Work in Progress: Tagua and RAW

There are some pretty exciting colors on my bead tray right now, as I finish up the first of my planned projects for using up some of my tagua slices. I had picked up a few shell charms to go with them last year, and now I’m very glad for the extra inspiration.

The charm I chose for this necklace has a floral design, so I paired the purple up with creamsicle orange and turquoise for a bright spring look. I had planned to use cobalt blue for the third right angle weave chain, but discovered that I had plenty of cobalt iris, which almost perfectly matches that tagua and has a lustered finish that goes with the other seed beads.

I’m also determined to finish up the emerald medallion with Toho triangles that my helper and I started months ago. Once that’s complete, my bead tray will be nice and tidy for more new projects. While counting all of my seed beads for inventory, I put aside all single packets of leftover Japanese rounds that I’m not likely to purchase again, and sorted them into palettes for color block cuffs. Can’t wait to get started!

What are you making right now?

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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April Bead Stash Favorites

I haven’t been getting quite as much beading time in as I would like over the past few weeks, so I’ve spent some of my days off avoiding more tedious tasks and just stealing a little time with my beads. Rather than finishing up my inventory counts, I’ve finished and started two projects, and I’ve planned out a few more. Since I’ve just finished combing through most of my stash, I’ve got a lot of inspiration to work with this month.

I’m most eager to work with these amazing transparent ruby bugles. The color is so delicious, like raspberry juice, and I think it will look fantastic with some cobalt blue in a new cuff. I was so pleased with the way the blue satin one turned out, I’ve been excited to make another, and this color is too good to pass up again. The only thing I have to decide is which color of Fireline will look best with the color and stitch.

I’ve been amassing a small collection of coin beads over the last year or so, and I just had to move them to their own spot in my stash to accommodate the different styles and colors. I think the latest addition is these two-tone face beads, though they’ve been around so long I can’t remember. I did start a medallion with one, but it kept getting pushed to the back burner for other things. I’m looking forward to seeing what else they can do.

Finally, I re-discovered quite a few slices of tagua in my natural beads compartment and had to wonder why I’ve let them go unused for so long. I’ve got a long list of new pendant ideas to help cut them down a bit, although it might be tricky finding ways to use all of the purples. It's not a color I work with often, but the choices were limited when I bought these, and I was pretty obsessed with the style at the time. Hopefully some color inspirations will appear soon!

What kinds of beads are inspiring you right now?

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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Fall Jewelry Colors Part Three

Our final trio of Pantone fall colors is a little late, but luckily I saved the best for last. The not-quite fall color from this year’s line-up that I chose for center stage in the third collage was Bright Cobalt. Although I had planned on exploring the possibilities a lot sooner, it does make for an excellent winter color as well. The challenge this time would be to come up with ensembles for both fall and winter, using my remaining colors Cyrpess green and Mauve Mist.

Though the other two colors in the palette both have a muted, dusty quality, I wondered how well the trio would work together in garments. Luckily it was easy to find pieces for all three, and I ended up with some fun outfits. For a casual look I went heavy on mauve and cypress, with hints of cobalt. For formal, cobalt and cypress lead with accents in mauve.

Window Shopping by mortira featuring christmas holiday decor

This time around I included jewelry designs from one of my favorite places – Faire Collection. The new line up of tagua and other natural jewelry is as stunning as ever. This month’s collage include a gorgeous Tagua Gem necklace in blue and green, Moon Sliver tagua earrings, and a two-tone bullhorn bangle in blue and black.

Faire recently added some new artists to their Ecuador team. These talented ladies help to create the gorgeous fair trade jewelry the collection is known for. If you’d like to learn more about the collection and cause, check out Faire founder Amanda Judge’s informative pieces about fair trade with Conscious Magazine.

Left to Right: Rita, Tamia, Alejandra, Marisol, Sisa and Luzmilla

What are you favorite winter colors for jewelry?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
Pantone and Rebecca Minkoff
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Faire Collection: Natural Fair Trade Jewelry

One of the greatest things about being a beader or jewelry designer, is the ability to make choices that influence the world around us. Whether we’re focusing on special materials, working with other artists, making jewelry with a statement, or simply donating our designs to charitable causes, there are so many ways that beaders make a difference.

The fair trade jewelry line formerly known as the Andean Collection is one of my favorite bead related causes. Founded by Amanda Judge, this amazing little company made big changes to the lives of women and their families in South America. Now they are taking their efforts global by creating job opportunities for over 200 beaders and jewelry makers in Vietnam, Swaziland, and Ecuador with the Faire Collection.

Faire Collection designs continue to amaze jewelry lovers with gorgeous natural materials like tagua, acai, and coconut. The incredibly trendy styles are bringing the message of the importance of fair trade products to boutiques around the world.

Today’s Wear It Twice collage features handmade jewelry and accessories from the new Faire Collection. In addition to necklaces, bracelets and earrings, Faire artisans also make hats and scarves with flair. There are some amazing colors available, including bright tropical hues and subtle natural tones. I went with the always stunning combination of bright blue and rich brown, with just a hint of mint. The Geo-Stack earrings are my personal favorite.

Summer Faire by mortira featuring sleeveless dresses

Also included: the Isabella Necklace, the chunky Classic Tagua Bracelet, Lola Hat with peacock feather, Rialto Earrings, and the Infinity Scarf. The natural shapes and patterns of the materials blend perfectly with the bright colors. If you haven't worked with natural beads like tagua before, they are a great way to add personality to jewelry.

If you’d like to learn more about the project and the talented designers and artisan partners, visit ShopFaire.com.

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading and Faire Collection
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January Bead Stash Favorites

Looking ahead to a new year of beading ideas, I can’t help but get excited about all of the designs and techniques I want to try. Of course, there’s always a fresh crop of interesting beads on the horizon, too! I’m compiling a new year’s resolution list of beads to try in 2014, but in the meantime, I’m also eager to try out some of last year’s acquisitions.

I had so much fun getting back into bead embroidery in 2013, and I hope to experiment with it even more. I’ve been slowly cultivating a new collection of coin beads to help with inspiration, particularly for medallions. These tiny 6.5 mm Czech glass flat rounds from Fire Mountain Gems are perfect embroidery accents, and the gorgeous opaque blue color will make for some beautiful designs.

Several weeks ago I needed to stock up on pinch bicones for a custom project, and I couldn’t resist grabbing a few for myself from The Dutch Tulip. It’s been ages since I’ve had any in my stash, and most of them ended up featured in my destash challenge, so this time around I went with a color that I’d be sure to use often. The opaque lime green is just calling out to be paired with some delicious aqua!

Finally, I’ve got my eye on a few lovely tagua pendants from Lima Beads. I had many plans for simple jewelry designs last year that didn’t really get off the ground, but I’m still thrilled to have the supplies. I can’t wait to find new ways to use these pieces, if only because they are so touchable.

Do you have a favorite bead type for the new year?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading
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