My favorite stop on a tour through the library is the magazines section. I'm always on the look out for great fashion magazines, photography journals, and of course, bead mags. I regularly purchase weaving magazines like Bead & Button, but I am often reluctant to pick up stringing titles. Although there is always a wealth of information and inspiration in every issue, I only buy the occasional copy of titles like Stringing as a rare treat.
The Inspiration:
One of my most recent loans from the library was a copy of the March - April 2007 issue of Step by Step Beads.
The Beads:
I had plenty of sandy brown seed beads leftover from my last two projects, and a pink mixture from a necklace I made earlier this year. I paired these up with pink and green shell beads, freshwater pearls, glass beads, and of course some mother of pearl chips. I also added a transparent green seed bead mixture.
The Beadwork:
I adapted the instructions from Step by Step beads a little to make my own chaotic necklace. Instead of knotting several lengths of thread together, I started with about 4 yards of thread. Once the beads for the necklace base were all strung, I continued through to make a circle, and immediately began stitching. This way, the threads could be securely knotted in the heavier beadwork.
Instead of using random stitches and embellishments, I added a little more harmony by sticking with particular stitches for each color of seed beads. I used corralling for the pink sections, leaves and loops for the green ones, and free-form peyote stitch for the brown. The result is a rose-like chain with an underwater appeal.
Copyright 2009 Inspirational Beading
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