Many jewelry designers get inspiration from other pieces of jewelry. This doesn’t mean, however, that we "copy" other artists work. My "Spring Fling Beaded Flower" is a good example of this. I saw a picture in a magazine of Drew Barrymore wearing a Austrian crystal orchid bracelet at the Oscars on year. The bracelet reminded me of a wrist corsage. Beaded flowers are also very popular, and even though I’d never made one before, I thought I could figure out a way to use the idea of this flower wrist corsage to create a bead and wire flower. Of course, my flower cannot compare to the one on Drew’s wrist, but it is the idea that I used to inspire me for this project.
To make a flower, you’ll need:
About 10 grams of Japanese seed beads
1 - 8mm stone or glass bead
26 to 28-gauge colored wire
Green florist's tape
Wire cutters
Chain-nosed pliers
Size 10 beading needle
Silimide thread (in a color to match beads)
Scissors
I would estimate that you need about 10 grams of seed beads. The 8mm bead will be the center of your flower, so you want one that will either match or contrast with your seed beads. Rose quartz looked good with my seed beads, so that’s why I selected it. As for the colored wire, select a color that matches as closely as possible with your seed beads.
