Thursday, April 27, 2017

Fringe Earrings #84 - Eucalyptus & Copper


  • 8/0 seed beads Toho "Olympic Bronze" (224)
  • 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Galvanized Tarnished Copper" (DB461)
  • 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Opaque Matte Black" (DB310)
  • 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Duracoat Matte Galvanized Yellow Gold" (DB1833F)
  • 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Duracoat Dyed Opaque Eucalyptus" (DB2131)

Here is another colorway using one of my favorite designs. This particular pattern has turned out well with every color combination that I've tried so far including this one.




You can buy Delica beads at
Red Panda, Aura Crystals, Supply Emporium and Baubles & Beads.




I haven't had much time for beading this past week so this will be my last post until I have something new to blog about.


 

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Russian Leaf Earrings - Turquoise & Black


RUSSIAN LEAF EARRINGS
  • 8/0 seed beads Toho "Nickel Plated" (711)
  • 11/0 Delica beads "Nickel Plated" (DB21)
  • 11/0 Delica beads "Opaque Black" (DB10)
  • 11/0 Delica beads "Matte Opaque Turquoise" (DB759)
  • 11/0 Delica beads "Opaque Matte Grey" (DB761)

Back on April 8th, HERE, I blogged about making a pair of fringe earrings to go with this top:




Here is the photo of the sample earring from that post:




I mentioned that I wasn't pleased with how messy the fringe turned out. Rather than attempting to make the same earring using glossy Delicas instead of matte ones, I decided to make a pair of Russian Leaf earrings instead. I used pretty much the same bead colors that I used in the fringe earring sample.

As you would know if you've made earrings of this kind, they come out quite soft and don't keep their shape very well without a lot of reinforcing. I tried something that I hadn't tried before with this pair. I painted the backs of them with clear nail polish. I was surprised at how well that worked. After two coats and several hours drying time, they are very firm. I did have to shape them with my fingers while they were wet. The only thing that I wasn't happy about was the nail polish odor but it did dissipate after a few days.



Click HERE to watch Jill Wiseman's "Russian Leaf Earrings" video tutorial. Delica beads are available at Red Panda, Aura Crystals, Supply Emporium and Baubles & Beads.




 

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Princess Earrings - Jet Bronze


PRINCESS EARRINGS
  • 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
  • 3mm fire polished beads "Metallic Gold Topaz"

I tried something different with this pair of "Princess Earrings. I had previously always made these with two kinds of beads and in two coordinating colors. Using two colors means not having to have as many of each color on hand. I had to dig through my stash to find colors that I had a good supply of and this was one of them. Although they look kind of brown in the photos, they're actually black with hints of bronze on them. I wondered if it would be tricky to follow the tutorial when all of the beads are the same color but it really wasn't. Since you won't have the colors to help you keep your place while following the tutorial, you'll have to carefully count the beads as you do each step.

Download the free "Princess Earrings" pattern HERE. Aura Crystals has these fire polished beads HERE. They also go by the name "Jet Bronze Picasso".



 

Monday, April 24, 2017

Birthday Bracelet #5 - Monique


MONIQUE
  • 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Brown Iris" (458)
  • 11/0 seed beads Toho "Dark Chocolate Bronze Gold Luster" (422)
  • 8/0 seed beads Toho "Dark Chocolate Bronze Gold Luster" (422)
  • SuperDuo beads "Hyacinth Picasso"
  • DiamonDuo beads "Pastel Bordeaux"
  • 8mm Candy beads "Senegal Purple aka White Alabaster Pink Terracotta"


This is the last of the five bracelets from Teejay and it's just as beautiful as the other four. As you can see, Teejay puts a lot of detail into her bracelet designs. I hope to make a pattern for this bracelet one day.




Sunday, April 23, 2017

Birthday Bracelet #4 - Audrey


AUDREY
  • 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Medium Copper" (457C)
  • 11/0 seed beads Matsuno "Raspberry Copper" (457A)
  • 8/0 seed beads Matsuno "Raspberry Copper" (457A)
  • SuperDuo beads "Dark Bronze"
  • 8mm Candy beads "Chalk Lumi Green"
  • 6mm 2-hole cabochons "Chalk White Blue Luster"


As with yesterday's "Isabelle" bracelet, Teejay put a large motif in the middle of the bracelet and added a tapered band on either side of it. She also used the same "chain" motif as she did on the "Isabelle" bracelet which you can see HERE.

