Monday, May 9, 2016

May Bead Stash Favorites

Although the new mini collar challenge has had a few timing mishaps, it has certainly helped me to achieve my main goal of finding new inspiration in old beads. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had any room in my budget for bead shopping, so finding ways to use what I have is pretty important. Since starting the challenge, I haven’t had much cause to think about what I could do if I only had ___.

Vintage Venetian White Heart Beads


Right now my absolute favorite is what’s left of my package of vintage Venetian white-hearts in tomato red. Every time I use these beads in a design it turns out magnificent. My particular favorite is the Babi collar from the Egyptian Gods series. At some point I really want to use them in a mini collar – probably when I feel like I need a break from drops and daggers. The only trouble with these beads is that they look a lot more uniform in the package than they actually are, and I’ve used up most of the semi-round ones. One of the reasons I don’t use them often anymore is that I haven’t yet found a design that is both worthy of the precious beads, and suitable for beads that are totally wonky.

Transparent Montana Blue Sapphire Seed Beads


Transparent Montana blue sapphire has long been one of my favorite Czech glass bead colors, although I haven’t had much success with the 11/o size, as transparent Czech seed beads tend to be a lot smaller and thinner than other finishes. Luckily, size 8/o beads look good no matter how they’re shaped, so I’m looking forward to making use of this hank very soon.

Jet Picasso Drop Beads


Finally, I have a small packet of jet Picasso drops that I’ve been saving for a fringed design. I’m hoping to work on a new PDF tutorial for herringbone fringe necklaces that I think these would be perfect for. They’re probably a little too big to use in a mini collar, although a single piece as a focal could work. It would be an interesting experiment to see if one chevron stitch in the middle of piece could be enlarged without warping the beadwork at all.

What beads are you inspired by at the moment?

Mortira

Subscribe * Facebook * Google+
Send your beading questions to InspirationalBeading@gmail.com
Support Inspirational Beading for bonus tutorials and more! Powered by Patreon

Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading


2 comments:

  1. I've been using those "wonky" beads in Russian Spiral necklaces. Teaming size 6 that are irregular, with clean size 11s has resulted in necklaces that, instead of smooth, are nubby and textured. I also make sure to combine finishes - so if one bead type is matt, the other is silver lined or otherwise shiny. The first one I did was by accident, but since then I've made more and they are really popular with my mother and her friends.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds gorgeous! I love the way that some kinds of wonky beads can give a piece character. I don't know what I'd do without my African Christmas beads.

      Delete

Blog Widget by LinkWithin
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads

Inspiration Topics

accessories amulet Ancient Worlds Modern Beads animals April's Army art ArtFire astrology astronomy autumn awards awareness bangle beach Bead Inspired Bead Shops bead soup bead spotlight bead stash Bead Trays beaded beads beading theory beads belt bezel birthstones black blog spotlight blue boho bone book spotlight bracelet Bracelet A Week branch fringe brick stitch brown bugles buttons cabochon ceramic chain maille challenge charity chevron chain christmas collar Collections color Color Ideas color triads conservation craft shows crafts crochet crystals cuff Culled Beads current events Current Faves daggers Daily Sets daisy chain Delicas Destash drops Dutch spiral earrings Egypt Egyptian Gods embellishing embroidery environment etsy exotic fair trade fantasy fashion Favorite Beads Favorite Techniques feminine fibers film findings fire polish fixtures Flashback Test flickr inspiration flowers food found object free form fringe Geek Jewels geekery gemstones geography giveaway glass gold gray Greece green herringbone hex cuts history holiday home decor insects inspiration tip inspired beader Inspired by... Inspiring Links ivory Jewelry Stash knitting ladder stitch lampwork lariat leaf fringe leather lights literature loomwork macrame magatamas Master Class Medallions metal free metalwork Mini Collar a Week mixed media mixture Mood Board MOP multi-color multi-strand music natural beads nature necklace Necklace a Day Nepal chain netting New Beads ocean ombre orange paint paper patterns pearls pendant peyote photography Picasso finish pink Pinspiration PMC polymer clay poster sketch purple quick inspiration rainbow RAW red resin ring Ring a Day rivoli Rome Russian spiral scarf science seed beads shell silver soutache spiral rope spring square stitch St. Petersburg steampunk stringing stripes summer tagua TBT The Elements thread Tilas Time Capsule tools trade beads triangle weave tribal tropical turquoise tutorial two-hole beads Ugly vintage Wear it Twice weather white winter WIP wire wishlist wood World Beaders yellow
Blog Home * About * Beading Tutorials * Advertise

Learn About Sponsoring Inspirational Beading with Project Wonderful
Affiliated With ShareASale.com and Amazon.com