Bead Wish List: Spring Candy

With two very kid-friendly holidays to enjoy, this time of year is full of candy and brightly colored treats. There’s a lot of inspiration to be had in spring confections, like the rainbow appeal of a bowl of jelly beans, or the soft pastels of sweet-hearts. I’m really excited about the return of certain chocolate eggs, but the colors are really the best part of spring. With Valentine’s behind us and Easter ahead, I went on a hunt for beads in candy colors, and those that just look good enough to eat. These are my favorites!

These unusual Czech glass ovals from Maya Honey definitely look like they’re made with tasty flavors, with a mix like rock candy or salt water taffy. The pink patina even adds an additional layer of frosted appeal. I’d definitely want to pair these treats with some luminous orange-lined seed beads for an extra pop of color to bring everything together. This shade is a near-perfect match for the filling in fondant eggs. I think the combination would be great in a chunky multistrand necklace.

There’s something really special about the candy-coated look of these epoxy resin charms from Fire Mountain Gems. The mix of colors and the smooth finish can definitely cause a sweet craving. The round shape was absolutely my favorite, which brings to mind all kinds of classic sweets. I also found some delicious glass bead strands, although it was tough to choose just one. I like this jewel tone mix, which looks a bit like gourmet gummies or fancy jelly beans. With a great neutral backdrop, this duo would make a pretty memory bracelet.

More rock candy inspirations can be found in Czech glass, especially when it comes in a gorgeous pastel palette like this Spring Fling rondelle mix from Lima Beads. The Picasso finish is gorgeous anywhere, but in this case I think it makes these beads look a little like malted robin’s eggs. All the rondelles need is a nest, and the sour-sweet of apple green sliced seed beads is perfect for the part. I’d probably want to use this combination in a fringe design, or perhaps something minimalist and asymmetrical.

Pearls of any kind are wonderful when you want to create food themed jewelry. These shiny glass pearls from Fusion Beads have a tasty lustered finish that is perfect for spring jewelry. I particularly like the pink, but they also come in pumpkin, yellow squash, pea green, and light plum. Yummy! Toho seed beads in cotton candy-lined crystal would make a great backdrop for any combination of glass pearls. I’d love to use them in a freeform design or a cluster of circular brick stitch medallions.

Not all treats are candy-colored, so for my next duo I started with lovely chocolate howlite rounds from Auntie’s Beads. The color is delicious, and the perfect companion for sweet hues. To complete this set I picked a pretty mix of pastel Super Duos with hints of pink, green, and blue – all great colors to pair with chocolate. This combo would make a great cuff bracelet or perhaps a chunky collar.

Clearly mixes are so ideal for candy theme, and it was impossible to resist this Carnival Candy seed bead blend from ArtBeads.com. The darker purple really pops with the other soft colors. I finished this duo with some Czech glass coins featuring a cute bird motif. Though they might not look tasty, they’d definitely be at home in a basket of goodies. I think this pair would look great in some simple earrings or a bead embroidered cuff.

Finally, I fell in love with these confetti jade rounds from Beadholique, which look so much like a birthday cake-flavored treat. The hints of pink and blue in the buttery jade is adorable and a great way to add just a bit of color. Since the bird coins had looked so great, I decided to finish this combo with a pretty lavender hummingbird focal in vintage style Lucite. This mix would make a great pendant, perhaps with some white seed beads to match the hummingbird and round out the palette.

Do you have a favorite candy color or tasty bead shape?

Mortira

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Tutorial: Vintage Marble Pendant Project

I was recently screening beading videos for my Excellent Beading Tutorials Playlist when I spotted a thumbnail for a wrap bracelet project that I couldn’t resist. I was pleased to find that the tutorial itself was actually really excellent – one of the best I’ve seen – but it was really the materials that intrigued me. The instructor was using the most marvelous palette of multicolored glass rounds, and I found it instantly inspiring.

The mixture of opaque and transparent glass reminded me so much of vintage toys, especially those pictured in search-and-find books like I Spy. I wanted to capture those elements in a necklace, using little more than a handful of colorful druks. For this project you can use any found object or toy-themed focal that you like, such as a drilled die or domino tile. Since I didn’t have a suitable toy pendant, I made my own bead-covered bead with a classic rubber ball pattern.

