I've waited so long to bring this little ballerina girl to life. Believe it or not, I've been waiting about 3 or 4 years... I have had most of the beads all that time waiting to complete my supply list. The idea originally hit me when I found that spiral donut bead so I put it aside with nothing more than "bun" ballerina hairstyle inspiration. Then when I made my Hamburger Bead Charm, the green ruffle disc bead that I used for lettuce sparked a thought, "If that came in pink, it would make the pErFecT tutu!". I did find it in pink, ordered it, added it with my donut bead and again put it aside and kinda forgot about it... I later revisited it, gathered some other beads and findings, and that's when I started the search for the perfect 3mm x 5mm pink teardrop beads. If turned with the pointed end down, those would make perfect little tippy-toe ballerina dance feet!! After the bun and the tutu, I thought teardrop beads would be the easiest part of it all... Not so! I looked through EVERY bead in my stash (and that's a LOT!). I had 3x5 teardrops in almost every color except pink. I found one... then after an extensive re-search I found one more tiny, elusive pink 3x5 teardrop and thought I was ready but the tone was way off. Next to my other pink beads, they looked like an orangey brown. So I started looking online. I placed several orders that each took a couple months or more to arrive from China, Hong Kong, etc.. I even waited through longer shipping delays due to Covid-19. Again, I just put the whole project aside.
I eventually revisited the idea and began looking online again but still could not find the right beads. And as you can see in the photo on this post, my poor little ballerina still has no pointed tippy-toes. But I just could not put my ballerina aside again. I wanted so badly to bring her to life! HOWEVER... there will be some tippy-toes in the near future, although they won't be pink ballerina tippy-toes. It turns out that all my searching inspired another idea that I think you all are going to LOVE! Stay tuned.
So, all's well that ends well! I decided to go ahead and bring my ballerina to you as my first craft project of 2021. I ended up using the 4mm round faceted pink beads that I used in my Beaded Umbrella for her feet. She's finally ready and I think she's absolutely precious!
Watch my Ballerina Bead Charm YouTube tutorial here:
PLEASE NOTE: Due to the length of time that I've had these beads, many of them are no longer available so I wasn't able to find links to the exact beads that I used but I've included links to equivalent replacements. See what you have in your stash and always feel free to change up some of the sizes, colors, etc. CERTAINLY use teardrops for the feet if you have them. Use any teardrop for the body, faceted or not. I actually like the teardrops in the replacement link below even better than the one I used in the video. You could even use an oval or something similar. For the "bun" I've included links for several options including an almost perfect spiral donut bead that I was able to find in the bronze color but the hole is a little larger so you may have to make accommodations for that. I also linked to a knot-style donut bead, a bronze flower rondelle, a smooth rondelle, and even a wood rondelle bead. I LOVE the wood ones! I think they would be an excellent choice. I also think a faceted rondelle would still give the "bun" vibes. Also, I chose bronze because I wanted a brunette ballerina. You could use gold, champagne, or cream for a blonde. You could use copper for a redhead. Black for a darker brunette, or even get whimsical and give her colorful hair. It's always up to you. I'm just here to give ideas and inspiration. I want you to take these ideas and change them up to make them your own. Have fun!
Here are the links I was able to find for you:
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Bead Caps (select size option: 10mm & color option: Antique Bronze or Multicolor)
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Spiral Donut Beads (hole is larger, you may need to top it with a small bead or sequin to secure it)
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