Astral Bracelet & Earrings - Island Paradise

ASTRAL BRACELET & EARRINGS

• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Nickel Plated" (711)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Nickel Plated" (711)
• 7mm CzechMates 2-hole cabochons "Saturated Metallic Island Paradise"
• 3mm fire polished beads "Saturated Metallic Island Paradise"

As you can see, Toho seed beads work just fine with this pattern. To account for the larger size of them, I used one less bead on each side of the cabochons.

"Astral Bracelet" is a free pattern by Deb Roberti which you can download HERE at Around the Beading Table.

 

Astral Bracelet - Chalk Lazure Blue

ASTRAL BRACELET

• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
• 7mm CzechMates 2-hole cabochons "Luster Opaque Green"
• 3mm fire polished beads "Full Picasso Blue"

I didn't make a matching pair of earrings to go with today's bracelet because I already have several pairs in this colorway. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you probably know that I use Chalk Lazure Blue (aka Opaque Green Luster or Chalk Lumi Green) beads quite a lot. I looked back through some of my blog posts and found four pairs of earrings that would look fine with this bracelet. They are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

"Astral Bracelet" is a free pattern by Deb Roberti which you can download HERE at Around the Beading Table. 

 

Astral Bracelet & Earrings - Suede Pink

ASTRAL EARRINGS

• 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"

I blogged about the bracelet below last Monday but I wanted to show you the complete set now that I've had a chance to make some matching earrings. Read my previous post HERE.

"Astral" is Deb Roberti's latest free bracelet pattern which you can download HERE at Around the Beading Table.  I adapted these earrings from the bracelet motif.

 

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.