For the druks I combined the most marble-like colors that I had including: opaque red, white, black, and yellow; transparent brown, purple, green, and blue. You’ll need about 48 druks. For the beadwork I used amber horn rondelles, lustered rootbeer 8/o’s, and transparent medium topaz 11/o’s - all for a golden look to represent old clockwork toys, but any metallic-looking hue will do. Last but not least you’ll need some beading thread and a button of your choice.

1. Attach a stop bead to a comfortable length of thread, leaving a 10 inch tail. Pick up one 11/o, one 8/o, one rondelle, your focal, one rondelle, one 8/o, and, two 11/o. Add one 8/o, one 11/o, one druk, and seven 11/o.

2. Stitch up through the druk bead again, and gently pull snug to wrap the last seven beads around the outside of the druk. Pick up seven 11/o, and stitch up through the druk again to add a second loop of beads around the outside.

3. Pick up one 11/o, one 8/o, one 11/o, and one druk. Repeat step 2, and continue the pattern to add a total of six druks with double loops of seed beads.

4. Pick up one 11/o, one 8/o, four rondelles, one 8/o, one 11/o, and one druk. Repeat the druk pattern again, adding seed bead loops and rondelles until the strand reaches half of your desired necklace length, less one inch. Be sure to add at least one druk with loops at the end of your strand to make a secure finish, ending with an 8/o seed bead.

5. Pick up enough 11/o seed beads to make a loop for you button. Stitch back down through the last 8/o added, and through the following beads to exit from the bottom of the last druk added. Weave up through one of the seed bead loops and back into the clasp area. Pass through the clasp loop at least once to add strength, then weave any remaining thread into the chain and trim.

6. Remove the stop bead from step one, and pass up through the 8/o, rondelle, and focal bead. Weave the thread into the chain and trim.

7. Attach a stop bead to a new length of thread, leaving a 10 inch tail. Skipping the 11/o, stitch up through the bottom beads and the focal, and exit from the topmost 8/o. Repeat the steps above to add a second chain of druks and rondelles. You can make a mirrored pattern, or go freeform –either way looks great! Attach your button with a few seed beads at the end, then weave in all remain thread and trim.

Though the palette would be a little less gold, you could also make this necklace with stringing wire and crimps for a super fast gift project. A single strand design would also allow for a side-drilled pendant. If you're working with a found object that can't be drilled, you could give it a wire-wrapped a bail.

Do you have a favorite found object theme for jewelry?

Mortira

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Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading

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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Fall Inspirations Bead Giveaway

Summer is still slowly roasting, but back to school is looming, and before you know it fall will be here. That means lots of fun Hallowe’en and autumn foliage inspirations, warm colors, more room for statement jewelry and just a treasure trove of opportunities for amazing beadwork.

Our fellow bead lovers at PandaHall.com want to help jump-start your fall projects with a gorgeous selection of beads and charms that are sure to inspire. They have a huge lineup of materials in glass, gemstones, metals, pearl, wood, bone and much more. One Inspirational Beading reader will win a sampling of some of their favorite beads for this season including: faceted abacus glass beads, large hole acrylic pumpkin spacers, and two-tone faceted round jade beads in multicolor mixes, plus a selection of adorable Hallowe’en silver-tone alloy pendants.

How to Enter

For a chance to win a sampling of all of the beads shown, visit PandaHall.com and check out their selection of beads, findings, and beading supplies. Then leave a comment on this post letting us know what some of your favorites are.

One lucky winner will be drawn on Friday, August 7th. This giveaway is open to readers from Canada and the US.

Important: Please make sure to leave a comment directly on InspirationalBeading.Blogspot.com to enter. You do not need an account to comment, but please make sure to provide an email address or contact method in your comment or profile so that I can reach you if you win! Incomplete or duplicate entries will not be included in the draw.

Good luck, and happy beading!

Update: This draw has closed.

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading and Panda Hall
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Bead Giveaway: Strands and Charms

Happy New Year, beaders! It is my great pleasure to announce that I’m ready to get back to my normal routines, and what better way to kick off a new year on Inspirational Beading than with a giveaway? I still have some lovely goodies from my last surprise grab bag, and I need to send them to a good home.

This month’s prize pack includes 2 strands of semi-precious stones and a pair of cute rhinestone charms. There are 4mm pink zebra jasper rounds and 6mm multicolored magnesite/howlite rounds, plus elephant and dragonfly bracelet charms. These pieces are all much too pretty to languish in my bead stash!

