Wedding Cake Bead Earrings

Happy Friday!!! I was looking through beads wondering what I should share with you today and noticed a little tiny ziplock baggie that contained silver filligree type beads that were shaped like a round layer cake.

When I opened the baggie, I remembered I had bought these many years ago when I first started to bead. I am guessing at least 15 years ago. Wow! Anyway, what I found was not just some of these cool layer cake type beads, but one completed earring. Yes, just ONE!

I think it is very cool! I love the fact the filligree bead looks like a pristine layer of wedding cake and am thinking of all the fun possibilities for using these to represent a tall layered cake!

What do you think?

Tiny Pewter Star

Today's bead is a very TINY pewter star. This bead is just about the size of an e-bead. An adorable addition to a variety of projects, these are lots of fun to use in patriotic type jewelry or if you are celebrating someone's accomplishments. It's the next best thing to receiving a gold star for the day!

I've never seen anything made with just these beads, but now that I am thinking about it, they would be nice just strung side by side or with a variety of bright colors in between them.

Let me know if you have any suggestions for using these sweet little stars. Have a great evening!

Bright, Shiny & Red

I just came across this bead sort of by accident in my collection of beads yesterday. Even though I recently posted bugle beads, I thought these really stood out from the rest of the pack. I have no idea how they created these beads!!

They are not really twisted, but you can see from the side view they have sort of a square hole which gives it the look of having edges. It's the fact that they are red, but seem to have black layered deep down under the red...interesting!

I'm not done yet!.... In addition to all that, the brightness of the red is amazing, you almost need sunglasses to look closely at it! Honestly, there are so many project ideas coming to mind with this one.

It definitely must be used in large quantities to get the impact. Multiple strands of these beads mixed with strands of chunky primary color crystal or faceted, sparkly beads will certainly keep you awake if you are concerned about boredom. On the other hand, these could still be used in a more sophisticated way by using strands of more muted earth tones or even simply used with lots of shiny hematite or black diamond crystals.

Please feel free to throw your ideas into the ring!! Have a great evening!

Three Petal Flower

Upon close inspection of this bead you can see the "carved" details of the petals and center of this cute little flower. My first thought was daisy chain. This would be cute mixed with white rounds in between each of the black flowers. It would sort of resemble a black and white daisy chain.

I have to admit, the more I think about daisy chains, the more I want to make one. Often made of seed beads, a daisy chain can be a rather time consuming project and while the result is always adorable, does not really provide much impact in just one strand.

These beads would have a bit more impact and really stand out against white beads. Let me know what you think. Maybe daisy chains can be made with larger than seed beads. If you have any examples, please send them my way. I'd love to see them.

Diamond Dust on Beads?

Is it wrong to use glitter on glass bead jewelry? I'm not sure there is a right or wrong when it comes to making beaded jewelry...

I enjoyed making these e-bead baubles one holiday season, but thought they could use a little more sparkle. Since I happened to have the diamond dust and mod podge handy from another project, it made sense to try it.

I made dangle earrings and a pendant for a chain out of these baubles. The fun thing was the diamond dust would rub off on the chest of the person wearing it and leave them slightly dusted with glitter. Hopefully it was non-toxic and harmless!

Now that I'm looking at the ones I have left over, I am sort of anxious to come up with a new glittery beaded project for this holiday season.

Czech Glass E-Bead Mix

This E-Bead mix from Joann's is made up of size 2/0 beads. I'm not sure when beads stop being "seed" beads, but the 2/0 size is much larger than a typical seed bead. However, there are plenty of seeds that are even bigger than this such as the pumpkin seed!

I have not attempted to use these beads in a seed bead pattern, but I think it would be a lot of fun. Can you imagine using these in either a flat or tubular peyote stitch? I'm thinking it would be really cool and ultra chunky! These were part of an "aqua" mix and would look cool made into a tubular pattern for about 3 or 4 inches and then strung on a nice fabric cording or heavy faux leather cording as a necklace.

Cute Plastic Bracelet

This week's bracelet is a plastic bangle that has an irridescent quality. I found this at Ally's Beads and thought about either decopauging some graphic designs or photos to it.

I was also thinking about wire wrapping beads to it and thought you would probably need to cover the wire on the wrist side for comfort with some type of soft foam or fabric.

If you know of any interesting techniques for using these, please let me know. I was thinking of fun holiday gifts for some fellow crafters since I know they would appreciate something unique.

Thanks and have a great Saturday night!!