Monday, February 6, 2012

Artifact Necklace

Red Rice Beads

In order to get this year’s destash beading challenge started off right, I wanted to begin with some beads that I’ve been promising to use for a long time. I purchased this strand of transparent red rice beads back in 2010 when I was gathering up supplies for my Cornucopia lariat. Along with some of the ‘vegetable’ beads and a hank of yellow charlottes, I couldn’t resist the luscious red strand of beads. I liked them so much, in fact, that I’ve been putting off using them ever since.

Instead of waiting for the ‘right’ project to come along, I had to try and make these beads work for me, so that I could finally put them to good use. An Egyptian collar seemed like an appropriate way to show off their color and shape, so I paired them with my favorite faux-gold seed beads and got to work.

I started with a plain chevron collar, then tried adding additional rows of chevron chain to the front, with the rice beads in the middle sections. Instead of sticking to a strict structure, I let the beads and thread do their own thing, and I was very happy with the results. The necklace has this elegant disheveledness to it - like a necklace that has survived hundreds of years in a tomb.


Red Jewel Bib Necklace


It was such a relief to finally snip the string on these rice beads and turn them into something beautiful, and I’m looking forward to many more destash projects - hopefully some will be just as successful. You can join in the challenge too, by sending me some before and after pictures of your destash projects, or post them to your blog and drop by with a link. Good luck!

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading
Get inspired on Facebook


4 comments:

  1. I love that! I'm looking and looking at all of my beads that i need to destash, but I'm struggling to think of anything. Total beaders block. I think I'm just going to have to grab and handful of this and a handful of that and make something even if I don't think it will work. You never know, I may get a happy mistake.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great necklace! What bead thread to you use for your netted and chevron collars?

    I'm working from stash almost exclusively this year (except for some tangerine tango beads I couldn't resist!) I should have some pics to send you. Are you interested in bead doodles as well as finished pieces?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks, ladies!

    I always use Fireline, even though it's so pricey. I find that the ease of use makes up for the cost, plus it makes for really strong, even beadwork.

    I would definitely love to see some doodles, ideas and WIPs for the challenge!

    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