Astral Bracelet - Turquoise Copper Picasso

ASTRAL BRACELET

• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4222)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4222)
• 7mm CzechMates 2-hole cabochons "Turquoise Copper Picasso"
• 3mm fire polished beads "Green Crystal Luster"

"Astral" is a free pattern by Deb Roberti and you can download it HERE. Just for fun, I made a pair of matching earrings by adapting the motif from the bracelet pattern. They're very tiny and cute.

 

Astral Bracelet - Suede Pink

ASTRAL BRACELET

• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
• 7mm CzechMates 2-hole cabochons "Metallic Suede Pink"
• 3mm fire polished beads "Stone Amethyst Luster"

"Astral" is Deb Roberti's latest free bracelet pattern which you can download HERE at Around the Beading Table. I don't have any of the new 2-hole oval cabochons but thankfully the pattern also works perfectly with the 7mm round ones. It's such a pretty design and easy to make too.

I made one more in another colorway that I will post tomorrow along with a pair of matching earrings. I also made ten more colorway samples and I will make a few more of these bracelets when I can. I'm going to be busy over the next couple of weeks or so preparing to get a new computer. My current one is twelve years old and has Windows XP on it. I have put off the inevitable for as long as I could because I'm afraid that I might not be able to run some of my graphics programs on the new computer. I'm also worried that my camera might not work. All I can do is hope for the best.

 

Sidonia's Seed Beads Earrings - Video Tutorial

11/0 seed beads Miyuki/Czech "Vintage Copper" (55003)
11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4222)
8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4222)

About a year ago I emailed the link to THIS video by Sidonia to myself for future reference. I completely forgot about it until the other day when I finally gave it a try. You'll notice that I only made a single motif for my earrings so they're super tiny and very adorable. They measure 3/4" long by just over 3/4" wide at the widest point.

I've only made them in these two colorways so far but I'd also like to try making them in other colors and also with Toho seed beads to see if they will work with this design. I have so many pretty colors in Toho seed beads that it would silly not to try them.

I have one suggestion that Sidonia doesn't mention in her video. After completing the earrings as directed, you really need to reinforce them several times to give them some body. Otherwise I don't think they will hold their shape while wearing them. I wove around and around until I had used up the excess thread that was on my needle or until I could no longer get through the beads. Another option would be to brush clear nail polish on the backs to stiffen them.

• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Opaque Dark Beige" (493)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)

These petite earrings look very much like crocheted or tatted lace.

 

Dragonfly Bracelet - Celedon Blue & Pewter

DRAGONFLY BRACELET

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4222)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4222)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4222)
• 6mm Czech 2-hole tile beads "Celadon Blue Halo Ethereal"
• SuperDuo beads "Pearl Coat Brown Sugar"

I blogged about these "Coin Earrings with SuperDuos" HERE earlier in the year. I had made them to go with a "Crescent Link Bracelet". The "Dragonfly Bracelet" is one of my all-time favorite bracelets to make and wear so I made one to match the earrings.

I wish that I could tell you where to buy these CzechMates tile beads but I only saw them once, bought some and have never seen them again anywhere. Although they weren't labeled as such, they appear to have the Halo Ethereal finish on them. They're such a beautiful shade of pale blue that it puzzles me why they aren't readily available. They don't look very blue in some of my photos but they are definitely blue with a shimmer of gold.

You can buy the "Dragonfly Bracelet" pattern HERE (Unfortunately, this pattern is no longer available) from In Memory of Eridhan on Etsy. I leave off the border of seed beads along the outer edge when I make this pattern and I also make it with one needle instead of two. Read THIS post for tips on making the pattern with one needle. It's not a complete tutorial for making the bracelet so you will have to buy a copy of the pattern.

 

Bisaneta/Bardot Bracelet with O-Beads - Chalk Copper Picasso

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
• DiamonDuo beads "Jet Silver Picasso"
• SuperDuo beads "Chalk Copper Picasso"
• O-Beads "Gold Matte"

You might recognize this colorway because I previously blogged HERE about an "Ivy Bracelet" made with exactly the same beads as today's bracelet. I got the idea to try adding O-Beads to the "Bisaneta Bracelet" and I think they add a pretty detail to the design. While they work just fine, they do make the bracelet a little stiff, almost like a bangle. Instead of adding 11/0 seed beads between the motifs, I had to use 8/0 beads to fill the larger gap created by the O-Beads. The SuperDuo color that I used is no longer available but Chalk Lazure Blue would be a good substitute.

There is no pattern that I know of for the "Bisaneta" bracelet but there is a YouTube video tutorial HERE for a very similar bracelet called "Bardot". The main difference is the placement of the netting along the outer edge. I make mine using a different method than the one in the video. I start by making the first clasp loop and I also add my netting as I create each motif. In the video she creates the base of DiamonDuos and SuperDuos first then goes back up and down the length of the bracelet adding the netting beads and clasp loops. The end result looks about the same and you can easily add the netting beads where Bisaneta does instead of where she puts them in the video. For more information about where the "Bisaneta Bracelet" came from, read THIS post.

 

Coin Earrings with SuperDuos - Rose Gold Topaz

COIN EARRINGS WITH SUPERDUOS

• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
• CzechMates "Rose Gold Topaz Luster"
• SuperDuo beads "Opaque Rose Gold Topaz Luster"

I made the "Dragonfly" bracelet below way back in 2016 and never got around to making matching earrings until the other day. You can read about the bracelet HERE. These earrings are my SuperDuo variation of Deb Roberti's "Coin Earrings" pattern which you can buy HERE. I blogged about my SuperDuo variation HERE.