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Color as Beading Inspiration

[Fit-for-a-Queen Bracelet from Hip to Bead by Katie Hacker (Interweave Press 2006). Purchase the project pdf in the Interweave Store.]

People often ask me where I get my inspiration. The short answer is that my inspiration comes from a lot of different places! But, my idea for this bracelet came directly from the amazing borosilicate lampworked bead at the center. I bought it from Nancy Tobey at a Bead & Button Show. I remember combing my fingers many, many times through a bowl of beads until I found the bead that spoke to me.

The colors in this bead are a swirly combination of red, yellow and purple, so I highlighted that group of colors with seed bead strands in the same combination. I brought color into the ends of the bracelet by adding a large 6/0 seed bead outside each beading cone. The large seeds draw color into an otherwise strictly metallic section of the design, and, they also prevent the wire wrapping at the ends from slipping into the beading cone and causing problems.

If you don’t feel confident about creating your own color combinations, choosing a colorful focal bead or pendant certainly makes the job easier. You can just pull your color palette directly from the focal. You won’t go wrong because, if you like the bead or pendant, chances are you’ll like the way your additional beads look together if you use the same palette.

-Katie Hacker for Beadalon

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