Wicked Witch Necklace

For most beaders, the idea of scraping a finished project and starting all over again can seem horrifying. Not matter how carefully cuts are made, there will always be materials that cannot be reused, and of course all that hard work is gone. For bead weavers, the unsuccessful project is particularly frustrating, and not just because reusing the beads means plenty of tedious cutting, yanking and stitch ripping.

When I create something that doesn’t meet my own standards, I usually add it to my personal jewelry box. The lessons learned are worth the time spent, and I get a new bauble for myself. Still, there are some projects from my first year of bead weaving that have never been worn, and are carefully packed away in little baggies, waiting for their time to be used.

The Inspiration:

As I was going through my finished pieces recently, looking for just the right item to donate to a charity auction, I came across some older necklaces that I had made when I first picked up jewelry making. I had set them aside, too proud to remake them, and too picky to sell them. There is one necklace that always makes me feel a little regret that it never made it into the ‘sell pile’. I had made it after making several leaf-fringe necklaces that looked like plants and fruit. I was enjoying the technique, but wanted to do something interesting and unexpected.

I think that the red, black and white pattern looks just like the Wicked Witch’s stocking feet sticking out from under Dorothy’s house. My husband says they remind him of the sandworms from Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice. Either way, I love the bright red on black and white stripes, and I decided it was finally time to remake this old design.

The Beads:

For this piece, all that was needed were simple 11/0 seed beads in black, white and red. The dark shade of red is usually hard to tell from brown, especially when it’s next to the other cherry and tomato beads in my organizer. But next to the stark neutrals, the red really pops.

The Beadwork:

I decided to simplify the design, and let the red fringe really stand out. Instead of a clasped necklace, I created an incredibly long strand of black and white seed beads, stitched it into a circle, and added leaves from start to finish. Although not as intricate as the original, the new necklace still has the same attitude as before, and is of course, completely metal free.

Copyright 2009 Inspirational Beading