Juliet Earrings - Turquoise & Lilac

JULIET EARRINGS

• 15/0 seed beads Toho "Nickel Plated" (711)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Nickel Plated" (711)
• ZoliDuo beads "Alabaster Lila Vega Luster"
• SuperDuo beads "Pink Luster Turquoise"
• 4mm druks "Lilac Vega Luster"

Because the "Juliet Earrings" go so well with the "Dicey Diamonds Bracelet", I wanted to make a pair to go with the bracelet that I blogged about HERE. The problem was that I had used some matte lilac druks in the bracelet and they don't make ZoliDuos in that color. The closest thing that I have are these "Alabaster Lila Vega Luster" ZoliDuos. The color is close but not quite the same. But, I figured that nobody would be able to tell the difference from a distance especially considering that the earrings will be so far away from the bracelet on my wrist.

I was all set to make the earrings when I realized that I don't have any 4mm silver druks. Goodness knows how that could be since I have them in pretty much every color and finish that's out there and I do have them in 3mm. I gave the 3mm druks a try but they aren't the right scale for this design. So, I ended up using druks that are the same color as the ZoliDuos and I quite like how they look together, possibly even more than I would have liked silver druks.

I was a little nervous about using Toho 15/0 nickel seed beads for for the netting around the earrings because their 15/0 beads are notoriously irregular and wonky. I could have used Miyuki nickel beads but they are harder to come by and I'm reserving my stash for extra special beading projects. So, I simply picked out the nicest-looking Toho beads as I went along being careful not to pick up any really oddly shaped ones. They do look fine but they were a real pain to work with because the holes are so tiny. I wasn't able to get back through the top loop as many times as I would have liked even though I used a size 12 needle and 6lb Fireline. I almost never have that problem with Miyuki's 15/0 beads.

Read THIS post for information about this pattern which was adapted from Teresa Morse's "Juliet Bracelet". I have a list of links to online sources for ZoliDuo and PaisleyDuo beads on the right side of my blog under "Where to buy..."