Pearl Earrings

PEARL EARRINGS

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (15-457D)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (11-457D)
• 10mm round crystal "C12 AB" (Beads One)
• 4mm bicones "C29 AB" (Beads One)
• 4mm druks "Gold & Smoky Topaz Luster"

These are the earrings that "Anonymous" gave me the "recipe" for in the comments of my May 6th post HERE. I also wrote about them on May 25th, HERE. I decided that this was my favorite color combination of all of the samples that I made but, as you'll see below, I've since made five more pretty samples now that I've got some new 10mm crystal colors. Beads One had buy 1/get 1 strand free this week so I bought four new colors. The only reason that I call them "Pearl Earrings" is because that was the name of the YouTube ring tutorial that started this whole thing and it stuck.


UPDATE: I have found the original "Victoria's Crown" pattern for sale on Etsy. You can buy it HERE at mindmyownbeadsness.

You definitely need to use fine thread and a size 12 needle to make these. Use either FireLine or Nymo B. Even so, I still had trouble getting through some of the beads as many times as I would have liked. I really wanted to reinforce the embellishment a few times but in the end I could only reinforce the inner ring of beads for the most part.

Another thing that I discovered while making the final pair of earrings was that it's best to add the embellishment netting to both sides of the earrings even though you won't see the backs. Without those beads, the earrings are too prone to collapsing or going wonky. The extra netting stabilizes them and keeps them nice and straight. Another benefit of the extra netting on the back is that it gives you a nice place to weave in your threads later.

Below are five new samples that I just made. Each one is made with a different color 10mm crystal and some other combination of beads so that they're all a little different from each other in some way. I've named them based on the color of the 10mm crystal I used to make them. I think you can tell that I'm particularly fond of crystals with a "AB" (aurora borealis) finish. I love that sparkle. The only one that's not "AB" is #C50 but they do have a similar finish on them. Unfortunately, a couple of the colors aren't available on their website, only in the store. I also see one color online that I'm pretty sure they didn't have in the store. It's color #C51. I'm sure they must not have had it or I would have bought some for sure. I've linked the two missing colors to their rondelle counterparts on the Beads One site so you can see what they look like.

SAMPLE #1 - C29 AB

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (15-457D)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (11-457D)
• 10mm round crystal "#C29 AB" (Beads One)
• 4mm bicones "Smoked Topaz AB - #C29 AB" (Beads One)
• 6x12mm drops "Amethyst AB" (no info available)

SAMPLE #2 - C25 AB

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (15-457D)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (11-457D)
• 10mm round crystal "#C25 AB" (Beads One - not online)
• 4mm pearls "Light Bronze - 39/HX17" (Beads One - not online)

SAMPLE #3 - C26 AB

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (15-457D)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (11-457D)
• 10mm round crystal "#C26 AB" (Beads One)
• 4mm bicones "Light Colorado AB - #C26 AB" (Beads One - not online)
• 6x12mm drops "#C26" (Beads One - not online)

SAMPLE #4 - C12 AB

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Antique Silver/Nickel" (15-464A)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Antique Silver/Nickel" (11-464A)
• 10mm round crystal "Amethyst AB - #C12 AB" (Beads One)
• 4mm bicones "#C12 AB" (Beads One)

SAMPLE #5 - C50

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (15-457D)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (11-457D)
• 10mm round crystal "#C50" (Beads One)
• 4mm bicones "Vitral Green - #C50" (Beads One)

One thing that I've learned, since I started making beaded earrings, is that you really need to try them on to see how they look against your hair. No matter how pretty they might look while making them, they might look completely different once you put them on. Some beads and colors can sort of disappear and become almost invisible. Other beads, such as pearls, have a tendency to jump out at you and be the only thing that you see. If you've got light colored or very short hair, some of these things won't be an issue for you. Below are my comments about each of the five new samples so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about:

Sample #1: This is one of the best color combos. The crystals are dark and bold enough that they show up well against my hair. They're also close enough to the color of the seed beads that those don't stand out too much.

Sample #2: I love how these look when I have them on. I like pearls but I don't like when there are only a small number of them in an earring because then all you see is the pearls. They work perfectly here though because there are enough of them that they completely encircle the earring. I also like them because they're not a bright white or cream. The pale bronze is a little more subdued yet still "pearly". The brightness of the pearls evens out the shine of the seed beads. Great combination!

Sample #3: The colors are very pale but they do work pretty well because no beads stand out too much and they don't become invisible when I have them one. The effect is a neutral color and they're very sparkly. They'd go with pretty much anything.

Sample #4: This combination works somewhat well but it's a little tricky working with silver colored beads. They have a tendency to look too much like beads and not enough like metal for some reason. Although I do like this one, the dark center crystal does emphasize the circle of silver seed beads surrounding it a little too much. It's very important to make neat netting with silver seed beads next to very dark beads because imperfections and crooked netting will be very noticeable.

Sample #5: The circle of seed beads around the center crystal stand out a little more than I'd like but they're not too bad. The green color doesn't show up against my dark hair every well and they do look a little faded but not quite invisible.

So, my two favorites of the bunch are #1 and #2. I will definitely make both of those for myself.