Bracelet of the Day: Tallulah Tila - Patina & Ivory

TALLULAH TILA BRACELET

• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Bronze" (223)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Bronze" (223)
• Tila beads "Matte Metallic Patina" (TL-2008)
• SuperDuo beads "Opaque Ivory White"

I found the "Opaque Ivory White" Superduos in a local shop and I've never seen that color anywhere else. Beadoholique doesn't put any code numbers on their Superduos so I can't suggest what to look for online. There are other ivory pearly Superduo colors available that would work well but I like these because they're much darker and have a very old look. I take that back. I just did a Google search and found a few sources for them. Most add the word "Luster" to the name. I found some in an Etsy shop called BeadsToWeave HERE.

Also, I found out the other day that the "Bronze 457" seed beads that I use sometimes aren't actually made by Miyuki as I thought. They're Toho beads. I buy them from Charlene's Beads and she had previously listed them as Miyuki. However, I recently noticed that she had changed the brand to Toho with a notation that the color number is actually Toho "Bronze 223". I've got a tube of Toho's "Bronze - 223" that I bought elsewhere and the color does seem to be the same. I will have to go back through my whole blog and change all references to Miyuki "Bronze 457" to Toho "Bronze 223".

So, Miyuki and Toho each have two shades of shiny metallic bronze seed beads. Miyuki's are called "Light Bronze 457L" and "Dark Bronze 457D". If you see them listed as just Miyuki "Bronze 457", they are most likely dark bronze. Miyuki's "Dark Bronze 457D" is my go-to bronze. It's the darkest of the four and gives beadwork an "old" look. Miyuki's "Light Bronze 457L" is a lighter, brighter gold/bronze with a slight hint of red in it. In fact, they are red beads with a bronze metallic coating. The "Dark Bronze" beads are black beads with a bronze coating. Toho also has two bronzes but they confuse the matter by calling them both "Bronze" although I have seen "Bronze 223" referred to as "Antique Bronze" in some shops. I prefer Toho's "Bronze 223" over their "Bronze 221". "Bronze 221" has more red in it. Both of the Toho bronzes are in between Miyuki's "Dark Bronze 457D" and "Light Bronze 457L" as far as the lightness of the colors. Personally, I like to have all four colors in my bead stash so that I can choose the bronze that goes best with the other beads that I'm using.

Don't be fooled by Toho's "Dark Bronze 222". It's not bronze at all. It's copper and a very ugly bright red copper. I have yet to find a copper color that I like very well and I've tried quite a few. I do like Matsuno's "Copper" but their beads are very poor quality so I won't use them anymore. I use Miyuki's "Metallic Chocolate 461" when I want a hint of copper. It's a very dark, brownish bronze with just a slight hint of red. It's a wonderful color but for some reason Miyuki only makes it in size 11/0 which really limits its use. That's puzzling to me since a lot of the Czech beads, such as Superduos and fire polished beads, come in "Chocolate Bronze". It's a popular color and I'm sure that they'd sell plenty of 15/0 and 8/0 "Chocolate" beads if they were available. And, speaking of Czech beads, when you see "Bronze" Superduos and druks, etc. the color goes best with Miyuki's "Dark Bronze 457D". Neither of Toho's bronzes are the right shade of bronze.