What was I thinking?

Last week I got some seed beads I'd bought from the UK. I often buy without a particular project in mind, selecting whatever colours tickle my fancy at the moment. Right now that includes colour-lined beads (in transparent colours, not crystal). Having decided I'd dare use colourful hues like hyacinth and hot pink this summer -- going to order a few swarovski neon pearls too -- I wanted to get something else than just purples, greens and beiges in that order. Something juicy and colourful. Something colour lined. Choosing between two or three colours, I finally went with pink lined topaz, as you can see above.

I probably should'nt have because this is the most neon hue I've ever bought. It almost hurts your eyes! The colour makes hot pink look dull next to it. So not my style. I wanted a challenge, but this? I'm getting cold feet. But I'm not returning it and probably not selling/swapping it either. After all: used in small amounts bright seeds really tone down and it's often just a matter of finding the right colour combo for them. Still thinking I should've gone with that other peach/hot pink hue or a magenta/fuchsia instead, but I am going to use this one.

While I loved most of the beads I bought, I also made a classic mistake: teal-lined light sapphire looked nice and I could use another blue hue, but I was so caught up in the combo of colour linings and glass colours that I missed the oh-so-important acronym. Two letters that make a big difference: AB, aurora borealis. Not a big fan of AB, though there are exceptions (and that's not even mentioning the gorgeous 2xAB colours available). I've been beading for so many years, I should know to look out for that. But I missed it...

But I have to end this post in a more upbeat mood. The rest of the beads were just what I wanted (including the aqua celsian SuperDuos) and the cassiopeia mini-daggers are lovely so let's end with a pic or two of those. They were only sold in strands of 100 so I had to get that many. Not sure what I'll make with so many daggers, but at least it won't be the colour that causes the design woes here.

Seed bead cravings

Have you seen my latest pinboard, Seed bead colours? If you follow my blog you know that one of the reasons glass beads are my favourite material to work with is that there are so many colours and finishes -- and I just want them all!

Having done some beaded beads, bead embroidery for TAST and now finally picked up my twin beads, I'm really craving some new seed bead colours. Like a true bead junkie. It's not like I don't have any seed beads, though my collection is probably far from as complete as some may think, but when I see a new colour I can't help but drool and think I must have it!

Gilded Marble Turquoise, Magic Raspberry, Opaque Olive Jade Picasso with Brown and Gray Stripes, Opaque Water Colors Half Coat Apollo Gold, Ancient Matt Snowcloud, Opaque Green Lined Montana Blue, Gold-Lustered Amethyst, Inside Color Lined Gray/Copper -- how can colours (and colour names) like that not be irresistable?

And with all the options, I find myself fascinated with one finish or type of colour at the time. It used to be picasso and opal colours. Before that celsian and lustre finish on opaque colours. Before that matte metallics and frosted vitrail. And Hybrids of cause. Right now I'm very curious about colour-lined and striped seeds.

Unfortunately, I can't really afford buying beads right now eventhough it's so tempting for a seed bead addict to just whip out the ol' Visa and order all those gorgeous colours. So right now I'm restricted to online window shopping only...

Daydreaming about all the colours and finishes I will buy one day. But rarely daydreaming about what I want to make with them... As I've said many times before, I'm a collector and hoarder so it's more about falling in love with colours than thinking they'd look fab in my beadwork.

Do you have a favourite seed bead colour you think I'd like? Please, do tell. With a link or just the colour name. I'd love some new colours ideas to toy with. And we all know some colours are much lovelier IRL and therefore easy to miss when just looking through the shops online like I do.

(The photo's of some czech seed beads in travertine, a picasso finish. It's a kind of note to myself to keep my eyes out for when the new picasso finish beads from Miyuki hits the market -- check out the colours in their online sample cards. They can be found in the Process category.)

