New Beads; New Kits; and FREE Tutorials!

Posted on by Amy

Once again, it has been WAY too long since I’ve written. In addition to the obvious chaos going on in the world right now, one of our beloved kitties, Holly, was diagnosed with a nasty and very painful oral disease called “stomatitis” shortly after my last blog post earlier this year. She required major dental surgery to remove all of her teeth to treat this disease, which happened on April 2. So, I have been focused on/distracted by her recovery and healing. She is now just about 4 weeks post-op, and I am happy to report that she is feeling great and loving a pain-free life – and yes, she can still eat pretty much anything she wants, despite not having any teeth!

Three weeks post-op, Holly started getting back into the groove of being an impish little kitty!

Despite all these distractions, I did continue to do what I love most: buy new beads!! This time around, it was delicious, stunning large Czech Glass Melon Beads!! The colors of these beads are so unique, so deep, so gorgeous. And, the larger sizes of these beads – ranging from 8mm to 12mm – REALLY show off the colors and finishes!

The latest additions to my melon bead selection. I honestly don’t know which I love the most – and fortunately that’s not something I have to decide on!

I spent a few days playing around with some jewelry designs right after these beads came in. The sizes and colors are very complementary – they all work so well together!!

Three bracelets I created by combing the lovely new large melon beads with Czech glass flower beads and various bronze components and beads. The colors play off each other so perfectly – there really is no bad way to combine these beads!!
I am particularly fond of this brownish-orange 8mm Czech glass melon bead, so I figure what better way to celebrate its beauty than to create a frame for it?!? Turquoise and brown have always been a favorite color combination of mine. In these earrings, the gold wash on both the melon beads and the 3mm fire polished beads really tie them together.
…and then there is this 12mm etched “pink lemonade” bead with a copper wash on it. It has so much depth and personality…it almost feels ancient, while being amazingly fresh and new!

I was also asked by one of my favorite Czech glass bead vendors, Nirvana Beads, to develop tutorials using these amazing new beads. Talk about a fun project! I designed a bracelet and pair of earrings, with the idea that these projects would be quick, fun, and perfect for beaders of all skill levels.

Chunky Melon Cuff Bracelets in two different colorways.
Chunky Melon Cuff Earrings in two different colorways.

Kits for both the bracelets and earrings are now available in my Etsy shop: Chunky Melon Cuff Bracelet Kit and Chunky Melon Earrings Kit.

There is one special twist to these kits, though!!! The instructions for these projects are FREE and can be found here: Chunky Melon Cuff Bracelet FREE Tutorial and Chunky Melon Earrings FREE Tutorial. The kits in my Esty shop are for the materials only and do NOT include written instructions, but these free tutorials can be downloaded at any time so you can print them out to have on hand. And, because the instructions are available for FREE, this is reflected in the price of the kits!

One final note: Nirvana Beads has an incredible selection of beads, but they are wholesale only. If you happen to browse their website and see any beads that you just have to have, let me know and I will do everything I can get get them into my inventory. I will never pass up the opportunity to shop for new beads!!