Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Bracelet of the Day: Ivy Bracelet Variation - Lavender & Nebula


IVY BRACELET VARIATION
  • 11/0 seed beads Toho "Transparent Montana Gold Luster" (204)
  • 8/0 seed beads Toho "Transparent Montana Gold Luster" (204)
  • Silky beads "Alabaster Vega Luster"
  • SuperDuo beads "Nebula Ivory" aka "Nebula Beige"
  • O-Beads "Oxidized Bronze Berry" (about 2.75 grams)

Once again, I made an Ivy bracelet with Silky beads. These pale purple ones go very well with the new "Nebula" SuperDuos that I bought last week at 1960 Beads. There are quite a few Nebula colors but they're a bit pricey so I only bought one kind. I chose this one because it is different than anything I have in my stash. Some of the Nebula purples are very pretty but I already have SuperDuos in a lot of different shades of purple. 


Note that the Silky beads that I used look a little too pink in these photos. They're actually pale lavender or lilac. The photo at the top of this post is the closest to the real color.

The Nebula finish is hard to describe. It's like they take three different colors and sort of smear them around on the surface of the beads. They also have a slight shimmery metallic look, or at least the shiny ones do. They also come in a matte finish. The ones that I bought are called "Nebula Ivory" (or "Nebula Beige" in some bead shops) but there is no ivory color on them at all. There does seem to be some hints of beige in certain kinds of light but they're mainly a pale bluish sage green color with hints of mauve.


Download the free "Ivy Bracelet" pattern from THIS post.



 

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Where to buy DiamonDuo Beads

I'm frequently asked where to buy different kinds of beads, especially new beads like the DiamonDuos. So, I've started a list on the side bar of my blog with links to shops that I know of that sell those beads starting with today's post about where to buy DiamonDuo beads. Scroll down and look for the heading on the right where it says "Where to buy...". 

If you know of a source for them that I don't have on the list below, please send me the link and I will add it.


WHERE TO BUY DIAMONDUO BEADS

1960 Beads (local shop - Houston, TX)

ArtBeads

Bead Passion Studio

Bead Passion Studio Etsy

Bead Prestige Studio Etsy

Beadaholique

Beads Direct (USA)

Beads Mine (Italy)

Beads To Weave Etsy

Beads Mine (Italy)

BeadStuff


Bijoux Components (Czech Republic)

Charlene's Beads

Creative Beadcraft (UK)

Crystals and Ice Bead Shop (UK)

DH-Perlenshop (Germany)


Eureka Crystal Beads

Forever Beading Etsy

Fru Pärla (Sweden)

Fusion Beads

Goody Beads

Hobby Perline (Italy)

Pärlsystrar (Sweden)

Perles & Co (France)

Potomac Beads

Queen City Bead Etsy

Red Panda

Robin's Beads (UK)

Shipwreck Beads

Southpass Beads Etsy

SupplyEmporium Etsy

Sweet Beads Etsy

The Bead Shop Scotland (UK)

The Half Moon Bead Shop (UK)



 

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Bracelet of the Day: Duo Silky Bracelet - Jade & Olive


  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457D)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457D)
  • Silky beads "Jade Red Luster"
  • SuperDuo beads "Opaque Green Luster Iris"


With a little tweaking, Silkies work perfectly in place of the Kheops beads in Marina's "Duo Kheops" pattern. I didn't have to change the pattern very much. I only changed the order of the steps to get the Silky beads to be upright instead of sideways. You can read about my first "Duo Silky" bracelet HERE.

You can buy the "Duo Kheops Bracelet" pattern from Marina Beads on Etsy, HERE. I got these pretty Silky beads from Red Panda HERE.




 

Friday, May 27, 2016

Bracelet of the Day: Duo Kheops Bracelet - Turquoise & Copper



DUO KHEOPS BRACELET
  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
  • Kheops® Par Puca® beads "Dark Bronze"
  • SuperDuo beads "Green Turquoise Senegal Matte"

This bracelet pattern is from Marina Beads on Etsy and you can buy it HERE. You can get the SuperDuos HERE at Aura Crystals. I bought mine from Aria Design Studio but Lisa is out of this color.




