CBB's Bead Challenge

I know that you are



with your collection.  You are feeling unsatisfied.  You are craving excitement.  You need a challenge and I am here to help you.

Pull out those bead box beads.  Yes...the ones that haven't seen your wrist in who knows how long.



Make a bracelet...



Or make a bangle...



You get the idea...

Have fun, be creative again, and please post here!! 

Ooh fun! I will see if I get a chance tomorrow to try this challenge

oops... you have more bead box beads than my entire collection      

But I will try something with the ones I want to sell   

minty wrote:oops... you have more bead box beads than my entire collection      

But I will try something with the ones I want to sell   

Yes, I seem to have quite a few...I love them all, though (and the majority have come through sales over the years). That is one reason why I asked about how many silvers people use on a bracelet. For me, the average was five...so if I wanted to put my bead box silvers in use, I would need many bracelets! Hence, this post to challenge us all. It's time to love the bead box as a trove of possibility and not a prison.  

I haven't worn my ambers for quite some time now.
Will get them out and take a pic later  

 great idea for a thread!

I will play if I get home before dark today!

Rhyolite with ambers - will definitely wear this   

Wonderful idea! I will play as soon as possible

I will try again....

Ok, here are my poor, little neglected beads    I've decided that they will remain separated from my other beads until I create a combination from them so that I have a constant reminder that I need to experiment every once in a while.   



Here's my first combo with my love-it-but-can't-work-with-it orange bead. I'm not totally thrilled with this combo, so the bead is going back on the stick to see if I can come up with another combination. It's always been a bit of a difficult one, but I still love it.



And my second combo with my neglected greys. I had already been working on the green/black, so I just switched in the greys for the blacks (and then added some blacks back in). I've been using my blacks quite a bit, so I think I just need to occasionally break out of that habit because the greys do really work as well most of the time!

Love the grey with the green   
Makes the combo more soft in colors than using only black glass, so I often prefer grey to black.

I have been doing this befor and am happy with the bracelets. I made 5 more so far   . I have post the green one and the cream one and the amber   
Strike also you can add the 2 lavender to your green and gray ?

great combos! love them all!     

will do one soon, however, there are so many unused beads, I don't know where to start   

Fleur wrote:Love the grey with the green   
Makes the combo more soft in colors than using only black glass, so I often prefer grey to black.

I seem to be drawn to bolder colours lately so I think that's why I'm using the blacks more. Actually the greys used to get quite a bit more use when I didn't have enough blacks but I have added several blacks lately!   

Michelle wrote:I have been doing this befor and am happy with the bracelets. I made 5 more so far   . I have post the green one and the cream one and the amber   
Strike also you can add the 2 lavender to your green and gray ?

I tried with the lavenders, but it just doesn't feel right    The striped lavender bead did get a short reprieve from the depths of the bead box a few months ago when I paired it with my Fireflies bead, but it went back in pretty quickly as I preferred the other combo I had for my Fireflies (Fireflies is actually a bead that I also had issues with until I discovered one combination that worked). They are both lovely beads, I think lighter purples and I just aren't meant to be!  

Fleur wrote:Love the grey with the green   
Makes the combo more soft in colors than using only black glass, so I often prefer grey to black.

  

I like this combo a lot. The other one...that is a bit tricky. Try blue, since it the color opposite...maybe something with dots, like Blue Fizz or my favorite, Dark Blue Bud?

ceruleanbluebird wrote:

Fleur wrote:Love the grey with the green   
Makes the combo more soft in colors than using only black glass, so I often prefer grey to black.

  

I like this combo a lot.  The other one...that is a bit tricky.  Try blue, since it the color opposite...maybe something with dots, like Blue Fizz or my favorite, Dark Blue Bud?

The only blues in my bead box are really light ones like light blue stripe  I'm sure that I did a combo with it at one point with ambers that I did like, but couldn't find a picture. Maybe I just need to dig a bit deeper in my photo archive    I had a thought last night as I was falling asleep (always the case, and then I have to remember in the morning!) that it might work with some of my darker greens but today has been too busy to try yet.

Wonderful combos Strike, especially the grey/green one.

The orange bead I think would look lovely on a autumn themed bracelet with oranges and browns and oaks and the likes

Here is my go at it

The coral kit is one that I dearly love and dearly leave in my bead box most of the year because reds are often too strong a colour for me - but this combo I really like

Trollperle, your combo is so cheerful!  

this is a useful challenge, cb! i have a really strained relationship w/blues and pinks. love them in theory but rarely in practice. sometimes end up putting them together in a combo, just out of principle, that i'd never wear. back to the bead box they go, sitting with some of my beloved beads (hare and tort, buttons, kitten, mink) that used to get a lot of wear but lately have been sitting on the bench. picked up the tea party, pink pearl, and aurora flowers from the collector's sale, and a new-to-me blue bud second hand to re-appreciate old beads (so it doesn't count as cheating on the challenge or on the wagon, cough). attempted a mad hatter motif and hope to keep it together at least for the rest of the summer.   

No, Plumbun, that is not cheating, that is ingeniously creative thinking And I love your creation. Those colours shout late summer - ripe berries to me   

Trollperle: That is a bold kit and the blues tone it done a bit. I particularly like the blue Malawi bead.

plumbun: I like your theme. I also don't do pinks and now I am struggling with blues.

I cannot believe all the beautiful beads making fabulous combinations just comes from the bottom of the bead boxes. Too amazing!    

Finally I have the time to post my latest from-stick-to-bracelet creations:




Somehow I think that your bead boxes look better   

But I have been wearing the first one and liked it on.

These are all amazing x I love all the new bracelets that people have made up with their hidden beads x My beads have to stay hidden for now as I still need to find the right partners for them and I need more silvers. I'm hoping I will find a few new treasures on Friday  

Such a shame...this are a few beads that rarely grace my bracelet...



I think i need a swift kick in the b.... well you know what i mean