Sometimes jewelry designs come easily and other times they don't.
The August Pretty Palettes challenge proved to be in that latter category for me. I looked at the pretty beads that Erin Prais-Hintz chose and my mind went totally blank. When I'm stuck, I have a lot of different tricks for getting myself to the design stage. Here are a few I tried this time around:
What To Try When You're Stuck
- Put your materials in a visible space.
Having your beads out rather than tucked in a drawer keeps the project alive in your mind. - Don't clean ... or do.
Sometimes the act of cleaning up your beading space leads you to find materials you've forgotten about. In a similar way, placing your new beads alongside the mess of your old ones can spark ideas for collaboration. - Randomly pick a technique, form, or style.
I find that sometimes my problem is that there are too many design possibilities. I can be paralyzed by indecision. In those cases, I just arbitrarily make a decision: make a necklace using basic stringing techniques, make an over-the-top Gothic piece, make something that you could wear to a late summer party. It doesn't matter so much what you decide; what's important is getting started. You will naturally refine and shape your idea (or maybe get a better one!) as soon as you start working.
Sea Treasures Bracelet
This multistrand bracelet features 3 strands of silver toned spacers with round beads in a range of blue, green, and aqua shades. My inspiration for this project included a few ideas: the multistrand bracelet trend, the use of multiple silver spacers (I loved the rich look of solid strands of silver), some leftover eye pins with dangles (from my Royal Blue Choker project), and some polka dot curved drum beads that I picked up on a whim when buying the round beads. I originally planned to make a multistrand necklace, but I ran out of time ... and beads! This bracelet includes three full packages of those tiny silver-plated rondelles and more than 60 beaded dangles.
Beads You Need
Here are the Bead Gallery beads I used from Michaels:
- light blue shell rounds [#10401680]
- cobalt blue ceramic rounds [#10242608]
- light sapphire glass rounds [#10265187]
- aqua mixed glass rounds [#10367572]
- silver-plated 12mm drums [#10216925]
- silver-plated 3mm rounds [#10121132]
- silver-plated metal thin rondelles [#10471832]
Bonus: Blue Bead Necklace
Looking for another idea on how to use blue round beads? Check out this blue multistrand necklace tutorial I wrote for Michaels earlier this year.