 

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Bracelet of the Day: Camille Variation - Metallic Matte Dark Plum


  • 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
  • Kheops® Par Puca® "Metallic Matte Dark Plum"
  • Silky beads "Metallic Trim Lilac"
  • 4mm Bicones "Purple AB - #C12 AB" (Beads One - not available online)


I adapted this bracelet from Puca's "Camille Bracelet" pattern which you can buy HERE in her Etsy shop. The main difference between mine and Puca's is that I've added Silky beads between the Kheops motifs.

You can buy these new metallic matte Kheops beads at Red Panda HERE. The only place where I've seen the lilac Silky beads is GCSuppliesTexas on Etsy HERE. The color in the photo on Etsy is not how they actually look. They're a very muted shade of mauve as they look in my photos. I did a Google search and also found them at Haute Hobby on Etsy HERE.



 

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Ivy Bracelet Variation & Tara Earrings - Chocolate & Berry


IVY BRACELET VARIATION
  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
  • 6mm 2-hole cabochons "Chalk White Vega Luster"
  • SuperDuo beads "Polychrome Copper Rose"
  • O-Beads "Metallic Amethyst Luster" (about 2.75 grams)



TARA EARRINGS
  • 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
  • 6mm 2-hole cabochons "Chalk White Vega Luster"
  • 2-hole Crescent beads "Oxidized Bronze Berry"


I bought the Crescent beads and 2-hole cabochons at the same time not knowing that they would look so wonderful together. The color combination is glorious and the earrings look like they're very old. It was tricky to get the colors in the photos right but I think they're pretty close. The cabochons do look a little less red than in the photos.

You can buy Ellad2's "Tara Earrings" pattern HERE and the free "Ivy Bracelet" pattern is available from THIS post.




Here are some links to bead sites that have 6mm 2-hole cabochons:

Red Panda

Potomac Beads

ScaraBeads Etsy

ScaraBeads

GJ Beads (UK)

Robin's Beads (UK)

Old Bicycle Shop (UK)

Bello Modo

PoppyAndGenesBeadery Etsy

Beads on Parade Etsy

RShermanDesigns Etsy

Vivaccessories Etsy


Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Bracelet of the Day: Ivy Bracelet Variation - Mint & Mauve



IVY BRACELET VARIATION
  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Galvanized Light Pewter" (4221)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Galvanized Light Pewter" (4221)
  • Silky beads "Chalk Mint Luster"
  • SuperDuo beads "Opaque Purple Picasso"
  • O-Beads "Jade Picasso" (about 2.75 grams)

Here you can see that the "Ivy" pattern works very well with Silky beads in place of the DiamonDuos. This colorway is very soft and subtle and I like how the jade green O-Beads highlight the pale mint Silkies. The SuperDuos look gray in the photos but they're a very pale purple or mauve.


Download the free "Ivy Bracelet" pattern from THIS post.



 

Monday, May 23, 2016

Bracelet of the Day: Ivy Bracelet - Turquoise & Berry



IVY BRACELET
  • 11/0 seed beads Toho "Transparent Montana Gold Luster" (204)
  • 8/0 seed beads Toho "Transparent Montana Gold Luster" (204)
  • DiamonDuo beads "Pastel Burgundy"
  • SuperDuo beads "Pink Luster Turquoise"
  • O-Beads "Oxidized Bronze Berry" (about 2.75 grams)

I wanted to make a "Bluebell" bracelet in this colorway but I wasn't happy with the way it looked once I got started. It looked too solid or something and I think it's much prettier with the open spaces between the DiamonDuos. I love this color combination.


Download the free "Ivy Bracelet" pattern from THIS post.



 

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Bracelet of the Day: Bluebell - Pale Gold & Purple



BLUEBELL BRACELET
  • 11/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Bronze" (223)
  • 8/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Bronze" (223)
  • DiamonDuo beads "Pastel Bordeaux"
  • SuperDuo beads "Bronze Pale Gold"
  • O-Beads "Metallic Mix" (about 4.5 grams)

Here is "Bluebell Bracelet" in a very
elegant colorway . I hope you like it. The "Metallic Mix" O-Beads that I used are a mixture of at least four metallic colors. There are mostly bronze ones in the mix and I picked out only those to use in this bracelet. You can see though that they're not all exactly the same shade of bronze.


Read more about this bracelet and download the free pattern HERE.