Pumpkin Necklace

Now that fall is in full swing, shops everywhere are filling up with all kinds of pumpkin goodness for us to indulge in. There are fresh pumpkins ready for carving, canned pumpkin for baking, and for some reason, pre-painted miniature pumpkins that are just meant to look good. The arrival of the big orange fruit is a sure sign that holiday goodness is just around the corner.

The Inspiration:

Fall is by far my favorite time of year. Most of the time, the weather is just right - not to hot and not too cold. And of course, all of the best holidays are strung together at the end of the year, making the coming winter seem much less dreadful. There's nothing more comforting than the idea of a nice warm beverage on cool autumn evening, with a friendly jack-o-lantern lighting up the window. To celebrate the arrival of fall, I thought it would be fun to create something with vibrant and interesting autumn colors.

The Beads:

I started with some bright orange 11/o seed beads. On their own they seem sort of garish, but when I paired them up with some orange sunset 15/0's, I saw some spunky personality that wasn't there before. These two colors would be perfect for a fun fall necklace.

The Beadwork:

Using the orange seed beads, I created an assortment of peyote stitch rings using different counts and patterns. Each one is slightly different from the others. After the rings were completed, I searched for the perfect color to pair them with. I wanted something that would make a nice contrast for the orange, but that wouldn't compete with the bright colors. Finally I selected the purplish metallic rainbow mix, and strung all the rings together to complete the piece. It's a bit odd, but still prettier than a jack-o-lantern.

Copyright 2009 Inspirational Beading