♥ Seed Bead Masterpieces ♥

Hello!

I hope you all had a lovely Bank Holiday weekend? I spent mine indulging in my new seed bead obsession! We got lots of lovely new Miyuki Seed beads in stock recently including roccailles (rounds), Delicas, Tilas, Magatamas, and the most beautiful little drop beads. This inspired me to delve back into a little off loom bead weaving which previously i'd only touched on. Naturally with any new obsession you want to see what everyone else is creating.....after a quick googling session i was left in absolute awe. There are some simply astonishing and beautifully intricate beaded designs out there. The time and skill that it takes to create these beaded wonders is mind boggling...they really are works of art. 

So i thought i'd share my finds with you all in the hopes of inspiring you to pick up the needle & thread and give beadweaving a go!  The first piece that caught my eye was this absolutley stunning necklace by Sharayah Sheldon. It's full of tiny round seed beads in different sizes, Pearls, bugles, glass crystal drops, sparkling Swarovski Rivolis, and a gorgeous Gold metal rose focal piece. Visit Sharayah's Etsy store to see more of her beautiful designs and read about her beading background.

The second to catch my attention was this lovely beaded bracelet/cuff by Paula Huckabay of Pacific Jewellery Design. Paula has used freeform Peyote stitch with a mixture of beads in different sizes and Shapes. The earthy Colour pallete gives it a wonderful organic feel. To see more of Paula's work, visit the Blisstree Blog where her jewellery is featured.

This vibrant three dimensional 'Whisper Of Perennial Flowers Necklace' by Luba Dragun features hand woven beaded flowers with sparkling Swarovski Rivoli centers. Even the toggle Clasp is lovingly beaded. Amazing! Click here for more wearable art by Luba Dragun.

I found some pretty spectacular beaded earrings too. Take these gorgeous Purple Bohemian Style seed bead earrings by anabel127 on Deviant Art for example. Anabel combines beaded circles in Violet and Teal with long tassels for a really dramatic effect.

These two beaded beauties are by Christina Neit of Good Quill Hunting. A colourful bracelet/cuff made with Shibori silk ribbon embellished with tiny seed beads and vibrant jewels.....

.....and an amazing jewelled necklace created for the Kaleidoscope challenge for the Etsy Bead Embroidery Guild. 1201 stones embellish the center of the pendant and the collar!

So who wants to have a go? I know i want to bust out the seed beads again right now! If you fancy giving seed beading a go and feel a little daunted looking at these masterpieces....why not start off simple and have a go at some of the basic off loom bead weaving stitches? The Aqua beaded bracelet below has a basic even count peyote stitch base embellished with our gorgeous 4mm Miyuki Magatama seed beads. The FREE tutorial will be available for you to follow very soon in our Bracelet Design Ideas department.

In the meantime, why not have a go at stitching basic peyote by following our illustrated tutorial? It's really easy to pick up and can be built up quickly especially if you work with size 6 or 8 seed beads. 

See you next time....seed beads are calling...

Emma xo