Petite Paisley Earrings

PETITE PAISLEY EARRINGS

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
• ZoliDuo beads "Lazure Blue"

"Petite Paisley Earrings" is a new free pattern from Deb Roberti that you can download HERE on her website. The pattern calls for Paisley Duo or ZoliDuos beads. I only have ZoliDuos and I only  had enough of three colors to make these three colorways.

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4201)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4201)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4201)
• ZoliDuo beads "Alabaster Mint Luster"
• 3mm druks "Laurel Green"

I made the two sample earrings above first to try out the pattern. The earring on the left in the photo was made according to the pattern with some seed beads and a 3mm druk between the earring and the wire at the top. While I like that idea, I decided to keep mine simple so I added an 8/0 seed bead between the two 11/0s at the top to attach a jump ring for the wire on the earring on the right. I also used this method to make the other two colorways. When you download the pattern, you will see that Deb has included instructions for my method of attaching the jump rings.

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Nickel Plated" (190)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Nickel Plated" (190)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Nickel Plated" (190)
• ZoliDuo beads "Alabaster Lila Vega Luster"

 

Crystal Tile Bracelet & Hana-Ami Earrings - Pink Coral Moon Dust

CRYSTAL TILE BRACELET

• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
• 4mm fire polished beads "Pink Coral Moon Dust"
• 4mm bicones "Metallic Bronze" (Chinese)

HANA-AMI EARRINGS

• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
• 4mm fire polished beads "Opaque Beige Luster"
• 4mm bicones "Metallic Bronze" (Chinese)

After finishing up the last of my Christmas beadwork last week, I decided to indulge and make this set for myself using some of my favorite fire polished beads. Sadly, this color has been discontinued by the manufacturer. I'm wondering though if they've decided to bring back this color because I found some online on some sites that never had this color before. Aura Crystals has them HERE. Artbeads has them HERE. THIS Etsy shop has one strand in stock and so does THIS one. THIS Canadian Etsy shop has a lot of them in stock. The Bead Obsession also has them HERE. I already have a large supply of these but it's still nice to know that they're available again.

I had a difficult time editing my photos to show the true color of the fire polished beads. They're a little more mauve than pink. Here is a swatch that looks more like the actual color:

You can buy Deb's "Crystal Tile Bracelet" pattern HERE at Around the Beading Table. Her "Hana-Ami Motif" pattern is free and you can download it HERE.

YouTube Tutorial - Diamond DIY Beaded Bracelet

DIAMOND DIY BEADED BRACELET (ONE NEEDLE METHOD)

• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Bronze" (223)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Bronze" (223)
• 4mm bicones "Aqua Gold" (Chinese)

When I saw the pretty bracelet in THIS video on the Sonysree Creations YouTube channel recently, I had to give it a try. She has videos for a one-needle version and also for a 2-needle version. I hate working with two needles so I tried the one needle method. Sadly, I haven't had any luck with this design even after making several other samples that I didn't take photos of. The problem doesn't seem to be a Toho vs. Miyuki issue because neither work very well. It looks like she uses 10/0 Czech seed beads in the video and maybe that's the secret to making it work. I have some Czech seed beads that size in one color and I made a small sample with them. They did seem to work a little better but dusty rose wouldn't have been a suitable color for this bracelet.

I also tried Chinese bicones as well as Czech ones. Czech bicones only work a little better than the Chinese ones because they're smaller. The problem is that the strings of seed beads between the bicones are very unstable and go all wonky no matter how carefully I try to keep them in place. The Toho seed beads in the bracelet above do seem to look messier than the Miyuki beads in the small sample below but I think that the Chinese bicones might be part of the problem in this instance. By the time I finished making that bracelet I had tried so many other things that I decided it wasn't worth bothering to try anything else.

• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Pewter" (4221)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Pewter" (4221)
• 4mm bicones "Opaque Rosanine" (Czech)

The silver and pink sample above looks pretty good in my photo. It would probably make an acceptable bracelet if I wasn't so fussy about some of the seed bead strands sticking up and others going down under. On a different sample I tried tacking the pairs of seed bead strands together in the center but that made the motif more rounded instead of coming to a nice point.

In the end, I decided not to spend any more time on this pattern only to end up with something too wonky to wear. It's really a shame because the design would be lovely if it worked better. It's especially disappointing for me because I have a huge stash of pretty Chinese bicones that I'd like to use for something like this.