How to Enter

For a chance to win all of the beads shown, leave a comment on this post letting us know your favorite stitch or technique for round beads. One lucky winner will be drawn on Tuesday, January 13th. This giveaway is open to readers in Canada and the US.

Important: 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 giveaway has closed.

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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Throwback Thursday: Spring Bead Mix

This week at Bead & Button, I shared some ideas for using bead soups and seed bead blends without doing any freeform stitching. Even if you’re working with a structured stitch, you can still get amazing, organic looking designs just by using a whole bunch of beads together.

Thinking about some of my favorite custom bead soups reminded me of a packaged seed bead blend that I was once head over heels for. Way, way back when I first started bead weaving, I had two choices for bead shopping in town. One was a small indie craft store, and the other was a dollar store that stocked such nice things it was more like a boutique. And they carried Czech seed beads, which was incredibly awesome. Both stores sold their beads in tubes, and one SKU in particular was always in stock - much to my delight.

The mix was called Earth, and included copper lined: transparent dark gray, crystal, Montana blue, mauve; and a gorgeous, stunning, copper lined green. If it weren’t for the metal lining, I would still be using that color today, because it is amazing. The mix that I liked also included color-lined crystal seed beads in Montana blue, pale blue, pink, and sometimes mauve. I’m a big fan of the color-lined crystal finish, and on occasion I used just the color-lined beads and left the rest of the mix for other projects. At some point, the recipe changed, and the color-lined beads were replaced with copper-lined blue and pink.

I lost access to this mix when both of the stores I shopped closed, and then I gave up using metal-lined seed beads. Even when I went back to ordering Czech seed beads online, I never thought to look this mix up and see if it was still available. It turns out you can still get the earth mix, but it doesn’t quite have that pop that I loved way back when.

Do you have a favorite bead mix or blend?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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Bead Shops: Spirit Bear Beads

Nothing beats an indie bead shop when you’re looking for unique supplies. One of my favorite shops to browse is Spirit Bear Beads, which specializes in custom seed bead mixes and gorgeous Zuni bear gemstone fetishes. Shop owner and bead soup chef Mia offers a wonderful selection of supplies that you can’t find anywhere else.

Inspirational Beading: How did you get into the business of jewelry supplies?

Mia: My Mom..... We went to a bead store one day to restring a necklace of hers. I wandered around fascinated by the beads, picked some out and made a bracelet. We were both hooked! Soon we were traveling to bead shows, shopping catalogs and online. Suddenly I had more beads than I knew what to do with. Selling the extra online was a logical step.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have a favorite material, color, or bead style to keep in stock?

Mia: My favorite and mainstay are the size 6/0 Czech seed beads, I create my own mixes and keep the best in stock.

Inspirational Beading: What kind of criteria do you use when selecting new products to carry?

Mia: First and foremost it has to appeal to the Artist in ME! 2nd I want to be able to use that product in a new and exciting way that no one else has thought of, and finally, will it sell? What customer am I appealing to with the item?

Inspirational Beading: What makes your bead selection stand out from other craft supplies shops?

Mia: Well, I have been told, many times, that my unique and original bead mixes are what customers love, and keep coming back for. I also stock, what I believe to be, the largest selection of Zuni Bear Beads on the internet.

Inspirational Beading: Many beaders are familiar with the emotion that comes from selling a finished design. How does it feel when you sell something that will become a beautiful work of art?

Mia: All too seldom do I see the finished product. I have several customers whose work I am familiar with and it does make me very proud to see one of my unique bead mixes in a finished product.

Inspirational Beading: What is your favorite thing to make (or see others make) with your beads?

Mia: I love to make earrings! I literally have hundreds of pairs of earrings!

Inspirational Beading: Baggies, tubes or strands? Which is your favorite?

Mia: Baggies for the seed beads I sell, I weigh my seed beads so that works the best for me. My personal stash is stored in Tic Tac boxes!

Inspirational Beading: In your opinion, what’s the best thing about small supplies shops vs. the big bead retailers?

Mia: Personal service and attention to detail. Customers like to be considered special, I often have requests for quantities, colors or a certain type of bead. I enjoy filling those custom requests, you don't get that kind of service from the 'big box store" type of retailer.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have any plans for new products this year?

Mia: I always have plans! I have this muse that wakes me up out of a dead sleep with ideas! I never know when her inspiration will strike!