The seed beads that Teejay used to make this bracelet can be a little hard to find. The only place I can find either color in all of these sizes is at Charlene's Beads HERE.



 

Saturday, April 22, 2017

Birthday Bracelet #3 - Isabelle


ISABELLE
  • 15/0 seed beads Toho "Nickel Plated" (711)
  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4222)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4222)
  • SuperDuo beads "Jet Silver Pastel aka Jet Silver Paste"
  • 8mm Candy beads "Iris Purple"


Today's gorgeous bracelet has a larger center motif set off by a narrow "chain" on either side of it. I love the silver colorway and the open look of the beadwork on this one. It might be my favorite of the five bracelets from Teejay but it's hard to say because they're all so pretty. You might recognize the chain as being a variation of the motif in Teejay's "Elinor Bracelet" pattern which you can download HERE. As with the other birthday bracelets, I hope to make a pattern for this design sometime.



 

Friday, April 21, 2017

Birthday Bracelet #2 - Laurel


LAUREL
  • 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Brown Iris" (458)
  • 11/0 seed beads Toho "Dark Chocolate Bronze Gold Luster" (422)
  • 8/0 seed beads Toho "Dark Chocolate Bronze Gold Luster" (422)
  • SuperDuo beads "Aquamarine Dark Travertin"
  • DiamonDuo beads "Turquoise Bronze"
  • 8mm Candy beads "Light Blue Travertine"


This is the second birthday bracelet from Teejay. These last four bracelets are in an Art Nouveau style which of course I love. There is no pattern available for this bracelet but we hope to make one sometime.


I posed the photo above to show how this bracelet would look if it was made with four main motifs instead of three. In that case, a Candy bead would be in the middle.



 

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Birthday Bracelet #1 - Danielle


DANIELLE
  • 15/0 seed beads Toho "Nickel Plated" (711)
  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4222)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4222)
  • SuperDuo beads "Polychrome Orchid Aqua"
  • 8mm Candy beads "Iris Purple"


This is the first of the five bracelets that Teejay designed and made for my birthday. I'm blogging about this one first because it's very different than the other four bracelets as far as the design. One thing that all five have in common is that they all have 8mm Candy beads in them. All five have SuperDuos as well.

I hope to someday make patterns for all five of these birthday bracelets but I can't give you any idea when they might be available. As you probably know by now, I'm very slow when it comes to producing beading patterns. It's just very difficult for me to find the time that it requires to produce patterns. I've already given each birthday bracelet design a name in anticipation of there one day being a pattern for them. Today's will be called "Danielle".



 

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Francis & Bethany Set - Indigo Orchid


I blogged about this bracelet before HERE. I recently made another one just like it that will be a birthday present for someone and I wanted to make a pair of earrings to go with it. My "Bethany Earrings" are perfect because they are made with two colors of SuperDuo beads just like the bracelet.

Download the free earring pattern from THIS post. I haven't made a pattern for the "Francis Bracelet" yet but I hope to do so sometime.


FRANCIS BRACELET

  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
  • 7mm CzechMates 2-hole cabochons "Polychrome Indigo Orchid"
  • SuperDuo beads "Polychrome Pink Olive"
  • SuperDuo beads "Polychrome Indigo Orchid"



BETHANY EARRINGS

  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
  • SuperDuo beads "Polychrome Pink Olive"
  • SuperDuo beads "Polychrome Indigo Orchid"


 

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Princess Earrings - French Rose


PRINCESS EARRINGS
  • 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
  • 4mm fire polished beads "Matte Luster Transparent Rosaline"
  • 4mm Czech bicones "French Rose Celsian"

I made this pair of Princess earrings to go with one of my "Flutter" bracelets which has the same bicones and fire polished beads in it. As a bonus, they also go pretty well with one of my "Moon Ring" bracelets. The bad news is that this Czech bicone color is no longer available. I did find one bead site that still has some but it's in the UK. They might be slightly different though because the description on Robin's Beads says they have an "AB" finish. You can find them HERE and HERE. I don't know if Swarovski makes a similar color but most of their bicones are more transparent than these are. Because of the celsian finish on these, the thread doesn't show through them.


You'll find the link to the free "Princess Earrings" pattern HERE. I made both of the bracelets above with patterns by Deb Roberti. You can buy the "Flutter Bracelet" pattern HERE and the "Moon Ring Bracelet" pattern HERE. Read my original posts about these bracelets HERE and HERE.