Princess Earrings - Pattern and video in Russian

ROBIN SMITH'S "PRINCESS EARRINGS"

I blogged about these earrings back in May, HERE. They are the creation of my friend, Robin, who teaches a class at the local bead shop. Apparently Anna Puplyaeva saw the photo on Pinterest and came up with her own method for making them. I hadn't posted the pattern here because I didn't have Robin's permission to do so. If you'd like to try making them, Anna has a diagram posted on her blog, HERE, and also a video photo tutorial on YouTube, HERE.

UPDATE: The links are no longer good.

I took a quick look at Anna's video and her method is a little different than Robin's. I'm not sure why, but she starts with the top motif then works down both sides of the earring and then connects them at the bottom. Robin also starts with the top motif but she works her way down one side, then makes the bottom part and then works her way back up the other side.

Here is one of my sample earrings that I made with smaller beads and no drop at the bottom:

Bracelet of the Day: Bobble Bangle - Montana Blue Crystal

BOBBLE BANGLE

• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Silver" (711)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Silver" (711)
• 4mm round crystals "Montana" (from China)

I made this bracelet to wear with the "Fan" earrings that I blogged about the other day, HERE. I was running short on the rondelles that I used in the earrings but I had a full bag of these round Chinese crystals in the same color. Here is the set:

You can buy Deborah Roberti's "Bobble Bangles" pattern at Around the Beading Table, HERE.

Bracelet of the Day: Esther Silky Bracelet - Ivory

ESTHER SILKY BRACELET

• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Gilded Marble Black" (1706)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Gilded Marble Black" (1706)  
• Silky beads "Opaque Ivory"
• 2mm pearls "Champagne"

This would have been pretty with plain bronze seed beads but I wanted to make this a little more interesting by using the "gilded marble" seed beads. 

After making the bracelet, I wanted to make some matching earrings and came up with two different pattern ideas. The first one that I tried was Deb Roberti's "Button Earrings", which you can buy HERE. I hadn't made the pattern before but I liked that it called for beads that I just happened to have in the same ivory color as the Silky beads. It's a very pretty earring but I think I'd like them better in another color. The ivory fire polished beads stand out too much against the dark seed beads. I also used some of the same 2mm pearls in the center, instead of the 8/0 seed beads called for, and I don't care for how they look. I should have used some of the 8/0 gilded marble seed beads instead. In any case, I like the other earrings that I made better with this bracelet. Here is my Button Earring sample:

BUTTON EARRINGS

• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Gilded Marble Black" (1706)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Gilded Marble Black" (1706)  
• 4mm fire polished beads "Opaque Light Beige"
• 2mm pearls "Champagne"

The pattern that I ended up using for my earrings is my variation of Beth Clark's "Beth Duo Earrings" pattern which you can buy, HERE. I tried it two ways. First I put the bronze SuperDuos in the center and surrounded the "flower" with ivory SuperDuos. Next, I switched the colors around and I like the earrings better with an ivory flower surrounded by bronze SuperDuos. 

Here is my final pair of earrings:

BETH DUO EARRINGS VARIATION

• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Gilded Marble Black" (1706)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Gilded Marble Black" (1706)  
• SuperDuo beads "Opaque Ivory"
• SuperDuo beads "Crystal Gold Luster"

You can download my free bracelet pattern from THIS post.

 

YouTube Video Tutorial - Alessia's Fan Earrings

ALESSIA'S FAN EARRINGS

• 15/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Silver" (711)
• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Silver" (711)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Silver" (711)
• SuperDuo beads "Pastel Montana Blue"
• 4mm rondelles "Montana" (Chinavoski)

 
I have never before worn earrings this large but these are so pretty that I at least had to give them a try. I'm so glad that I did. They're gorgeous! The video is in Italian but it's not too difficult to follow along. You can watch Alessia Principe's video on YouTube, HERE.

UPDATE: The video is no longer available.

I made samples in a few different colors and decided that I like them the best with silver seed beads and not so much with dark bronze beads. They seem to need lighter/brighter colors to bring out the pretty details.

I made my first couple of samples as directed by the video but I omitted the drop bead at the bottom, because I didn't care for it, and added some seed beads instead. In the end I decided that I prefer them without any added detail there. Also, I wasn't keen on the 4mm rondelles near the top of the earrings at first because the thread shows a bit. I tried replacing them with 3mm rondelles and 3mm bicones but both of those caused the earrings to curl or become unstable. I went back to using the 4mm rondelles. The earrings come out perfect with them and they're quite sturdy if you reinforce the stitching around the bottom edge and around the seed beads in the center.

