Art Bead Palette :: StudioMarcy

Christmas Bunny Rabbit Snow Globe by StudiMarcy

On behalf of the ABS team, I just wanted to wish you a very Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Boxing Day! Thanks for all of your support this year!

Art Bead Palette :: CalypsoBeads

Summer Wine Lampwork Heart Bead

Is it bad to say that winter has pretty much just started, and I'm already over it? Not that I ever need a reason to dream of warm beaches, but Silke Buechler's shop, CalypsoBeads, absolutely fits into my daydreams right now.

To see more lampwork goodness, click on over to Silke's shop!

Art Bead Palette :: JimenasTreasures

Handmade Copper-Fiber Bead

I am absolutely smitten with the fabric wrapped metal beads from Jana of JimenasTreasures. The soft textures remind me of a cozy sweater, and the bright colors feels so festive for the holiday season. Out of all of the lovely listings Jana offers, this one is my favorite. How about you?

To see more, click on over to JimenasTreasures!

Art Bead Palette :: Juliyamrboro

You all know how I love boros, and since today's Thanksgiving in the US, I thought I'd share this beautiful lampwork bead set from Juliyamrboro. Not only am I thankful to bead artists such as Yulia for creating amazing bead sets like this, I'm thankful to come across so many talented people in the online art world.

Plus, the colors remind me of the holiday. Gobble, gobble. And as always, stop by Yulia's shop to see more.

From the ABS team, we wish our American friends a very Happy Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for this year?

Art Bead Palette :: ZestyFrog

This week's art bead palette comes to us courtesy of ZestyFrog, a lovely ceramic bead shop run by Annica. In there, you can find all sorts of lovely ceramic beads in organic shapes and textures. That's definitely where Annica shines, in my opinion - all of her beads feel like little natural treasures.

For this palette, I chose Annica's organic medley bead set. The colors are fantastic and great for fall, what with the olive greens and mustard yellow. The possibilities for this bead set are incredible!

To see more, stop by Annica's shop! Which beads are your favorite?

Art Bead Palette :: Meital

We're trying something new here at ABS - weekly color palettes! I hope you're as excited for that as I am. We could all use some colorful, beady goodness, right? Right.

This week, I just had to share these colorful spacer beads from Meital Plotnik. Aren't they fun? I especially love the added touch of orange on each bead - so lovely and festive. Plus, the smaller size is a great way to dive into lampwork beads, if you've never tried them before.

To see more from Meital, stop by her Etsy shop.

Art Bead Palette :: Beadwife

Sky Romance by Beadwife

Lilac Romance by Beadwife

Spring Romance by Beadwife

I'm really into aqua, green, and purple right now. This combination works because they're analogous colors, colors that sit right next to each other on the color wheel, so no matter the shades, it's going to look good.

I especially like the way Kalera Stratton of the Etsy shop Beadwife uses them in the lampwork beads above. Aren't they pretty? The speckles of color are fun, and the other touches of color - from the browns and oranges to the golds and yellows - make these beads really pop.

To see more from Kalera, be sure to stop by her Etsy shop! She's got a ton of gorgeous lampwork beads to pursue.

What color combination are you liking today?

Art Bead Palette :: APolymerPenchant

Fantasy Flower Pendant - Pink Tones

Fantasy Flower Pendant - Purple Tones

Fantasy Flower Pendant - Red Tones

Fantasy Flower Pendant - Orange Tones

Fantasy Flower Pendant - Yellow Tones

I'm going to blame my current flower fixation on it being springtime. Can you blame me? After the winter we all had (and may still be having, for some), bright colors are the ticket.

Enter these Fantasy Flower beads, from Emma Todd's shop, A Polymer Penchant. Aren't they gorgeous? At first, I thought they were ceramics, but they're made from polymer clay! Beautiful. It's a hard choice, but I think my favorite pendants are the yellow ones, with the orange ones coming a very close second. How about you?

To see more from Emma, be sure to stop by her Etsy shop!

Art Bead Palette :: BombPop

Barolo & Peaches

Mad for Mid Mod

5 Tyvek Girls on Bikes

I was browsing Etsy for this month's Art Bead Palette post and my eye caught the most unusual looking beads from Carol Ann's shop, BombPop. The textures (and colors, naturally) grabbed me, and the more I looked at them, the more curious I became. These were fascinating!

Turns out, they're made from a synthetic fabric called Tyvek, and the way Carol Ann has created them, they look like either smooth barrels or an explosion of flower petals. Aren't they fabulous?

You can see more Tyvek beads here, and all of Carol Ann's shop here.

Art Bead Palette :: Fire Lily Glass Studio

In all the time that I've been here contributing to ABS, I've only just now realized that I somehow neglected to share with you one of my all-time favorite bead shops. I mentioned it briefly here, but never did a palette post for it. For shame.

Friends, let me introduce you to the beauty that is Fire Lily Glass Studio. One word: lush.

Dark Blue & Red Spot Beads

Mauve Olive Boro Beads

Green Blue Boro Glass Beads

Bright Yellow Royal Blue Swirl Beads

Cherry Red Purple and Orange Boro Beads

When I was selling jewelry, this was one of my absolute favorite boro resources because Erin, the artist behind these lovely glass creations, has such a dab hand at color and her quality is flawless. I can't tell you how many of her beads have passed through my hands; I honestly don't know. I do know that it's somewhere between "a lot" and "more than a jewelry designer can possibly use."

I also know is that borosilicate lampwork beads are my first art bead love. Once I stumbled onto these little works of art, the stunning colors hooked me in and I never looked back. I'm not a lampwork artist, so I don't know the specifics, but something about borosilicate glass creates amazing depth, and the colors seem to shine brighter. And Erin's shop is full of beady goodness!

There's a lot to love, so this is a tough question, I'm sure, but which one's your favorite?



P.S. If you happen to see a large lot of orphan boros (Erin offers them up from time to time), grab them. Not only are they a fantastic deal, they are also a great way to step out of your comfort zone with colors you may not be used to using. Just trust me on this.