Stepping-Stone Band & Corundum Earrings - Cocoa Airy Pearl

CORUNDUM EARRINGS

• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Transparent Montana Gold Luster" (204)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Transparent Montana Gold Luster" (204)
• Mini DiamonDuos "Cocoa Airy Pearl"
• SuperDuo beads "Pastel Brown Cocoa aka Pearl Coat Brown Sugar"

STEPPING-STONE BAND

• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Transparent Montana Gold Luster" (204)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Transparent Montana Gold Luster" (204)
• 3mm fire polished beads "Light Sapphire Gold Marbled"
• 6mm 2-hole cabochons "Pastel Light Brown"
• DiamonDuo beads "Cocoa Airy Pearl"

I blogged before about this "Stepping-Stone Band" HERE. It's going to be a Christmas present and I really wanted to make some earrings to go with it. The beads are usual colors that I thought might be hard to match with store bought earrings. At first I thought I'd make them with all one color of SuperDuo beads but then I remembered that I have some Mini DiamonDuos. Luckily, I have some in the same color as the regular size ones in the bracelet. It was also lucky that the mini ones worked great as a substitute for the SuperDuos in the center of the earrings. They really help tie the set together.

You can buy this bracelet pattern HERE at Around the Beading Table or HERE in Deb's Etsy shop. You can watch Kelly Dale's YouTube video to learn how to make the "Corundum Earrings" HERE or buy the pattern HERE in her Etsy shop.

India Bracelet & Corundum Earrings - Red & Turquoise

INDIA BRACELET

• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Permanent Finish Galvanized Starlight" (557PF)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Permanent Finish Galvanized Starlight" (557PF)
• SuperDuo beads "Dark Turquoise Luster"
• SuperDuo beads "Opaque Red White Luster"
• 4mm druks "Chalk White Cream Luster"

CORUNDUM EARRINGS

• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Permanent Finish Galvanized Starlight" (557PF)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Permanent Finish Galvanized Starlight" (557PF)
• SuperDuo beads "Dark Turquoise Luster"
• SuperDuo beads "Opaque Red White Luster"
• 2mm Czech pearls "Cream"

This "India Bracelet" colorway is one that I posted a sample of in THIS post from October. I was about to make the matching "Corundum Earrings" with gold 11/0 seed beads in the center as usual but, at the last minute, I remembered that I had some 2mm pearls in almost the same color as the druks in the bracelet. They worked perfectly as a substitute for the 11/0 seed beads.

You can watch Kelly Dale's YouTube video to learn how to make the "Corundum Earrings" HERE or buy the pattern HERE in her Etsy shop. I'm not aware of any place to buy the "India" bracelet pattern at this time (see the update below).

UPDATE: To buy the "India" pattern, try contacting Nicole Hublard on her blog HERE. Click where it says "Contactez l'auteur" (Contact the owner of the blog).

 

India Bracelet & Circles & Squares Earrings - Indian Red

INDIA BRACELET

• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki/Czech "Full Labrador" (27000)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki/Czech "Full Labrador" (27000)
• SuperDuo beads "Satin Metallic Rouge"
• 3mm druks "Jet Full Labrador
• 4mm pearls "Indian Red #36" (Chinese)

Last month I showed you a bunch of "India Bracelet" samples and this was one of the colorways. You can read that post HERE. I haven't heard back from the designer so I don't know of anywhere to buy this pattern now that her old shop is closed. You can visit her blog post HERE and perhaps contact her yourself. Click on the right where it says "Contactez l'auteur" to send her a message by email.

CIRCLES & SQUARES EARRINGS

• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki/Czech "Full Labrador" (27000)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki/Czech "Full Labrador" (27000)
• MiniDuo beads "Satin Metallic Rouge"
• 3mm druks "Mirror Rose"

I previously blogged about these "Circles & Squares Earrings" HERE. The pattern is from Deb Roberti and you can buy it HERE at Around the Beading Table or HERE in her Etsy shop.

 

Claudia Bracelet & Corundum Earrings Set - Purple & Turquoise

CORUNDUM EARRINGS

• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Nickel Plated" (711)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Nickel Plated" (711)
• SuperDuo beads "Pink Luster Turquoise"
• SuperDuo beads "Chalk Vega"

CLAUDIA CALI BEAD CHAIN

• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Nickel Plated" (711)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Nickel Plated" (711)
• Cali beads "Chalk Lumi Purple"
• SuperDuo beads "Pink Luster Turquoise"
• SuperDuo beads "Chalk Vega"

I've blogged about this bracelet before HERE. I took that one apart and re-made longer it to give as a Christmas present along with a pair of matching "Corundum Earrings".

Download my free "Claudia Cali Bead Chain" pattern HERE. You can watch Kelly Dale's YouTube video to learn how to make the "Corundum Earrings" HERE or buy the pattern HERE in her Etsy shop. Note that I left off the top part of Kelly's original earring design and I attach the earring wires in a different way than she did.