A Necklace a Day - Twenty Three

Before getting this Necklace-a-Day challenge under way, I went on the hunt for some fun, affordable lampwork focals to use, and I wasn’t disappointed.

One of my finds was an adorable focal bead in jet black, with a 3-D flower design. I loved the shapes of the coiling vines and leaves against the black background, and just had to have it. The shop, Dana Creates, also had some nice lampwork spacers in olive green, so I made it a set and started planning a design.

When I got to see the flower bead in person, I was so tempted to save it and make a ring with it instead. It is just so cute and delicate looking. Because it’s so tiny, I didn’t want to overwhelm it with other beads and complex stitching, so I used my new favorite Y necklace blue print.

I used jet black seed beads for the base, and added hints of brown and green with accent beads. I wanted to highlight the little orange stamen in the flower, so I also used vibrant orange hyacinth crystals.

I was worried for a moment or two that it would all look Halloween-y, but the brightness of the orange, paired with the earthy greens had the effect I was hoping for. The little lampwork bead is like a perfect bloom emerging from a dark corner of a forest. I can almost smell the moss!

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