Irregular, Misshapen, Tarnished - PERFECT!

As you can tell by the title of this post I am currently obsessed with imperfection.  I found tons of irregular, misshapen, tarnished gunmetal beads in my stash.  I believe these were inexpensive beads I bought many years ago from a local big box store when I first started beading.   I kept the beads but in the back of my mind I was never planning to use them, because who has time to pick through the bunch trying to find the perfect ones?   Looking for a challenge and armed with a positive attitude and a desire to create something organic I put them to use, and voila! 

I was able to use the irregular beads along with some metal beads and buttons and create the designs below.  I also discovered a really fun technique.  After making a wide cuff style bracelet, I folded it in half, sewed it up, adding beads where needed to create this texturelicious bangle.  Love it! and of course I'm obsessed - for a while anyway.  Moral of this story - never throw away any beads.

INSPIRED BY NEW ORLEANS!

I recently visited New Orleans last month, and I was so inspired by the "Crescent City".
For me New Orleans is a melting pot of many things:  people, food, and architecture.  I was able to find inspiration in all these areas.  The "City" is much like the Gumbo for which it is known.  I think of my jewelry designs as gumbo sometimes.  I try to design using a multiple techniques, colors, and bead sizes in one piece in an effort to create unique details.    The piece below was designed while I was visiting New Orleans.  I used my latest obsession: Picasso beads - love them! 

Back to the Beads (for a minute)

I'm currently finishing up this necklace made up of large loops.  It was inspired by a necklace worn by a national news reporter.  The stitch I'm using is cubic right angle weave or CRAW for short. This is a stitch I learned a few years ago from a David Chatt tutorial.

I thought it was a neat stitch at that time if you wanted to make geometrically shaped jewelry.  Now I appreciate the stitch for the beautiful drape it gives my pieces, and it's much more fun to work with.  The colors I used in this necklace are 2 of my favorite and are on trend for 2014/2015 season.

How To Choose The Right Beads For Your Project

Last year my daughter Mallory and I attended the annual Rock and Gem Show in our county.  Mallory bought a beautiful, but rather large stone, even though at the time she had no idea what she would do with it.  After a while she decided she wanted a bracelet.

We took the stone to our local bead shop to find seed beads to help build this bracelet.  Needless to say, Mallory was overwhelmed at the choices available.  She didn't know where to start.  I taught her a quick 3 step process to help her choose the beads needed to complete her bracelet.

Mallory's bracelet

1). Decide if you want a monochromatic palette (subtle shades of the same color as your focal piece), or a complementary palette (colors that are opposite your focal piece).

 2). For a monochromatic palette look for hues that are lighter, darker and a different texture than your focal piece.  For a complementary palette get your clues from your focal bead - look at the bead or stone and search for subtle flecks or variations of colors.  These variations become your complementary colors.   If you are unable to detect any variations, then use a color wheel.  Search for the color of your focal piece on the color wheel then look at the color(s) directly opposite of it - these will be your complementary color(s).

3).  Add some metal accents (gold, silver, or copper) to your piece, it also serves to provide interest to your piece.