Tuesday, November 9, 2010

A Necklace a Day - Nine

Pastel Bead Palette with Peanuts and Tagua

Today’s necklace design features one of my favorite materials - tagua ivory. I have a very small stash of slice pendants, and I thought it was about time that I made use of one. I like to give these beauties lots of room to stand out, so I decided on a simple spiral rope necklace.

I was searching through my bead stash for suitable colors to use, and came across a few packets of pastel colored peanut seed beads. I’ve used them in spiral ropes before, as accent beads, but I didn’t want to do the same old pattern again. Then it occurred to me that they might look nice as the main beads in the spiral rows, so I grabbed all three colors - purple and green Ceylon, and pink lined crystal.

Pastel Pink Tagua Necklace

Pastel Pink Pendant

Along with cream and white round seed beads, I made a spiral rope with three peanuts at the center of each row. I was so thrilled with the way the beadwork took shape! The peanuts lock together perfectly, sometimes alternating their position from vertical to horizontal. Because they’re just slightly larger than the round seed beads, they add a bit of bulk to the spiral rows, making them tighter and a little puffy-looking.

With the peanut seed beads in the rows, the spiral has a nice bubbly texture, but has the same drape and flexibility as a regular rope. I added a simple looped bail to the tagua slice, and that’s one more necklace down - only 21 more to go!

Copyright 2010 Inspirational Beading


4 comments:

  1. The spiral rope is just luscious. When I first looked at the tagua slice, though, I thought "tongue." Perhaps that's just me. I wondered, "Why is she putting a tongue on a necklace?"

    But the pink is lovely, and I hear you about the peanut beads. Don't they create a wonderful effect?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Now I can see a tongue, too! The little nick in the center of the tagua - caused by rapid drying - doesn't help, does it?

    I won't tell you what my husband said when I showed him the necklace. He was remembering the collaboration I did with VulvaLoveLovely. I like the feminine appeal!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am so so so late to comment on this beauty! But I just couldn't help myself! This is stunning! The rope looks like cotton candy to me! :D Delicious!

    There's only one thing which I can't figure out, how did you attach your pendant without any metal rings? Is there a tutorial to make a beaded bail like you have in this necklace?

    Other than that, this is lovely!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The bail is made simply with seed beads and thread, with lots of passes and extra knots to make it sturdy. The trick is to use a larger bead for the base of the loops - and 8/o or 6/o - so that the bead strands have somewhere to anchor without looking clumped.

      Delete

Blog Widget by LinkWithin
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads

Inspiration Topics

accessories amulet Ancient Worlds Modern Beads animals April's Army art ArtFire astrology astronomy autumn awards awareness bangle beach Bead Inspired Bead Shops bead soup bead spotlight bead stash Bead Trays 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 ceramic chain maille challenge charity chevron chain christmas collar Collections color Color Ideas color triads conservation craft shows crafts crochet crystals cuff Culled Beads current events Current Faves daggers Daily Sets daisy chain Delicas Destash drops Dutch spiral earrings Egypt Egyptian Gods embellishing embroidery environment etsy exotic fair trade fantasy fashion Favorite Beads Favorite Techniques feminine fibers film findings fire polish fixtures Flashback Test flickr inspiration flowers food found object free form fringe Geek Jewels 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 Jewelry Stash knitting ladder stitch lampwork lariat leaf fringe leather lights literature loomwork macrame magatamas Master Class Medallions metal free metalwork Mini Collar a Week mixed media mixture Mood Board MOP multi-color multi-strand music natural beads nature necklace Necklace a Day Nepal chain netting New Beads ocean ombre orange paint paper patterns pearls pendant peyote photography Picasso finish pink Pinspiration PMC polymer clay poster sketch purple quick inspiration rainbow RAW red resin ring Ring a Day rivoli Rome Russian spiral scarf science seed beads shell silver soutache spiral rope spring square stitch St. Petersburg steampunk stringing stripes summer tagua TBT The Elements thread Tilas Time Capsule tools trade beads triangle weave tribal tropical turquoise tutorial two-hole beads Ugly vintage Wear it Twice weather white winter WIP wire wishlist wood World Beaders yellow
Blog Home * About * Beading Tutorials * Advertise

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