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• SuperDuo beads "Opaque Light Blue Picasso"
• 4mm rondelles "Aqua Gold AB - #B26 AB" (Beads One)
• 3mm druks "Sky Blue Picasso"

I tried three different things with these three samples. The one on the far left was made as directed by the video except for the seed beads in the center at the bottom. The center sample has 3mm druks instead of rondelles near the top but I don't like them. They don't have any sparkle and these earrings are all about sparkle. The sample on the far right is the best of the three. I made it as directed but left off the bottom dangle. I might make myself a pair like those sometime.

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457D)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457D)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457D)
• SuperDuo beads "Polychrome Copper Rose"
• 3mm rondelles "Amethyst AB" (Beads One - not available online)
• 4mm rondelles "Amethyst AB" (Chinese)
• 3mm bicones "Purple Red AB" (Chinese)

The sample on the left has 3mm bicones and the one on the right has 3mm rondelles. Both earrings came out warped. It's possible though that part of the problem might also be the Miyuki "Dark Bronze" seed beads. I think they may be too tiny for this pattern. I don't like the look of these two samples. The colors are too monochrome and boring.

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• SuperDuo beads "Pastel Bordeaux"
• 4mm rondelles "Brown/Topaz - #C29 AB" (Beads One)

I like this color combination very much but it's a little too dark to see the design details very well. I might try the same SuperDuos with some lighter color rondelles and silver seed beads and see how that looks.

 

Bracelet of the Day: Esther Silky Bracelet - Lila Luster

ESTHER SILKY BRACELET

• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Galvanize Pewter" (D4222)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Galvanize Pewter" (D4222)
• Silky beads "Alabaster Lila Luster"
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Hybrid Rosy Mauve Gold Topaz Satin Luster" (Y508F)

Depending on the light, these Silky beads can look pale pink or sort of mauve. The color seems to go very nicely with pewter seed beads. I think that the mauve accent beads go pretty well with the Silkies even though they're not really the same color. They're a bit more purple than pink. They're also an unusual color that I've only seen online at Simply Beads, HERE. I did a Google search and Auntie's Beads has them HERE.

For my earrings, I used my "Silky Deco Chain Earrings" pattern, which you can download HERE. They were quick to make and I think they go very well with the style of the bracelet.

SILKY DECO CHAIN EARRINGS

• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Galvanize Pewter" (D4222)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Galvanize Pewter" (D4222)
• Silky beads "Alabaster Lila Luster"

You can download my free bracelet pattern from THIS post.

 

Bracelet of the Day: Esther Silky Bracelet - Hematite & Amethyst

ESTHER SILKY BRACELET

• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Metallic Hematite" (81)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Metallic Hematite" (81)
• Silky beads "Oil Rubbed Bronze Copper"
• 3mm rondelles "Lilac - #C12 AB" (Beads One)

 
I thought I'd try something different for the accent beads this time so I used 3mm rondelles. They're actually 2mm x 3mm so I thought they would fit about the same as 8/0 seed beads and they do. They're Chinese and I got them from Beads One. They have them on their website HERE.

I got the Silky beads from GCSuppliesTexas on Etsy, HERE. Although the color is called bronze/copper, they're actually a dark metallic amethyst with dark blue/hematite on them. I tried pairing them with copper seed beads and they didn't work well at all.

You can download my free bracelet pattern from THIS post.

 

Free Beading Pattern: Esther Silky Bracelet

ESTHER SILKY BRACELET

• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Bronze" (223)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Bronze" (223)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Hybrid Opaque Turquoise Blue Picasso" (4514)
• Silky beads "Opaque Green Turquoise Picasso"

I named this pattern in honor of my Mom who passed away many years ago. It would have been fun to make bracelets and earrings for her. The design is based on Teejay's adaptation of Deborah Roberti's "Bobble Bangle" which you can buy, HERE. Teejay's version uses SuperDuo beads instead of the 4mm beads that Deb's pattern calls for and I found a way to make the pattern work with Silky beads. As you'll see in the photo below, you can substitute 2mm pearls for the 8/0 accent beads for a different look.

TIP: Just a reminder that whenever you're working with Silky beads it's important to check to make sure that all of the holes are clear before you start using them. I'm pretty good about doing that but I somehow missed one the other day and had to take apart and re-make a bracelet because a Silky bead that I missed checking had only one hole. The other hole wasn't just plugged, there was no sign of a hole at all. 

• 11/0 seed beads "Dark Bronze" (457D)
• 8/0 seed beads "Dark Bronze" (457D)
• Silky beads "Pastel Burgundy"
• 2mm pearls "Ivory"

Click HERE to download the free pattern

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NOTE: I don't mind if you sell the projects that you make with our patterns, but please mention that you got the pattern from Linda's Crafty Inspirations. Please contact me for information about teaching this or any of our patterns in a class.