New Swarovski 'Neon' Crystal Pearls

I love using Swarovski elements in my beadwork. Their crystal sparkle is second to none and their bicone beads come in a veritable rainbow of colours so you can always find the perfect match for your latest project. They are always launching new shapes, colours and styles and one of the most recent is their new range of crystal pearls in 'neon' colours.

Now, I can't say neon has ever particularly appealed to me - I think the only time I've worn anything neon probably involved fancy dress of some description! Nor am I usually a particular 'pink' person either - I'd go for purple over pink any day. However, on seeing photos of these new pearls online, the pink ones, for whatever reason, spoke to me. I decided to buy a small pack of 20 4mm pearls to try out to see if a) I liked them as much in real life as I did in the photos, and b) if  I could think of a way to use them in my beading!

When they arrived, I noticed that rather than being 'shimmery' pearls, they have a more 'matte' finish, which is actually rather nice - but yes, they are definitely as bright and vibrant as they look in photos! I decided to try a few out in one of my flower brooches, since I had some bright fuchsia pink seed beads I though might just give them a little run for their money in terms of the vibrancy of their colour. A little sprinkling of metallic silver, plus a crystal bicone in fuchsia ab2x at the centre, and this is the resulting brooch - seriously pink flower power indeed!

 

I definitely like these pink pearls - I'm not sure I'd be able to cope with the other two shades (they also do orange and yellow - and both those colours are rather out of my comfort zone) but the pink I like. I've still got 16 pearls left to play with - I think you might be able to expect a similarly funky bright Halo necklace to pop up in my shop soon!

This brooch is available online to buy - if you click on the photo it will take you to the listing for this brooch. If neons aren't your thing, there are several others available in slightly, erm, calmer colours?

Hope you like - perhaps the beaders out there might be inspired to give this new colours a try. Be brave and go neon!

Nicole 

xoxo