Previously on Bead Dynasty…
There was coffee. Obviously.
There were also new beads, spacers and charms spread across the bead desk while Craft Room Barb helped me sort everything into its new home. Or perhaps I should say its temporary home, because around here a bead container is really just a waiting room until somebody gets promoted to a bracelet.
And then we found the bead.
An oval white bead with these gorgeous little marbled swirls of blue and peach running through it. We both loved it, so naturally we stopped doing what we were supposed to be doing and decided we needed to make bracelets.
This is how things happen around here.
The Leading Lady Had Been Cast
The oval bead was clearly the star of this particular production. The problem was choosing her supporting cast.
I immediately thought we needed to pull out the peach.
Barb did not.
There were discussions.
There was bead auditioning.
There may have been another coffee.
We tried tiny beads beside the focal beads, moved them around, swapped colours, added silver spacers and stared at everything for considerably longer than anyone should probably admit.
Because this is apparently what we do for entertainment now.
Money. Power. Pony Beads.
Eventually we ended up making two bracelets using the exact same marbled oval beads and silver accents — but with two different supporting colours.
One went blue.
One went peach.
And although they're really not that different, changing those few little beads completely changes which colour you notice in the marbled focal.
A Little Bead Tip Hidden Among the Drama
This is actually one of my favorite ways to choose colors when I'm working with a multicoloured focal bead.
Instead of trying to introduce another color, pick one of the colors already hiding inside your focal bead and repeat it with your smaller beads.
Pull out the blue and suddenly the blue marbling becomes more noticeable. Pull out the peach and the same focal bead feels softer and warmer.
And if you're not sure? Lay everything out first and audition those little beads before committing. What you think you're going to love isn't necessarily what you'll choose once you see the whole bracelet together.
Ask me how I know.
So… This or That?
We're bringing an old favorite from the card-making desk over to the bead desk.
Barb and I used to do This or That with the greeting cards, so why should paper have all the fun?
We've each chosen our favorite bracelet — and, interestingly enough, we did not choose the same one.
But I'm not telling you who picked what yet.
THIS: Blue
or
THAT: Peach
Which one gets your vote?
And bonus points if you can guess which one is mine and which one belongs to Team Barb.
There is, however, one final piece of unfinished business from this particular bracelet-making session...
Should we add a charm?
Oh, we went there too.
But that's another episode of Bead Dynasty.
To be continued…
