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This is part 2 of my series on Beading Ideas. I am hoping that I can help to inspire some of my fellow beaders, and maybe even encourage some of my own inspiration!

As I sit here working on a series of Patriotic necklaces, I would say my next idea for beading is pay attention to the season! If you are just beading for fun this of course is completely dependent on times of the year that you deem to be important. However if you are like me and you are attempting to sell your creations, you should consider the holidays and seasons of your desired audience.

Since I started my shop just about 3 months ago, I have really had a hard time catching up with seasons and holidays. For example, before spring I would have liked to list a lot of anklets. Since I didn’t, I spent most of spring trying to catch up on anklet orders as well as get an established anklet inventory in my shop. If you are like me, and not exactly on top of what is in for which seasons, just do a search on the web. Or look at forums, people tend to express what they want.

Besides specific types of jewelry, also keep in mind colors and patterns that relate to the upcoming holiday or season. My heart and shamrock patterns displayed in the first part of this series are a prime example of this. I sold about 12 different versions of the heart pattern for Valentine’s Day! And for spring, I listed a lot of new items made with pastel colors, and pinks and purples. Just colors that I have always considered “springy”. I also used a lot of charms like butterflies and dragonflies. Now for summer I am using bolder colors, and lots of flip flop charms! With the 4th of July quickly approaching, I am designing a lot of red, white and blue items. I know it sounds like common sense, or maybe too simple to be true. But these seasonal items are fantastic sellers for me! I know that at the end of next winter I will stock a very large inventory of anklets!

My brick stitch earrings tend to run very long, usually over 3.5 inches. Recently I sold a customer a pair of earrings that I made when I first started brick stitching. They were very short, less than 2.5 inches long. For some reason I got it in my head that nobody would want a pair. I was very wrong. Someone ordered them from me, and as soon as she got them she sent me a message telling me how much she loved the short version! This led to my new line of earrings that I call my “Mini Series”.

Let your materials inspire you! I have a very large collection of Swarovski Crystals. I love them. I love their colors, and the way they sparkle. But I am not always entirely sure how to use them. While going through my metal beads the other day, I had this idea:

What better way to show off the beauty of Swarovski Crystals then to display them with a butterfly? For me this pairing just makes sense.

I hope that this has helped you with your beading ideas, and even inspired some beading ideas of your own. With the materials available to us, the possibilities are endless. And considering out medium, the possibilities are quite gorgeous as well. So get out there. Don’t be afraid to try something new, to learn a new technique, or to learn by watching others. Beading ideas come to us all in different ways. How you get yours is up to you. So go out there and bead! Talk to other beaders.

If you have ideas, leave a comment!! The best ideas come from each other. Beaders should support and inspire each other.

Beading Ideas

How do you get your beading ideas? I get mine in all sorts of ways. Sometimes I am inspired by specific beads that I have. Sometimes it is an idea that just sort of pops into my head. The following is some beading ideas for you to explore, as well as some ways to come up with some of your own!

My very favorite type of earrings to make are called brick stitch earrings.

The upper part of the earrings is the actual brick stitch part. Looking at it, it is clear to see where the name comes from. The bead layout looks like a brick wall. I love this type of earrings for so many reasons. I guess that the most sentimental reason is that when I was very young, my mom wore this type of earrings all of the time. I was always on the lookout for them to give to her as a gift. I never found a large selection of colors, and I had it in my mind early on that I should just make them for her! Then a few years ago, I started to bead. I had a very hard time finding good instructions on brick stitching, so I concentrated mostly on necklaces and bracelets. Then about a year ago, I became determined to learn. I found some instructions, and didn’t give up until I had it! Now I am completely addicted to brick stitch. I love the colors, and endless possibilities of patterns. So if you are looking for a new beading idea, I highly suggest learning to brick stitch. Your possibilities are nearly unlimited. There are basic geometric patterns to do, shapes, and even highly detailed pictures that you can do. I have not delved into the highly detailed pictures yet. My favorite thing to do is the different geometric patterns. But I also have a few shapes I do. Shamrocks and hearts are my most popular. They are both of course very seasonal, but I also sell them when it is not Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day. They are fun to use, and very easy to customize!!

This is my heart pattern.

I started off doing them in just red and white for Valentine’s Day. But I ended up making them in lot’s of different colors. Including Black and Red for our town’s sport’s team.

Here is the shamrock pattern.

In this example I added a few gold accents, just because I thought it made those colors look better.

So as you can see, both patterns can be customized to fit different needs. They are fun to make, and really do seem to posses the “Wow!” factor when people see them.

Would you like to see examples of my geometrical earrings? Well just look here. I have a lot of seed and bugle beads, so I really have fun making new patterns and color combinations.

Sometimes I really have a hard time getting inspired with new beading ideas. I think it is mostly because I become so overwhelmed. I have a ton of beads, and I want to use them all! I have also expanded what I make to include drop earrings, chandelier earrings, anklets and necklaces. I suppose my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) doesn’t help either. Sometimes I really need to just slow down look at the beads, see if any color combinations catch my eye. My fiance thinks I am crazy at times because I have a huge pile of bagged beads sitting on the coffee table, and I will just sit and look at them for a long time.

One good place to find beading ideas is just by watching the world around you. Watch what people have on at the mall, or on T.V. I have a hard time breaking away from some of my patterns sometimes. My solution to that is just do something completely out of the box for me. For example the other day I was watching one of those ridiculous court shows on T.V. You know, the ones that you shake your head at in public, but watch every day! A woman had a pair of chandelier earrings on. They were a nice length, but the middle dangle went all the way down to her shoulder. I had never made a pair like this, but I loved the movement of them. So this is what I came up with.

These are something I would have never come up with on my own, just because I end up fixing myself into such a little box. But these sold the same day I listed them! And they have inspired me in lots of different directions. Sometimes it just takes one little thing like this for me to go on a creating binge! And it always seems to catch me by surprise.

I think that is all for beading ideas today. I have more, and I will be blogging about them. Do you have any you want to share? Let me know!

:w

Tags: beading, beading ideas, handmade, jewelry, seed beads