A Necklace a Day - Thirteen

Have you ever tried to pair up green and red without making it look like a Christmas decoration? It's not an easy task, even when you’re using shapes and styles that suggest a different theme.

When creating today's necklace, I was faced with just such a challenge. I wanted to use up a set of Czech glass coins with a swirly red, green and brown finish. They look a lot like little globes, but with lava red instead of sea blue.

To make the necklace come together, I played up the earthy theme by combining reds and greens with organic browns. I added black and green fire polish rounds, Angelic crystal rondelles in Siam ruby, flecked white and tan E beads, and chocolate freshwater pearls. To draw everything together, I picked yellow-lined black diamond seed beads that have the look of dried grass.

If there's any Christmas-y vibe left, I think it has an antique, almost steampunk quality to it. Like a long lost pocket watch touched by age and rust.

What's your favorite way to use red and green beads?

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