Nutty Valentine Necklace

Every time I start a new beading challenge, I am surprised by just how much inspiration having a goal can provide. Now that I’m looking at old beads in a new way, I have more ideas than I know what to do with. I can barely keep up or decide which project to tackle first!

For my second destash challenge design, I looked to some beads that have been very dear, even though I’ve only used them once. Way back in 2009, I purchased some heart-shaped nut pendants that were so pretty, I couldn’t wait to use them. When I finally had the time to work with them, I was eager to create, and the green lariat that I designed for them turned out fabulous. It’s still one of my all time favorite pieces.

I suppose that I was unsure how I could possibly make another design with the remaining nut beads that could top the lariat, so I’ve been ignoring them ever since. When I added them to my tray of destash beads, I was a little nervous. Would I end up making just another variation of a spiral lariat with them? Then it occurred to me that with Valentine’s Day coming up, I could use them now, and pair them with red. And there just happened to be some fantastic red beads in the to-use list.

I gathered up some Czech glass rings in frosted cherry, and the last of my red velvet Angelic crystal rondelles. To help balance the natural finish of the nut bead, I added a few parched desert wood beads, and some dark topaz seed beads. A dash of shiny jet black would bring everything together just right.

Rather than stitch my usual Y pendant all in one piece, I used one of the glass rings as an anchor for three separate chains. Because I had already selected so many accent beads, I couldn’t add any druks, so I used seed bead daisies to strengthen the beadwork instead.

I had no idea that these forgotten beads could inspire so many new approaches to a favorite design. I was happy to find that the palette looks just as good in the finished pieces as it did on the drawing board.



Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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