Winter beads: opal apollo Toho Hybrids

I love seed beads. In all their different shapes, sizes and finishes. One of my favourite types are the Toho Supernova Hybrids, seeds from Japanese quality brand Toho that have been custom coated in the Czech Republic by an American importer. There by combining the even sizes and big holes of the Japanese beads with the fantastic Czech finishes.

I don't have that many colours of the hybrids, though, as these beads aren't cheap. And some finishes are more -- much more -- expensive than others (that also includes e.g. Toho's own marbled gilded finishes). The last colour I bought for my little Hybrids stash must have been the opal apollo gold. Frosted or not (I've got both), it feels like a good winter colour. Not colours I normally use so they will also work as a kind of personal colour challenge. [But it'll have to wait as I'm working on this colour challenge at the moment. I picked  bright, sunny yellow in a moment of bravery -- challenge in deed...]

Apollo gold -- aka capri gold -- has been a favourite bead finish of mine for years. On clear crystal it looks like copper (see the beads in the front in the top photo), but on other colours and when frosted (used on matte beads) it can look more golden. As with many finishes it also alters the perceived colour of the glass. Like in these magatamas, which are acutally a milky white, but coated they seem blueish.

I'm thinking they might be good for a christmas project. Christmas as in a project to delve into during the holidays, not a christmas themed project. Hope there'll be some snow by then because that'll really set the mood, working with these colours. [Shouldn't have said that: now there's a christmas song stuck on repeat in my head...]

Still haven't chosen any colours to go with it. I will probably either stick with neutrals, focusing on the hybrids and just adding more golden matte metallics, browns etc, or add a little colour such as a nice not too cutesy dusty/antique pink. We'll have to see. Since it's the colour that I fell for, I don't want to use it as merely accent or drown it in an elaborate colour scheme. Just a simple, clean winter design. Inspired by nature, of cause.

Well, we'll just see what happens in December. Right now I'm still focusing on autumn colours. And freezing a bit so I'm in no mood to work with cold colours even if I didn't have another project in need of my attention.

*

PS! Don't forget it's the last day of the giveaway today as I'll pick the winner tomorrow. I will accept entries up until the drawing, though, so you'll probably have until noon CET tomorrow to comment for your chance to win.

Frosted bronze-lined black diamond

Now it's that time again when I've found a new colour I love and just have to tell everyone about it. This time it's Toho's frosted bronze-lined black diamond that has caught my eye. Did some emergency shopping and of cause I just had to check if it was back in stock, which it was and so I ended up buying it. I've been meaning to get some beads in this colour for some time, but either it's been out of stock in the shop I wanted to buy it from or in stock in shops I currently don't plan on shopping from. So I've been looking forward to seeing this one IRL for months. Now I have and I'm so not disappointed!

I think the best way of describing the colour is tabacco, a shadowed golden brown. The velvet matte grey blend with the shiny metallic bronze in a softly glowing smokey hue.



And now it's fueled my appetite for metallic-lined frosted/matte beads. Especially beads in other linings than the usual silver-lined ones as e.g. bronze changes the colour in a way silver doesn't. I hope to find some frosted coloured copper-lined seeds, but don't think I've seen any.

Also, it made me think about buying lined black diamond/transparent grey beads in general as the grey glass can act sort of like a satin/hematite surface effect does in that it dulls the colour of the lining. When viewing the bead, it can act like almost a sort of antique patina. I saw that in another colour I also picked up on a whim when shopping, magenta-lined transparent grey (sorry not pic). Wonder if there are any other nuances of colour-lined transparent grey beads to get my hands on?

Toho beads and me

If you ask me which my favourite Japanese bead manufacturer is, I'd say Miyuki. They have some exciting and unusual bead shapes like long magatamas and tila beads. And Miyuki was the first quality seed bead brand I got as a newbie.