You can find current bead mixes and other unique bead selections at Spirit Bear Beads on Etsy and ArtFire. Mia also sells gemstone jewelry and Southwestern accessories at Spirit Bear West. For updates and inspiration, follow along with Spirit Bear Beads on Facebook.

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading and Spirit Bear Beads
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Wear it Twice: Burnt Rainbow

It’s time again to explore the possibilities of combining great garments with beautiful accessories. Usually I like to stick to a simple palette of 3 main colors and perhaps a few accents, but today things got a little carried away.

It all started with an awesome mixed media necklace including cord, chain, and bead fringe with a wild variety of colors. What I wanted to do was focus on the red, orange, and green of the cords at the center of the piece. Although the necklace itself has a great summer vibe, finding summery clothes in these colors would be a challenge. The trick would be to keep it fresh instead of looking like fall.

Burnt Rainbow by mortira featuring a bracelet bangle

Things were going really well with a lovely red dress and top, orange shoes for each, and some fun handbags. Then I started adding accessories to go with both outfits, and suddenly it was a perfect rainbow of deep shades. It still looks pretty summery, and there’s nothing wrong with a little (or a lot) of color!

Here are just a few tutorials and projects to try with mixed materials and rainbow palettes:

Combine beads and fabric in one gorgeous piece with the Turquoise Dreams necklace tutorial from Jewelry Making Journal.

If you love bangles, this Rainbow Wrapped Bangle Project from love u madly is worth a try! It would work great in any color combination or ombre pattern.

Block your colors and get a lot of texture in one piece with a tribal necklace tutorial from DIY fashion blog make it & fake it.

If you prefer a little fringe over a lot, the understated beaded fringe necklace project from A Common Thread is a great way to show off some favorite colors.

A funky Poly Rope Necklace project from dollar store crafts looks like a reverse of today’s necklace design. Switch out the poly cord and rhinestone trim for hemp and brick stitch, and you’ve got a gorgeous statement necklace!

The Going Tribal fringe necklace tutorial from M&J Trimming just needs a few strands of Picasso seed beads or Java glass, and it’s perfect!

And these are my favorite Polyvore collages featuring this month’s best picks. If you're ever stuck for inspiration on outfits, color, or style in general, these collage artists have you covered!

Tribal by emjule featuring Forever 21

Plaid top by kmaryk featuring a nails inc nail polish

Trio by cris-1121 featuring a tan leather shoulder bag

Stella by xandriah featuring black glasses

Do you like to style your outfits with multiple colors?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading and Friends
Collages Hosted by Polyvore.com
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Mood Board: Fiesta

Although I love all four seasons just as much as anyone, as far as I’m concerned the months of the year are best divided into two categories: those when you can wear shorts, and the rest. So now that Easter is behind us, I’m ready to put away the pretty pastels and bring on the heat!

For this month’s mood board, I’ve refined the look a bit, and reserved the bead picks for their own mosaic. I started with a sort of Cinco de Mayo theme in mind, and searched for exciting statement pieces, hot colors, and a hint of natural goodness. With so many multicolor and mixed media jewelry pieces to showcase, I chose a simple but still interesting dress for a background. The huge daisy print is definitely a great show-stopping complement to the full-texture jewelry.

Fiesta by mortira featuring a floral print dress

In a beaded design, this theme could be carried out not just with color, but with carefree abandon. Lots of unique elements, some freeform techniques, and a mix of materials would make the look. For this mood, I chose lots of multicolored beads and mixes, then added some bright pops of color and a few more of those natural elements. Honestly, it was a challenge not to just look for the most exciting bead mixes and those with a multicolored finish. This theme really calls for some big statement beads to bring everything together. These are my picks for perfect summer explosion designs:

1. Red Jasper Seed Bead Mix by Spirit Bear Beads
2. Murano Diamond Pendant from Artbeads.com
3. Ashanti Glass Disc Beads from Happy Mango Beads

4. Saffron Recycled Glass Rounds from Auntie's Beads
5. Czech Glass Ladybugs from FusionBeads.com
6. Paper Flower Lampwork Beads by Mermaid Glass

7. Rainbow Mix Seed Beads from Beadaholique
8. Chili Pepper Glass Beads from Strum and Sparkle
9. Multicolor Sari Silk Ribbon from Lima Beads

What kinds of beads are you in the mood for this month?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading and Friends
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