

Have you ever had a finished project turn out even better than you had hoped? For my most recent destash piece, I wanted to tackle the huge amount of transparent crystal bugle beads in my stash. As usual, I didn’t want to attempt weaving with them, so a multi-strand piece was the most efficient way to use up a lot of them fast.

I added a few other elements from the destash tray, including the last remnants of my ruby red rice beads, and ruby red pinch bicones. I’ve also got quite a few nearly finished packets of hex cuts and cube beads, so I grabbed some pretty teal blue hexes. All I needed was some seed bead bumpers, and I thought I had just enough silver-lined topaz for the job.

I liked the palette, but it wasn’t until I started building the first strand that I realized just how pretty all of the beads looked together. Instead of stringing beads at random, I used a repeating pattern of 4 hexes for every ruby bead, and the results were beautiful. The more strands I made, the better they looked. And by the time I was finished, I only had a finger full of gold seed beads left, and most of them were wonky - perfect!

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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A Bracelet a Week: Papyrus

This week I picked up on my mission to remake old designs in new colors. I was craving something ‘easy’ - a design that I could just make and meditate to without having to map out a complex plan or count stitches. I’ve been meaning to use up the last of my bugles, so I mixed together black and ivory in a striped cuff.

I love the look of bright colors against black and white patterns. For this bracelet, I went with peridot and apple green. The bugles had me thinking of papyrus reeds, and the color combination turned out just right. It’s sort of electric and fresh, and I much prefer the subtle shade of ivory to a stark white - it seems to complement the greens very well.

This cuff, and the original blue version both turned out so nicely that I’m really looking forward to making more. I suppose I’ll be keeping an eye out for more bugles in the future!

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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Book Spotlight: Beaded Collars

I can’t speak for all beaders, but for me, one of the most intriguing beadwork styles is the collar, and I’m always on the lookout for new methods and techniques for creating them. When I accidentally stumbled across a miss-filed copy of Beaded Collars by Julia S. Pretl at my library, I couldn’t believe my luck.

Each of the ten necklace projects in the book have the same basic elements: ladder stitch and bugle beads. After a quick look at the basics of beading, Julia gives readers a 20 page primer on constructing collars with ladder stitch, from cutting out a custom template to adding fringe and clasps. The techniques used are not quite what you would expect, but the effect is marvelous. These collars have an authentic look to them that is fit for queens.

The necklace projects offer plenty of direction and inspiration as well, with amazing variations on the basic ladder design. There are collars with netting and fringe of all kinds, lots of layers and stacked rows in different patterns and colors, and exotic and interesting accents. Some of the more advanced projects incorporate ladders of different lengths to create beautiful geometric collars.

Each of the projects and the beginner section includes step by step instructions and easy to follow diagrams, plus full color pictures of each finished design to inspire you. Beaded Collarsis an absolute must-read for beaders with a flair for tribal designs or elaborate beadwork.

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading and Creative Publishing International
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A Bracelet a Week: Bugle Beads

Before I share this week’s bracelet design, I have a beading confession to make. I am terrified of bugles. Or at least I was before I tackled this project and faced my fears.

Since I started bead weaving, my experiences with bugles have not been ideal. I had begun to think of them as evil little beads that would cut even the strongest of threads at the first available opportunity. Some part of me knew that these disasters were mostly caused by the fact that I was using the most dangerous breeds of bugles - silver-lined Czech glass of questionable quality. You can actually see the razor-like glint on the edges of those beads.

I have been avoiding bugles for anything but stringing for a long time, knowing that I was missing out, since there are plenty of beadweavers using bugles with success. It wasn’t until I decided to explore different Egyptian beading possibilities that I decided to give bugles another chance.

The first step was to purchase some bugles that would be gentle on threads. I chose matte and opaque colors that would fit in with my Egyptian palettes - nice smooth edges all around.

At first I thought I would make something with all three of the colors I had picked: matte blue raku, jet and cream. But as I sat down to plan out a design, I realized that two colors were better than three.

I needed to choose a stitch that wouldn’t put the thread and bugles too close together. I wanted stripes and neat rows of bugles, so ladder stitch seemed like an obvious choice. But since I wanted parallel rows of bugles, with protective seed beads in between, I had to think of something else. Two stacks of tall beads just wouldn’t be sturdy enough with ladder stitch.

