Beadweaving: Exotic Adornments with Seed Beads, Crystals, and a Whole Lot of Elegance
Beadweaving With Kelly Wiese
Kelly Wiese’s bead weaving book Exotic Adornments is one of my favorites. The title captures the essence of the designs perfectly. The cover fills in everything else and tells the story of all the book truly holds, which is pages and pages of oozing exotic looks, with elegance, opulence, style, and luxe! Hmmm. Hmmm. Hmmm. Oh, and the crystals!
And I’m over the moon with all the ways Kelly takes her techniques and combinations. Her creativity seems to know no bounds! Here are just a few of my favorites, starting with Star Struck Earrings.
This beautiful earring design makes a statement yet does not overwhelm.
Beaded Beauty with Cupchain
The cupchain in Kelly’s Mixed-Metals Cuff design caught my eye, then the dimension of the bracelet sealed the deal for putting this one on my list!
A note from Kelly on this design, excerpted from the book: “I had been collecting cup chain, but I had not used it in a project until this one. It was the perfect fit with the metal clasp because my idea for this design was to mix gold and silver. The blue zircon crystals of the cup chain add a punch of color that complements the silver and gold. Other jewel tones, such as amethyst and fuchsia, would also look great in this design.” I totally agree and thankfully cupchain has become more readily available so it will be fun to see what each of you puts together with this design.
Kelly Loves Raindrops
I’ve had a secret love for the Swarovski raindrop pendant since day one of its release. There’s just something about the shape that drew me in and continues to sing to me. Kelly seems to have a place in her hear for this pendant, too. She places it perfectly as an accent in her regal Bejeweled Pendant.
The focus of the design is of course, the large octagonal crystal fancy stone. Kelly’s note on this design: “I love the dramatic look of the large crystal octagon, and I wanted to design a piece that really showcased it. I kept the bezel fairly simple and added the smaller, more embellished crystals for a bit of flair. I also love the raindrop pendants and thought this was the perfect ending for the piece. If you don’t want to make the spiral peyote rope, you could always string the pendant on a lovely silk ribbon.” What a great idea, although that rope and the beads Kelly used is gorgeous!
Beadweaving on the Quick
Celestial Earrings is another of my favorites. And I appreciate that Kelly shares a bit of how they came to being: “I was playing around with some rivolis, trying different bezels, and I came up with this design that looks like a star on top of the rivoli. Then I wanted to add something a little different to it, and I came up with the half circle, which reminded me of a moon. Thus the Celestial Earrings were born. It is a fun, lightweight design that works up fairly quickly.”
I love a design that looks this amazing but can be completed quickly. I’m not a fast beader, by any stretch, but some days you want to be able to get something done to wear “today” and these might be just the thing!
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the easy-to-follow instructions and amazing illustrations that really lead you bead by bead through each beadweaving project.
I love to hold a book in my hands and have them surround me on my bookshelves. This is one book I keep handy. I have to admit though, having an eBook really has its advantages. Not only do you always have it with you, but also you can enlarge the illustrations easily to 300%! This is a great advantage for following patterns, for sure!
I would love to hear which designs you love from Exotic Adornments. Please share your favorites in the comments below.
Yours in creativity,
Tammy Honaman
Updated October 3, 2018
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