But then again, the other big Japanese brand, Toho, have some really pretty beads too: copper-lined seeds like those in the pic, marbled finishes -- and charlottes. I love charlottes. Not to mention that Toho beads are used in the lovely SuperNova Hybrids. So while I call myself a Miyuki fan, it doesn't mean I don't drool over Toho beads. Or Preciosa Ornela (previously Jablonex) for that matter. My seed bead "trinity".

But there's a special reason I mention Toho: I recently found out that Toho and I have something in common. According to their website, we share birthday! November 3rd. (For anyone wondering how old I am: Toho is exactly 30 years older than me.) Who would've known I had something like that in common with them?

Now for the big question: should I take this as a sign that I should buy some Toho beads for the birthday money I hope to get soon? There are some Toho Hybrids I wouldn't mind getting an excuse for buying... And I've never seen the gilded marbled beads IRL -- have to do something about that, don't I?

Mixing Toho and Miyuki seed beads

There are many good brands of seed beads out there, but not all shops tell you what brand they sell. And one thing I don't like is if they have several different brands for sale. Why am I not content buying Japanse seed beads? Why do I prefer knowing exactly what brand I buy? Aren't 11/0 always 11/0?

I do mix Miyuki and Toho beads -- two of my favourite brands -- every now and then without difficulties, but you can't always do that. Just look at the square above. I was making it for a contest a few years back so I wanted to get it right, but I never finished it. Because of the beads (and the fact that I don't like peyote). I began stitching with Miyuki beads, but then I ran out! Crisis! What to do? I took out a bag of Tohos, which I had laying around, thinking all Japanese seeds are the same size/shape (knowing Czech seeds have a slighly different shape and the sizes are smaller than the Japanese). Well, they're not the same. Toho's 11/0 are slightly larger and that tiny difference changed the shape of my square. It went from being 9,3 cm wide to being 9,7 cm. It isn't much, but enough to distort the shape. As it's a square it's just so very visible when the sides aren't straight and in a 90 degree angle to the next one.

If the beaded square doesn't seem to lay flat it's because I did start making embellishments on the other side before I finally gave up. Also, I finished off the first and last row by adding 15/0's for less jagged sides.

What I should be doing...

As usually I spend too much time on the computer -- and I can't blame it all on my blogging. I should be working one some contest entries (due on the 28th), but I don't seem to be able too right now. I always procrastinate, but this time it's also about me not feeling very good the last weeks and -- to top it off -- the Olymics keep luring me to the telly in the evenings. The time I prefer using for beading.

Above you can see something I just want to make a necklace of, but I can't get it to work. At least not yet. I know that saying about 10 % inspiration and 90 % perspiration. Maybe ideas would come to me and problems would solve themselves if I just tried to work trough it, but right now I just don't have the energy or even a good starting point. Well, at least I have made the kauri shell pendant.... And the kauri shells and natural MOP beads seems to work with the premade bead mix (Toho Bead Cocktail: Pink Champagne).

But as I've said before: if there was a job as bead mix maker I'd love to have it. Just a pity they don't have any bead mixing contest because I'd love to participate in one!

Copper-lined light amethyst

Copper-lined (c/l) light amethyst is probably one of my favourite seed bead colours. Just look at it, combining a beautiful warm metal like copper with a lovely shade of purple. And creating a sort of rosy shade that is hard to capture on photo, reminding of sommer sunsets.

At first I only found it in czech seeds, but now I've also got some from Toho. A bit difficult to compare the two since they're not the same size, but the nuance is about the same. Perhaps the Japanese beads have a tad shinier copper lining. I love both.

Bead soup? No, bead cocktail!

Just wanted to show this photo of one of my Toho Seed Bead Cocktails. Cape Cod, to be precise.

Seed bead "soups" are great to take photos of. You just pour them into a small bowl and start shooting. Not least do the photos often make perfect background pics (e.g. for your desktop). As a bonus, a bowl of beads also work well as a piece of home décor. If you have a bag of cheap beads you don't mind getting dirty, you can put a tea light in the middle and -- voilà -- a pretty candle holder.