Frida Kahlo Inspired Jewelry Collection

In this post, I will cover my journey into creating a Frida Kahlo-inspired jewelry collection.

Frida Kahlo has long inspired artists all over the world. And now, me. 

Her love for life. Her loyalty to her family, the love of her life – Diego Rivera. 

Her willingness to showcase her vulnerability in her work of art. 

These are all facets of her story that inspire me.

Initially, I thought that designing a collection inspired by Frida would be a fun and somewhat easy endeavor. 

I had an outline and theme of what I was expecting out of this collection. 

And given how beautifully vivid Frida’s story and style are, I had many ideas about which direction to take.

However, it’s proved to be quite a challenge for me.

Everything I’ve created so far hasn’t met my expectations. 

Honestly, I shouldn’t be surprised because designing a collection – for me – has always been quite an elaborate process. 

One where it takes multiple rounds of designs and edits before finally feeling confident enough to finalize a collection. 

1. That everything in this collection would be something Frida would LOVE to wear.
2. The focal piece or pattern would be a rose – a beaded rose. 
3. That it would be elegant and artistic. 
4. It would complement and embolden any jewelry lover’s collection – especially those who embrace vintage or vintage-inspired style. 

1. Me. I am my worst critic and, therefore, seem unsatisfied with any of these designs.
2. Too much glitz, not enough raw earthiness.
3. All of my “roses” so far have looked more like flowers than roses.
4. When to stop adding to a design…when is too much, “Too much!”

Alright, here they are. My Frida Kahlo Inspired jewelry designs and my own criticism. 

Whether you agree or disagree with me, I’d love to hear your thoughts on these pieces! 

1. The vibrant mix of hot pink beads playfully creating a new texture
2. The beaded fringe – it enhances the design with added shapes and textures
3. The beaded edges – they provide the brooch a lovely finishing touch 
4. The focal bead – Swarovski Crystal Rivoli – blends in with the design without being too overpowering. 

1. It is not a rose, as I’d originally intended, but rather a beautifully embroidered flower. 
2. The petals where gold bugle beads are used to create dimension don’t stand out as much as the solid beaded petals. 

What do you think?

Let me know your thoughts on my Facebook Group. 

This was my second design and my favorite as well. 

I was both inspired by the vivid colors of Frida’s Blue House and by the medallion Frida wears in this picture. 

While her medallion is made of precious metals, mine is made with delicate, lively beads that together paint a mystical work of art.  

I made three versions of jewelry with this radial brooch design because, again, I initially only considered this piece as a necklace. 

Once finished, I realized that it wouldn’t be as wearable as I’d initially envisioned; hence, I created 2 brooches with varying degrees of detail.

Which is your favorite? 

1. I’m in love with the mystical feel of this design. 
2. The design’s versatility and adaptability across different styles of fashion are quite exciting. 
3. I love that the seed beads of varying shades of blue delicately complement the focal coin bead. 

1. I need to figure out a bead embroidery method that gives more of a consistent radial design. 
2. It’s not pictured here, but the brooch pin should be hidden within the fabric of the backside instead of being placed over top. 

I came back to attempting to create a beaded rose brooch after designing the Blue House Brooch. 

This time, I chose to play with seeds, different tones of pink seed beads, as an attempt to create the effect of a voluminous rose. 

As I finished, I didn’t think it was representative of a rose, so I added the leaf detail. 

Overall, I’m pretty pleased with this design, but still not in love with this design.

What do you think? Love it? Pass on it? 

I probably would.

1. I love the color! It’s so vivid and cheerful. This is a color scheme I will continue to use with other designs. 
2. The leaves are adorable. 
3. The finishing edges provide dimension to the design, which makes the rose pop. 
4. The center cluster of beads is quite lovely.

1. The rose lacks a defined shape. The rose petals seem to congeal into a single circle. 

Feeling inspired to try it again and thinking that I had a simple solution to fix the lack of definition in my previous design, I gave this brooch a go. 

The change I made was in the stitching of the beads. I added a bit of texture by beading around the center beads. 

Using them as a jumping-off point, I thought that as I added beads around the rose, the definition would naturally arise. 

Not so. 

I have the reference material to look up techniques that have been tried and true, but in this case, I was just so eager to give this design my OWN spin that I rebelled and ended up with a very similar design as before…argh.

Again, I think this is a lovely piece – but not enough of a rose…it’s more of a mum. 

I think that the color and the fringe give it such a classic look but the rose is lacking.  

Am I right?

1. Again, that color. Those red beads are stunning. 
2. The fringe detail. I love the mix of earthy tones.  
3. This is something I could see Frida wearing. 

1. The definition of rose petals. It looks more like a red mum or medallion than a red rose. 

After 2 failed attempts at creating dimension purely with color and subtle beading patterns, I drew up this design.

To create this design, I drew the outline of the rose and filled it in with beads, alternating between 2 types of beads for the rose petals.

While the final effect is pretty, again, it’s not the design I had in mind. 

Honestly, I’m not sure what I was expecting at the time. 

As I look at this design, I can’t help but think, “Yeah. The overall effect and design make sense. It’s not a rose, but a very pretty flower. Maybe draw a different rose?”

Would you agree? 

Share your thoughts in the Facebook Group!

1. The colors. 
2. The magnetic heart-shaped clasp. 
3. The beads that make up the length of the necklace – so pretty!

1. The shape of the rose…I know…I’m a broken record by now…I just can’t seem to get it right. 

By design, these little roses look like roses and are perfect for my Frida Kahlo-inspired jewelry collection. 

How did I come up with this design you may ask? 

The wonderfully detailed book on cabochons is titled Beading with Cabochons: Simple Techniques for Beautiful Jewelry by Jamie Cloud Eakin.

These are so charming and have inspired me to give hair accessories a try for this next collection. 

1. They look like roses.
2. They are so cute and delicate.
3. They definitely spark joy and inspiration. 

I’m not sure that they speak to Frida’s aesthetic or sense of style…What do you think? 

This is only round one of my design process. 

Next, I’m planning on trying a few hair accessories, just to see how they turn out. 

If you enjoyed this post and would like to follow my design journey, join my Facebook Group: 

* If you have any questions about this post, please reach me via email at lovealways@kaleidoscopesandpolkadots.com or via a direct message on Facebook or Instagram.