November ArtBeads

I received beads from ArtBeads.com this week. I'm just now getting around to showing them off.
Starting up in the right hand corner and going clockwise, Swarovski bicones, crystal ab, briolettes in two sizes, gemstone toggles in rose quartz and scenic jasper, peacock rice pearls and unikite cubes.

You just can't beat the sparkle of Swarovski bicones. They light up just about any design. Take a look at my latest design "Elegance Squared" at BeadPatternsBoutique.

These beautiful flat briolettes from Swarovski's "Crystalized" line will become a necklace and earrings when I come up with an unusual way to display them. They absolutely blew me away! I don't have the luxury of a bead store that I can walk into and examine everything, so I'd only seen pictures of these beauties. Look at this picture! These are the same briolettes on different backgrounds. I knew they were designed to pick up light and color from the surroundings, but this is just unbelievable. (Yeah, I'm showin' my "country bumpkin" :))

When I saw the picture of the gemstone toggles I couldn't quite figure them out but they were so unique I just had to have some. I hope you can see the picture clearly. They have holes in the side of the ring so you can fasten your necklace or bracelet without making a bead loop through the center of the ring. It will give a much more "integrated" look. I've already got plans for the rose quartz, but I'm not sure what I'll do with the scenic jasper.
Quite frankly I was disappointed in the peacock rice pearls when I opened them. They looked blue/green iridescent in the picture and they appear almost black to charcoal gray in most light. If the light is strong and shines on them just right they do have a very definite rainbow quality to them, but I couldn't capture it with my camera. Not quite what I expected, but they are pretty. I haven't got any plans for them just yet.

Last but by no means anything to scoff at are the unikite cubes. They are surprisingly uniform for gemstones. I had a cube design in mind when I ordered them, but it has drifted away into the far reaches of my mind so I'll have to try to entice it out (maybe with chocolate?). Whatever I decide to do with them it will be beautiful because the stones are beautifully polished and relatively uniform.

Have you been to ArtBeads.com yet? If you haven't, get on over there. they're having a 10% off sale until the end of the year. All you have to do is use this coupon code when you order. SCF10P-ARTBEADS-0424

I have received the beads shown above from ArtBeads.com free of charge for evaluation. This is my true opinion on these products and I am not paid by ArtBeads to blog about them, I just like to share.