Inspired by the runway

Sometimes I like to watch a bit of Project Runway, hoping for some inspiration as well as armchair critiquing of the designs themselves (not to mention Tim Gunn's motherly "make it work, designers"). But today my inspiration came, not from the runway fashions, but from the designers themselves. Mila was preparing for her show at Bryant Park, wearing a long necklace of a rectangle with fringe coming off the bottom. I was immediately struck by a desire to make a necklace similar to hers! I had no idea what her necklace was made of or how it was constructed, but I knew just how I'd make mine--in chainmail, with chain fringe. So here it is, my necklace inspired by Mila's, but designed by me.

Capricorn Necklace from show purchases

This necklace is made almost entirely of Bead & Buton show purchases, and holds a special place in my heart. I had bought a 20mm bead of transparent frosted grey glass with an opaque white heart, from Beads Amour up in Indianapolis (incidentally, the most stylish bead shop I've ever been in, with a wonderful selection), and took it to the show with an idea to string it onto black silk with stitched beads to either side. But when I saw the spiral 'horn' beads from Bokamo Glass, I knew they were perfect next to the grey bead. Then I was at the Green Girl Studios booth (a must-stop every year; it's the single booth where I spent the most money!) and had to have a set of bead caps, which is a totally new design element for me. On my list of things to buy that I'd made beforehand and actually remembered to bring and check (imagine that--me, being practical while bead shopping!), was black silks of every sort. I extended that to 'neato black fibers' and thus bought my first-ever length of WireLace; a knit mesh tube of superfine wire. Upon getting home, I found I could not fit any of my silks through the grey bead's hole, even using a piece of tinfoil rolled up over the end of the silk as a needle. But the WireLace fit! After I positioned all my beads on the WireLace, I pulled and shaped the mesh until it was nice and wavy, then took a length of stiff beading wire and ran it in and out of the mesh so the weight of the beads would pull on the wire, not the WireLace. I finished the necklace with a handmade clasp. Note how the necklace can be worn two ways--streamlined with the 'horns' wrapped around the WireLace, and tough with the 'horns' pointing outward. This necklace turned out almost entirely unlike how I planned, but also exactly how I wanted!

Where The Leaves Turn Red

A few months ago I traded with another beader for a thrilling LOT of padparadscha 8mm swarovski cubes. It was a challenge to my creativity to be sure--I rarely if ever used that shade, and have difficulty designing with cubes, as their expense means I never buy/use them. Finally, I hit upon finishing beads by coiling wire around the roundnose pliers, instead of merely finishing with a loop, and it seemed a suitable way to use the cubes. Simple, but with the devil in the details. Each cube link is connected to the next with not one, but two jumprings. This necklace has a wondrous weight, and luxurious feel to it, and I am in the process of making it into one of my newest class offerings.