Shell Pendant Necklace

I had this nice round shell pendant with a hole in the center, left over from my first project, Seaside Ensemble. I wanted to do something with it but wasn't sure what so I set it aside and waited for inspiration. It didn't take long to be inspired!

Penrapture and I went to South Hadley's Tower Theaters to see Alice in Wonderland with her boyfriend and a couple of other friends. (This is the best theater in the area because they actually pop the popcorn and use real butter.) The girl at the counter had a white stone pendant wrapped in a black twine that I found to be very interesting. I immediately thought of the black leather cording I had stashed in my box of goodies. It would work perfectly and I wouldn't have to go to the bead store to get more supplies!

Some few days later I found time to drag out my box of goodies, in between the packing and moving. I played with the leather and figured out the design I wanted but as I was working with the leather, pieces of it was flaking off. By the time I was finished, the leather was all chipped up, stretched out and it looked terrible. I guess leather doesn't last over a decade stored in a plastic bag, in a box, in the attic. Looks like I need to go to the bead store after all!

It took awhile to get back to the store and during the wait another kit had arrived. And of course, I needed a special tool for this kit too. I am starting to think that the bead kit company has stock in the craft stores. Anyway, I picked up new leather cording (and the tool I needed for my next project) and finished this simple pendant necklace.

Reintroduction into Beading

I have been using beads on my quilts for years and I have even dabbled in the jewelry making realm a decade or more ago but the beads and materials that are available today at your local craft store inspired me to check out the beading world again.

My first trip to the local beading center with the plan to break into the jewelry realm left me overwhelmed with inspiration and clueless where to begin. It just so happens that around the same time I was pondering getting into this new hobby I received a beading kit subscription offer in the mail from Simply Beads. I thought about it for a couple of weeks before I decided, why not. I can always change the designs that I don't really like and it will expose me to materials and techniques that I have never worked with.

My first kit arrived after what seemed like a painfully long time. I was excited to get started but I quickly discovered that the crimp pliers they sent were not the right size for the crimps in the kit. Great! Another trip to the bead store and another $20 later I was ready to go!

When I finally sat down to do some beading I found that I didn't really like the design of the necklace, bracelet or earrings. Typical me. I played around with different stringing options and decided to substitute the purple bugle beads with some dark brown E beads that I had floating around. I didn't like the shell pendant in my new design so I left that out too. I also used a more secure clasp on the necklace. Below is my final redesign for the Seaside Ensemble necklace.

I used three strands like the original design but brought them together on the sides of the necklace instead of in the center with the shell pendant. The color palette is more brown and earthy than the lighter sea colors but I expect either color scheme would look good.

I did learn a couple of tricks while assembling this necklace that wasn't in the instructions.

If you need to put away a wire beading project that you are working on, a good way to secure the beading you have completed is to tie the strands in a loose knot, like the picture on the right.

If you don't have enough free wire to do that, you can loop the end of the wire through the last bead to keep the rest of the beads from falling off during assembly or storage.

I have to make the bracelet and earrings next, although the earrings are not inspiring me at the moment. Stay tuned.