Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Halloween Skulls and Flowers

When I started the destash challenge, my purpose was to use up and eliminate all the beads I had been keeping around for more than a year - that is to say, since before January 2011. It’s been almost a year now, and I’m starting to eye some of my older new beads in the same way. So when I realized that summer was officially behind us, I decided it was time to try and use up some of my Czech glass skulls for a fun Halloween design.

I took a while deciding just what type of project to do. I didn’t want to fall into my old habit of making something to suit the beads, even if it didn’t suit me. I’ve been having fun with beaded flowers lately, so I thought I would to start by making a few jet black daisies to go with the skulls and see where that got me.

Halloween Skulls and Roses Bead Palette


I used jet AB druks for the flower base, and opaque black 15/o seed beads. The shimmery finish of the druks called out for another dash of color, so I made sure to include some jet lined garnet AB 6/o’s when I started compiling a final palette. From the destash tray, I grabbed those gunmetal E beads that never seem to go away no matter how many times I use them. To help the white skulls blend in, I also added the last of my batik bone beads.

Rather than make something elaborate that would showcase the skulls and flowers in a really obvious way, I made a simple, though very long, Y necklace. I really like the way the red seed beads help to blend everything together - skulls and flowers, blood and roses.

Skulls and Flower Y Pendant


Have you made any spooky designs for Halloween this year? What was your inspiration?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading
Get inspired on Facebook and Google+


5 comments:

  1. LOVE that, absolutely bootifully spooktacular! Halloween has always been my favorite holiday, and that piece would add a whole lot of style to any costume.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Me ha encantado la idea...magnifica....gracias

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wicked necklace. Awesome combo and you made it so halloweenie. LOL As always thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks, everyone! It was a fun project, and I'm really happy with the balance of themes and colors.

    ReplyDelete

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