Saturday, February 11, 2012

Nutty Valentine Necklace

Nutty Valentine Beads

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.

Heart of Wood Pendant

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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5 comments:

  1. That is gorgeous! I love the red donut, it looks great with a matte finish.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is just gorgeous and you sure succeeded in making it completely different from the green one. I just love how you did this!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome! I love the original piece in green, too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Absolutely love!!! Please visit my blog and let me know what ya think of my jewelry.

    www.tolivelaughbead.blogspot.com

    Thanks!

    Tina

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks everyone! I can't wait to show you the three-part project I've got up next. I am loving this challenge!

    ReplyDelete

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