Bead Color Ideas: Wasabi Summer

Have you ever been stumped by beads in your favorite color? I recently treated myself to some lovely bright wasabi green Czech diamond-shaped beads, and have been pondering the perfect palette for them ever since. The beads are gorgeous, with a Picasso finish on the edge, but something about them makes it difficult to find the right colors for an equally gorgeous design. Their size is part of the problem - they are rather chunky - so getting the right balance of color is a challenge.

I tried out a variety of color trios, looking for a combination that was just right. The first color that jumped out was a soft purple-lined crystal in size 6/o. It makes a nice contrast for the lime green, but it needed another solid color to balance with the Picasso finish. To complete Fairy Garden, I added canary yellow 11/o’s for a bright, flowery look.

The wasabi diamonds have a nuttiness to them, thanks to the Picasso finish, so for the second palette I tried some soft, creamy colors that would bring to mind pistachios and Gelato. Here, ceylon cream 8/o seed beads, and lustered turquoise 11/o’s become ice cream’s sophisticated side.

I couldn’t resist taking the wasabi name literally, so for the final palette, I used Sushi as inspiration. For white, I chose opaque crystal AB, which has a beautiful shimmer. Dark transparent emerald both contrasts with the white, and complements the bright green beautifully, drawing everything together.

Have you ever purchased beads for their color, and found them difficult to match?

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