We love how Teresa Kodatt of Pumpkin Glass uses a variety of techniques to create an astonishing array of jewelry. Nirvana Beads has been partnering with Teresa and her husband Bruce for almost as long as we’ve been in business! She’s been featured in several magazines including Bead and Button and BeadStyle. With their versatility, our new Trica beads seemed like a perfect match and nice challenge for a designer like Teresa who we knew would be capable of using them in a number of ways. Keep reading to see the results.

Tricas and Pumpkin Glass

I fell in love with these new Trica bead colors!  Looking at the pictures on the website did not do them justice at all. The coatings are beautifully nuanced with little glimpses of differences in color as you turn the beads. This quality makes them look delicate to me which was perfect for my feminine, organic style. 

Trica Necklaces

For the necklaces, I made a three-stranded, connected, crocheted bead chain. I started with a 3-yard piece of .8mm, 2 ply waxed polyester cord for each strand and used a size 1 steel crochet hook. For the outside strand, I threaded on beads in a single color in groups of three so I could make chain stitches with three beads held together by one stitch. I put a couple chain stitches between each group without beads to space them apart. I made this one the longest; about 24”. 

The shorter two strands have single beads in chain stitches for the beginning and end of each strand. In the center of the shortest strand, I alternated a single bead in one color for a chain stitch with a group of four beads in a second color held together in one chain stitch. For the next strand, I added 6mm melons or firepolish between Tricas to correspond with each group of four beads in the shortest strand. After making beaded chain stitches at the beginning of the next strand, I made a slip stitch in the center of the first group of four beads in the second strand to connect them together. Then I made a bead chain with a Trica, the 6mm, and a Trica and then slip stitched into the center of the next group of four, and repeated this for each group. To finish, all the cord ends were threaded through end caps with loops and crimped. I used a bit of leather or cord to add one of my handmade bronze pendants.

necklace

Trica Woven Bracelet & Earrings

The bracelet needed very little design work at all to be beautiful because the beads were so striking when combined together in a simple striped pattern. I used 1.5mm leather as the four warps on my loom and gradually increased the number of beads in each row to spread the width of the bracelet out to a total of 6 beads - one between the outside pieces of leather on each outside edge and four in the center between warp 2 & 3. I used 4 colors of Trica beads for the stripes with a row of nine 11/0’s between the repeats.

I made the earrings with a simple drop of Trica’s and bronze off handmade earwires that I felt reflected the same organic nature in the rest of the pieces.

bracelet-trica-beads

bracelet with trica beads

About Pumpkin Glass:

Pumpkin Glass Gallery has evolved from a small beginning with owner Teresa Kodatt teaching glass bead making and selling her handmade beads 16 years ago, to a full-service bead and Artisan Jewelry store in Peoria, IL. Pumpkin Glass sells art jewelry, handmade beads, fused glass pieces, jewelry making supplies, kits, and classes.

Kits and a video tutorial for the jewelry shown here will be available soon on her website at www.pumpkinglass.com.