|
Your input is important to us.
********************
Don't miss an issue of The Beading
Times.
|
Bumpy beads give designs character By Bethany Waldrop Keiper "When the object is perceived as particular and unique... then and only then may it be a source of enchantment." -- Samuel BeckettI will admit that the first time I saw bumpy beads, I was surprised and not especially charmed. I had never seen anything like them before, and turned them over and over in my hands, examining them carefully. Other bead fans have admitted a similar initial reaction to these handmade beads, saying that they are sometimes an acquired taste. At first I wasn't sure what to make of them, but after I realized the painstaking lampwork processes used to make them, I began to think of the bumpy eyes as polka dots with personality. With all of the different hues of glass that go "under the torch" to create each one of these individually-made beads, the color combinations sometimes seem endless. And even if the basic designs, colors, and patterns of a batch of these beads are the same, each individual one is still unique.
Another earring design option for these unique beads is using Bali silver spacers and graduated bicones in shades that match either the colors of the base or the bumps. Swarovski crystal bicones in complimentary colors are especially appropriate for these designs. You can use bumpy beads to add interest to an otherwise monochromatic design. Or, play with color, choosing accent beads to match the color of the body of the bead, or colors to match the bumps themselves. So when you are working on designs with these beads, your color options can seem to multiply.April showers may not have brought these peridot May flowers, but the combination of bright green bumps and flowers of the same shade make a lovely design for spring.
Facetted opal milky pink firepolished beads carry on the bumpy bead's base color, and tiny white fiber optic rounds add charm while continuing to echo the focal bead's colors. Purposely leaving out beads that match the blue swirl helps to play up this color. Highlight this group of colors with plenty of golden accents -- a favorite for this spring season. In this design, 2mm rounds, corrugated 4mm bicones, corrugated 3mm rounds and different kinds of golden bead caps add elegance and harmony.Combine beads with raised bumps with rounds hand-painted with flat dots for an interesting study in contrasts. The black and white accents and spotted beads really play up the soft green of these bumpy tube beads.
Try using strands of seed beads as the main base or body of your design, then add colored bicones and a large, ornate bumpy bead as your central point of interest. You can choose to string your focal bead either horizontally or use a headpin and bail to let it hang down vertically as a pendant. A single ornate bumpy bead also looks striking on a leather or silken cord. Finding accent beads which are an exact match for the bumps on your bumpy bead seems like a very small thing, but it is a very satisfying thing.
In this design, vibrant deep aqua, ocean-cool opal blue and shining silver come together for a serene, simple, and elegant summer style. This combination would be lovely repeated in either a bracelet-length or necklace-length design. Black and white painted round beads; black, white, and blue bumpies; green, white, and black bumpy tubes; and purple-pink, peridot, white, and blue swirl bumpies courtesy of the Bead Peddler.
|
******************** Register to win 25.00 Worth of Beads and Beading Supplies Click here to visit The Bead PeddlerŽ Full line of
Wholesale prices
available to the public! ******************** |
|||||||||
