More Beads

I love working with beads and have done so for years making my own earrings and, more recently, necklaces.  These are almost exclusively semi-precious stones, glass beads, some vintage, plus an occasional plastic bead now and again.   

After finishing (and blogging about) a first set of necklaces last year, I expected that batch would satisfy my bead-stringing interests.  But another spurt hit me recently.  For one thing, I'd made two green and turquoise strands--a combo I liked but never wore.  So I turned them into one yellow-green, one turquoise, and (adding a few new beads) one with darker shades of blue and green.

The new yellow-green, now a favorite.

This includes some real bits of turquoise.  Another favorite.

Here I've incorporated small Japanese blue beads between each larger bead. 

Then, realizing I needed a string of black beads, I collected them for awhile, then turned them into a necklace.  I followed that with a whimsical strand that I call The Candy Cane Caper (after a prom I went to in high school) with beads resembling cinnamon red hots, gum balls, and licorice.  Finally, I gathered what remained into a string that features black, pink, and blue beads, plus a hint of green.

The black strand with bronze, silver, and cream accents.

The Candy Cane Caper

The last of the last, but it seems to work.  The owner of one of the bead stores where I go even commented on it.