Instead, I went with square stitch. If you think about it, square stitch is really just an elaborate variation of ladder stitch, where rows go up and down as well as side to side. It gave me the shape I wanted for the bracelet, and plenty of strength to hold the piece together.

The bracelet turned out better than I had hoped. Even more important: I have rediscovered the beauty of bugles. I can’t wait to design with them again!

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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Bead Giveaway: Pretty Pinks

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a job creating bead palettes and mixes? Imagine how much fun it would be to decide which beads go together for a project kit, or those little blister packs of matched seed beads. I love putting bead palettes together, even if I’m not going to be creating with them.

I also love hoarding beads, but over the past several months, I have been taking tiny steps to lighten my load of beading materials, and upcycle portions of my bead stash. The hardest part has been letting go of the really unique pieces that I have collected over the years - beads that I love but no longer use because of how they are made.

This month, I thought it would be fun to put together a really special palette of different beads that might make a great project all on their own. All you need to do is add thread or wire to make something really beautiful. Now that spring is really here, and Mother’s Day is just around the corner, I was inspired to create a pretty pink palette from my stash of terrific taboo beads.

The bead ensemble includes a lovely mother of pearl flower pendant, two strands of pale pink quartz chips, about 10 grams of crystal AB bugles, and a whole lot of foil-lined pink 11/o seed beads. These are Chinese seed beads, which I purchased in huge quantities for a large project awhile back. The color is just a bit brighter than cotton candy and very pretty.

There’s a lot of pink going on here, and while I’m sure these beads would make a great project all by themselves, they need a little dash of something. Perhaps peridot or a bit of dandelion yellow.

To win all of the lovely pink beads shown here, all you have to do is a leave a comment on this post, and answer the following question:

What color would you add to this pink palette to make it pop?

You can receive additional entries by mentioning this giveaway in a blog post, or on Twitter. Remember to leave a link to your post or Tweet in your comment! If you do not have a Blogger profile with email contact enabled, be sure to leave a contact link (website, shop or Facebook) or email address (bead lover AT your mail. com) so that I can get in touch with you if you win.

One lucky winner will be drawn at random on Monday, May 23rd. This bead giveaway is open to residents of Canada and the US.

Good luck, and happy beading!

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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Bead Giveaway: Golden Hues

If every beader got their wish to be swimming in piles of wonderful, sparkly beads, they might get a new understanding of the phrase “Be careful what you wish for”. Just like having a spectacular art bead that you can’t bear to part with, large quantities of seed beads or accents can become like baggage. They leave you wondering if you’ll ever find a way to use them all.

During my necklace a day challenge, I tried to make a big dent in my almost half pound stash of dark gold bugle beads. I suppose I underestimated just how many of these beads I had, because even a 10 strand necklace didn’t reduce them by much. It occurred to me that I might be finding ways to use these beads until the end of time!

Well, instead of letting them loiter about in my bead stash, I thought it might be time to pass them on to a beader who has a bigger passion for bugles than I. The color is really fantastic and pairs up well with blues, greens and neutrals. If I was a little more ambitious, I would have loved to see them all go into one fantastic project, like Perie Brown’s woven bead scarf.

And since pairing up beads as a gift set is almost as much fun as creating with them, I’m giving these away with matte and silver lined gold bugles, and galvanized metallic gold 11/o Czech seed beads. As a palette, I think they’d be great for home décor projects like beaded curtains or lampshades.

How to Enter

For a chance to win all of the beads shown here - about 120 grams in all - simply add a comment to this post and answer the following question:

If you could get a wheelbarrow full of just one type of bead,
what kind of beads would you pick?

If you do not have a Blogger profile with email enabled, be sure to leave a contact method such as a link to your shop or website, or a no-spam email address like beadlover AT yourmail DOT com.

This giveaway is open to residents of Canada and the US. One lucky winner will be chosen at random and announced on December 27th.

Good luck, and happy beading!

Copyright 2010 Inspirational Beading

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Poster Sketch: Round and Pointy Shapes

The dice have been thrown, and the lucky winner of my color lined cubes giveaway is Julie, who shared an inspiring story of teaching kids to bead and discover new ideas with shape and color. Thank you so much to all of my readers, and everyone who shared their favorite bead shapes in the contest!

Julie’s favorite seed beads shapes are 11/o rounds and bugle beads. To celebrate finding another home for some of my favorite beads, I have a fun collection of items with round and pointy shapes - just like seed beads and bugles!

Copyright 2010 Inspirational Beading and Etsy.com