Bead Hero of the Week

It snowed here in Minneapolis last night and is supposed to continue through today and tonight until we have 3 - 8 inches (apparently snow fall is difficult to predict). It is beautiful and white, and as someone who has never lived anywhere that snow stayed piled high on the ground for the duration of winter, let alone snow in April, I am loving it. The natives however seem to tire of it and are looking forward to a few green leaves. For them I chose our bead hero this week.

These lovely green leaf beads are a staple for many spring jewelry and art projects. I have not passed through a spring where I have not used these somewhere in a bead project and this spring is to be no different, even with the snow on the ground and not a leaf in sight (except in the aisles at the home improvement store I work for).

 How about you, what beads does spring compel you to use in your projects?

 Let us know in the comments below and check back with us on Friday for a leafy project that will give Minnesotans hope for spring. 

Hero of the Week

As promised, our bead heroes have returned and this week we are featuring one unforgettable hero. A small but bold and striking bead that doesn't need to be large to grab your attention.

When our daughter was about eight years old we let her pick out the colors she wanted us to paint her bedroom. She likes bold colors just as we do. She picked green and blue for the walls and for the trim she picked a color called Laser Beam Yellow. That name very much suits these beads even more so than the Transparent Frosted Lemon Yellow name they came with. They are transparent though so you know what that means, color play with thread! This Friday I will share  with you a super simple necklace that will look great with your summer beach wear and a pendant that uses a different thread color to change the look a bit - but certainly not the boldness.

Until then, let us know what you think of this week's hero in the comments below. Does the intense color frighten you or do you embrace amazingly bright colors in your beadwork?

Warm Weather Jewelry Makes a Splash

Citrus spritz seed beads swept images through my mind of laying back in a beached chaise lounge, barefoot and bathing suit clad with a huge umbrella overhead, a book in one hand and a tall glass of a deliciously light, alcohol laced, lime drink on ice in the other. This barefoot, bathing suit look is, of course, not complete without a great looking anklet to finish the picture.

In the previous post I talked about the effect thread color could have on seed beads and for this project I used a white thread so this delicate bead color would stand on its own.

If you want to make this project to wear with your summer attire you can find the beads, the thread, and the clasp in our shop. A ladder stitch base determined the length and then the brick stitch (or comanche) triangles were added to that. Loop on a clasp and you have yourself a great piece of jewelry to show off against your pretty tan this summer.

What images do citrus spritz seed beads conjure in your mind?

Hero of the Week

Our bead hero this week is one that I have been drooling over since I saw it and I am having so much fun creating a great piece of jewelry with it this week. 

This very light green transparent seed bead color is aptly named citrus spritz and it does look as though clear glass has been spritzed with this lovely color.

 One of my favorite things about weaving seed beads is using different colors of thread, especially with transparent beads, to create different colors and effects and these are a perfect candidate for that kind of play. You can enhance the color, change the color, or simply let the color be itself simply from the color of thread you use with them.

This is definitely one versatile bead to add to your stash that could be used alone (as I will show you Friday), or added in small amounts to break up heavier colors, or strung with shiny glass and crystal beads to frame their sparkle.

How would you play with this fun color?

Hero of the Week

Primary colors swirl through this week's heroic gorgeous glass beads.

You can imagine that as a seed bead weaver, this shape is not one I commonly use. I have seen this shape used in some beautiful jewelry though. If you have a design idea for this dime shape that you will share with the group, tell us about it in the comments and I will show you what I did come up with on Friday.

Until then have fun and bead on!

Hero of the Week

This week our hero is another two hole bead. These metallic hematite flat beads are another that I can imagine so many possible designs with, but I have narrowed it down to a necklace for you, to be revealed on Friday.

Join us on Friday for inspiration using these 15x5mm two hole beads and share your ideas with us!


If there is a bead from our shop that you would like to nominate to be a future Hero of the Week please let us know!

Super Duos Pose a Challenge

If you haven't tried playing with this week's hero then you are saving yourself a lot of play time. These wonderful beads lend themselves to so many possibilities that I had a hard time focusing on just one design. 

The circle and triangle are just two shapes that these beads so naturally lend themselves. You can imagine how much I just wanted to keep making samples and forget about showing you a finished jewelry set.
Luckily you can just play and make fun shapes and still end up with cute earrings...

...or go bigger and add a necklace for a whole set!

I did not have time this week, but definitely want to try alternating duo colors in this triangle shape to see the cool effects. I would love to see what you come up with using these shapes or any others you end up with in your adventures with twin hole seed beads.

Share your thoughts below and feel free to send us pictures of your Super Duos creations! If you like, we will share them here on our blog.

Hero of the Week

It's a bead... it's a spacer... it's... Super Duos! The most heroic bead of them all is the bead that has the word super right in the name. This week we are featuring the twin hole seed bead  in opaque red.

Aren't they so beautiful with their oval shape and perfect curves and great color? This Friday I will share with you a necklace and earring design that make using these super fun!
If you have used the twin hole beads, let us know how you like them in the comments below. If you have not then what are you waiting for?


If there is a bead from our shop that you would like to nominate to be a future Hero of the Week please let us know!

Rockin' Duck Bill Earrings!

There, I said it, these earrings are rockin'! I had so much fun making these earrings as I began to see how they were forming to really show off the shape and color of this week's hero.

I used square stitch adding the curb chain as part of the work again and simply added beads every couple of rows to curve the beadwork out toward the bottom to display those beautiful duck bill drops.

Of course you can always make them shorter by using shorter lengths of chain but I think they have a totally 80's rocker feel with the length and bright colors.Which means they match my totally 80's rocker shirt!

You can't see the purple hot pants and silver scrunch socks but they are there ;).
You can find all of the materials to make these crazy cool earrings in our shop. The duck bill drops come in different colors too!

Tell us how you are going to rock these duck bill drops and until next week have fun and bead on!

Hero of the Week

Julie picked out one of the coolest shaped drop beads we have found. This week's hero is the aqua and fushia duck bill drop bead.

The colors on these are so fun and pretty and the flattened ends really show off the color mix well. This Friday's project will be a bit of a surprise for us all as I have not made it yet. I am thinking of an earring design but of course things can always change - especially my mind ;). If you are playing along with me and contemplating your own design there are flower beads in our shop that match these cool drops.

Share your thoughts on this week's hero and tune in Friday to see the finished project!