Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Batik Bracelet - Azurite & Bronze


BATIK BRACELET
  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
  • 4mm fire polished beads "Halo Ethereal Azurite"
  • SuperDuo beads "Crystal Gold Luster"
  • 4mm druks "Bronze"


While waiting for enough sunshine to take photos of some "SuperDuo Lace Bands" samples, I decided to make this bracelet after seeing a similar colorway on Deb Roberti's Facebook page. These bronze beads are as close as I could come to the gold ones in Alix North's photo that I saw HERE. I'd love to know where she found the beads that she used because I've never seen that shade of light bronze/gold in seed beads, druks or SuperDuos for sale anywhere. It's possible though that they are actually the same color that I used and the photo just came out very light. Although I do have some fire polished beads in the color that Alix used, I chose to use opaque ones in a similar color. The result is a gorgeous bracelet with a lot of detail and texture.

You can buy this pattern HERE at Around the Beading Table or HERE in Deb's Etsy shop.



 

Friday, August 23, 2019

SuperDuo Lace Bands - Sea Blue & Teal


SUPERDUO LACE BANDS
  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Nickel Plated" (190)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Nickel Plated" (190)
  • DiscDuo beads "Metallic Sea Blue"
  • SuperDuo beads "Satin Metallic Teal"

The "SuperDuo Lace Bands" pattern is by Deborah Roberti and you can buy it HERE at Around the Beading Table or HERE in Deb's Etsy shop. 


It took nine motifs to fit my 6-inch wrist. Also note that I added my clasp very simply with two 11/0 and one 8/0 seed bead on each end. If I had added a full clasp loop as directed by the pattern, the bracelet would be too long for me. Changing up the size of the clasp loops can be useful for adjusting the length if you can't add or remove a whole motif to get the right fit.

I plan to make a few of these in various colorways. I have made quite a few color samples and just need to narrow it down to my favorites. For the 2-hole beads in my samples, I have used DiscDuos, Silky beads, Honeycomb beads and 2-hole cabochons. You'll have to wait and see which beads I end up using. I will also post any extra samples that I don't end up using along with their bead lists.



 

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Playing with my beads...Memento Band Sample


  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki Union "Opaque White Lila Gold Luster" (15695)
  • Kheops par Puca beads "Opaque Rose Gold Ceramic"
  • CzechMates tile beads "Opaque Smoky Topaz Gold Luster"

I recently got a request from Deb Roberti to test something for her with her "Memento Band" pattern. I had never made that pattern before but I did happen to have the necessary beads on hand. I even had some 8/0 seed beads in the same color as the CzechMates tiles and Kheops par Puca beads. Although I don't generally wear bracelets as wide as this one (it's about 1 1/4" wide), I really like the slinky feel of the beadwork. I find myself picking it up now and again just to feel the texture of it in my hand.

In the photo below, I have draped the sample over my arm so that you can get a sense of the width of the bracelet.


You can buy Deb's pattern HERE at Around the Beading Table or HERE in her Etsy shop. The 8/0 seed beads are no longer available from the place where I bought mine but I found some online in a couple of places. If you're in the UK, Spoilt Rotten Beads has them HERE. In the US, Charlene's Beads has them HERE. The color looks off in her photo but the color number does match up with what I have.