Cute Cluster Rings

I’ve been learning new things and gaining plenty of insight throughout this year’s destash beading challenge. This month, I gained the knowledge that ending a challenge in the busiest two months of the year is probably not a great plan. I should have figured this out sooner, since I’ve had multiple challenges end around the month of November, but this year it really hit home. Luckily, it looks like the destash challenge is going to wrap up nicely, and the no-deadline approach to individual projects has been a big help.

For the most recent destash project, I took a little detour. Rather than try to completely use up some beads, I started a project that would make a tiny dent in several items from my stash. I wanted to return to the fun cluster ring design from March 2011, this time using some leftover beads.

I started with the remaining magenta E beads, and of course some mother of pearl chips. Even if I made dozens of rings, I’d still have plenty of these left, but they are perfect for chunky embellishments. I also grabbed some 3 mm Swarovski crystal rounds that have had no home to go to during the challenge, and the remains of some rootbeer lined topaz 6/o’s that are too few for anything else.

I had planned to make 5 rings in all, and use up all of the crystals, but I discovered half way through ring 3 that this set just didn’t have the same appeal as the originals, which included African Christmas beads. I can’t say for sure what went wrong, but I decided to call things off and move on to a more rewarding project. I’ll be keeping these rings for myself – they’ll be fun to wear for the holidays!

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