two dragonfly earrings made in different styles using seed beads

We’ve been making dragonfly earrings for years using Tierracast’s awesome dragonfly wing beads.  We even had kits for them way back in the day.  We’ve since phased those out, but the beads are still cool!  So here we are with another take on the dragonfly earring:

dragonfly 1b

For this design we’re using: size 15 & 11 seed beads, 3 & 4mm Swarovski bicones, Tierracast dragonfly wings, 24g headpins, and earwires.  (I chose metallic iris seed beads and Jet AB2X crystals, gunmetal/oxide finish findings, and niobium earwires.)

dragonfly 2

dragonfly 3

dragonfly 4

dragonfly 5

dragonfly 6

Old v. New

We beaders tend to get caught up in the minutiae.  Some of us, like myself, also tend to get stuck in design ruts.  We know what works and what doesn’t – and when something works, we can get fixated on doing it that way.  But a foolproof design isn’t a correct design, it’s just one that we know we can depend on.

We’ve been doing dragonfly earrings this way for years.  They’re fun and easy and eye-catching.  They’re a basic.  The redesign doesn’t change what they are, doesn’t make dragonflies into dragons, but it’s a sophisticated twist on something we see every day.

Yes, we beaders tend to get caught up in the little stuff.  It’s what we do!  We like the little stuff!  Just don’t forget to zoom out and evaluate every now and then.

Shout out to Sñra. Loca, who made a similar pair of earrings at our old location in Maryville.  Those were the days!

 

Poorly and apologetically philosophical,

Jessica