It's very common to feel a lack of confidence when it comes to choosing bead colours. Many people don't feel confident about choosing colours in any walk of life. But beads have an added layer of complexity. Why is this?

• They are (generally) made of glass. So, this reflects and absorbs light. The effect of that is to change the appearance of a colour. This issue is made worse by different bead finishes - they all behave differently in the light.
• Beads are tiny. So, when you see them in a tube, you get a mass of colour. When you come to use them, you are using individual beads. So, the intensity of their colour can change hugely. That makes it very difficult to predict how they will look in a piece of beadwork.
• Because of those two factors, beads also appear to change colour when they are sat next to other beads. So, colours can get 'lost' in a design, or can appear more prominent than you anticipated.

How much of those principles do you understand? Did those explanations make sense to you, or did they come as 'new news'?

Well, in the first part of this course, we're going to explore how bead colours work. What impact do the different finishes have? Is there any way you can predict how the beads will 'play' together? Can this help you to choose colours with more confidence? [Spoiler alert: yes - this knowledge will help you make colour choices that are more likely to work together].

Do you know how to alter an existing colour scheme?

Let's imagine three scenarios...

1. You've just seen a photo of a beading project that looks fabulous. But you hate the colours that the designer has used. What do you do?
2. You've got a new beading pattern and you're trying to gather together your supplies. You have most of the beads already, but there are a couple of colours you need to buy. However, that presents two problems... firstly, you really wanted to start on the project today. Secondly, you can't afford to buy any new beads until next month? So, what do you do?
3. You've got that new beading pattern and you're looking for the bead colours that the designer listed. But you can't find them. Your LBS doesn't stock them and you're having trouble finding anything online. Or maybe you don't want to shop online. What can you do?

The answer to all three of those problems is the same. You just need to use a different bead colour.

But would you feel confident enough to do that? Would you be worried that the design wouldn't look good if you switched a colour? Would you know how to start choosing a substitute colour?

Well, this is what you're going to learn about in the second part of the course. You'll discover that it's actually not as risky as you thought, to just change the colouring. And you're going to learn how to do this all by yourself, for any kind of project.

Could you put together a colour scheme from scratch?

Maybe you just want to make a necklace for a friend. You have a favourite bead stitch for making a simple beaded rope, and this is all you want to do. But without a tutorial to lay everything out, where do you start? What colours are you going to use? How many colours?

Do you feel confident making those kind of decisions? Or, do you only ever bead from tutorials because someone else has chosen the colours and beads for you?

Well, in this final part of the course, I'm going to show you how to create a colour scheme from nothing. There are some really simple rules you can follow, which will take you to a workable colour scheme every time. You can apply them to any project, using any beading stitch, in any style.

How does that sound?

In the next section, I've got a little quiz that will help you to determine whether or not this course will actually help you. So, let's find out...

(Just click on the 'complete and continue' button at the top right).