Russian Leaf Pattern Samples

Lately I've been working on trying to come up with as many designs as I can think of for making "Russian Leaf Earrings". I have made some very pretty designs but I am getting a little tired of using the same favorites over and over in different colorways. The thing is that these earrings are so small that the options are kind of limited because you can only fit so many design elements in the space that's available. I've still got several more ideas to try but I thought I had better take photos of these samples while we had a few minutes of sunshine yesterday. At least I can show you that I have actually been doing some beading and haven't abandoned this blog. Besides the lousy weather, I've been super busy with other things since my last post.

When I make complete pairs of earrings with some of these designs, I will type up the step-by-step bead pick-up instructions and create the color charts for you to download.

• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Duracoat Opaque Persimmon" (DB2108)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Matte Bone Glazed Luster" (DB388)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Duracoat Dyed Tiffany Blue" (DB2133)

I made the sample above first. While I was pretty happy with the design, I wasn't crazy about the arrangement of the colors. The blue seems out of place and the dot in the center of the blue diamond should have been a lighter color. One thing that I tried with this earring was not using any metallic Delicas. I usually make a point of having some metallic beads but I wanted to see how this would look. I'm undecided at this point.

• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Metallic Light Bronze" (DB22L)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Duracoat Opaque Persimmon" (DB2108)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Matte Bone Glazed Luster" (DB388)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Duracoat Dyed Tiffany Blue" (DB2133)

This sample earring has the same bead colors as the first one but they are arranged in a more pleasing manner. I also added some light bronze Delicas for the "fringes". I like this one very much.

• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Duracoat Dyed Opaque Anemone" (DB2140)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Opaque Black" (DB10)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Nickel Plated" (DB21)

I was so unhappy with this design that I didn't bother to finish the top of it. There isn't enough contrast between the purple and black and the three "flower" shapes look too much like two eyes and a nose. I will scrap this design.

• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Metallic Light Bronze" (DB22L)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Duracoat Opaque Persimmon" (DB2108)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Duracoat Dyed Tiffany Blue" (DB2133)

Next I thought I'd play around with different arrangements of stripes and I'm pretty happy with this one. The only thing that I'm not sure about is near the bottom of the earring. I think there may be too many blue beads there but I'm not sure if I should add some of the rusty colored beads at the bottom point. I will make another sample and try out that idea. This color scheme isn't that great but I was just using some of the bead colors that I already had out.

• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Nickel Plated" (711)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Opaque Limestone Luster" (DB211)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Opaque Antique Rose" (DB1376)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Nickel Plated" (DB21)

This time I tried stripes that follow the shape of the earring. I like the effect but not in these colors. After making this sample, I decided that there should be one more silver Delica at the bottom the "V" opening. You will see how that looks in the next two samples which are both based on this same striped design.

• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Metallic Light Bronze" (DB22L)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Matte Opaque Sea Foam Glazed Luster" (DB374)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Duracoat Matte Galvanized Yellow Gold" (DB1833F)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Duracoat Matte Galvanized Berry" (DB1838F)

Here you can see how much better the earring looks with a bronze bead in the crook of the "V". I like this colorway very much but then I've used it before to make some fringe earrings for myself. You can see them in THIS post. While I like the idea of having a thin outline of Delicas around the inside of the earring, it can tend to look wonky if the earring hasn't been shaped and stabilized perfectly. Since these are all just samples, I haven't brushed nail polish on the backs of them so that I can take them apart and re-use the beads.

• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Opaque Aloe Luster" (DB263)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Matte Bone Glazed Luster" (DB388)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Galvanized Cinnamon Brown" (DB460)
• 11/0 Miyuki Delica beads "Matte Copper Plated" (DB340)

This is also a colorway that I've used before to make a pair of fringe earrings. You can see those earrings HERE. I didn't finish this sample because I knew pretty much right away that the arrangement of the colors wasn't right. I've decided that I'd rather use this colorway with a different design.

I will keep on trying more designs and see what else I can come up with. In the meantime...

To learn how to make "Russian Leaf Earrings", watch Jill Wiseman's YouTube video tutorial HERE and download her free PDF HERE. You will need to follow Jill's tutorial but make them with seven rows instead of nine as Jill instructs.

Read THIS post where I explain how I finish and reinforce my Russian Leaf earrings. I also have information about how I stiffen my earrings in THIS post.
You can buy Delica beads at Red Panda, Aura Crystals, Supply Emporium and Jill Wiseman Designs.