Friday, June 19, 2009

Summer Square Necklace

Crystal Cube Bracelet Button

Recently I was in desperate need of a button for a bracelet closure. With only one Swarovski button in my stash (that didn’t match my project), I decided to make my own. Using cube beads, I made a little square stitch rectangle that I could stitch to the beadwork just like a button.

The Inspiration:

Since then, I’ve been thinking about square stitch more and more. It’s not a technique I use much, but the easy way the cubes came together was kind of refreshing. So I tried to think of some ways that I could incorporate square stitch into my usual projects.

Lemon Lime Beads

The Beads:

I started with some new 8o Hex seed beads, which I thought would work well with square stitch, plus give a little extra sparkle. The transparent leaf green AB shade has a nice summery look - a sort of pick-me-up for the unbearably hot days to come.

I matched the Hexes up with 11o seed beads in white lined peridot and yellow lined crystal, from Artbeads.com. The special shine that the lined beads have goes really well with the AB hexes. I’m really taken with the white lined variety in particular.

The Beadwork:

I started by making a simple square of hex seed beads to use as a pendant. I decided to suspend it from a V-shaped St. Petersburg chain, and added a little matching fringe. Although I’m really pleased with the way the homemade pendant turned out, I find that the necklace straps really overpower it. Next time, I think I’ll choose a more subtle stitch for the chain, and let the square pendant stand out.

Lemon Lime Square Necklace

Artbeads Jewelry Supplies



1 Thoughts and Comments:

fatemeh said...

beautiful

Blog Widget by LinkWithin

Inspiration Topics

accessories amulet animals April's Army art ArtFire astrology astronomy autumn awards awareness bangle beach Bead Shops bead spotlight bead stash beaded beads beading theory beads belt bezel birthstones black blog spotlight blue boho bone book spotlight bracelet Bracelet A Week branch fringe brick stitch brown bugles buttons cabochon chain maille challenge charity chevron chain christmas collar Collections color color triads conservation crafts crochet crystals cuff current events Daily Sets daisy chain Delicas Destash drops earrings Egypt embellishing embroidery environment etsy exotic fair trade fantasy fashion Favorite Beads Favorite Techniques feminine fibers film findings fire polish flickr inspiration flowers food found object free form fringe geekery gemstones geography giveaway glass gold gray Greece green herringbone hex cuts history holiday home decor insects inspiration tip inspired beader Inspired by... Inspiring Links ivory knitting ladder stitch lampwork lariat leaf fringe lights literature macrame magatamas metal free metalwork mixed media mixture MOP multi-color multi-strand music nature necklace Necklace a Day Nepal chain netting New Beads ocean orange paper patterns pearls pendant peyote photography pink PMC polymer clay poster sketch purple quick inspiration rainbow RAW red resin ring Ring a Day rivoli Russian spiral scarf science shell silver spiral rope spring square stitch St. Petersburg steampunk stringing summer thread Tilas Time Capsule tools trade beads triangle weave tribal turquoise tutorial vintage Wear it Twice weather white winter WIP wire wishlist wood World Beaders yellow

Share Inspirations

Bookmark and Share


Blog Home * About * Beading Tutorials * Want a Feature? * Index
Crafty Tips Arts and Crafts Directory

Learn About Sponsoring Inspirational Beading with Project Wonderful
Affiliated With AllPosters.com and Amazon.com