Mermaid Garden Necklace

One of my new favorite activities is visiting the library to book hunt on weekends. I've always got a book or two on the go, and I have discovered that there is a nearly endless supply of beading and other creative reading to keep me busy throughout the week.

My favorite stop on a tour through the library is the magazines section. I'm always on the look out for great fashion magazines, photography journals, and of course, bead mags. I regularly purchase weaving magazines like Bead & Button, but I am often reluctant to pick up stringing titles. Although there is always a wealth of information and inspiration in every issue, I only buy the occasional copy of titles like Stringing as a rare treat.

The Inspiration:

One of my most recent loans from the library was a copy of the March - April 2007 issue of Step by Step Beads.

Inside was a fun project that every bead collector should see. “Organized Chaos” by Caren Schwartz is a fun and simple combination of stringing and bead weaving, as well as a great way to use up left over beads. As soon as I saw it, I wanted to give it a try.

The Beads:

I had plenty of sandy brown seed beads leftover from my last two projects, and a pink mixture from a necklace I made earlier this year. I paired these up with pink and green shell beads, freshwater pearls, glass beads, and of course some mother of pearl chips. I also added a transparent green seed bead mixture.

The Beadwork:

I adapted the instructions from Step by Step beads a little to make my own chaotic necklace. Instead of knotting several lengths of thread together, I started with about 4 yards of thread. Once the beads for the necklace base were all strung, I continued through to make a circle, and immediately began stitching. This way, the threads could be securely knotted in the heavier beadwork.

Instead of using random stitches and embellishments, I added a little more harmony by sticking with particular stitches for each color of seed beads. I used corralling for the pink sections, leaves and loops for the green ones, and free-form peyote stitch for the brown. The result is a rose-like chain with an underwater appeal.

Copyright 2009 Inspirational Beading