Another Post About Beads!

This post doesn't really have much to do with Kazakhstan, although it does feature a necklace that I completed in Kazakhstan.  As I believe I've mentioned elsewhere, it took quite a while for me to be reunited with all the beads I shipped over here.  I did bring the makings of a project to work on after this one because I knew I would want something to calm my nerves and keep me from fidgeting.  It took a while to complete this one because my job and various non-beady projects (like this blog!) keep me pretty busy, but here it is:

I have had those large, patterned rectangular beads in my stash for years, but it took me a long time to figure out how to use them.  I wanted to combine with with something else that looked bold, and eventually, I thought of a short strand of long, two-tone amethyst beads I purchased at a show years ago.  I ordinarily find stone chip beads difficult to work with, but in this case, I thought they would combine well with the somewhat irregular appearance of the long amethyst beads on the bottom strand of the necklace.  I made several beaded beads to complement the amethyst, some of which are two-holed beaded beads to keep the two strands of the necklace roughly parallel to each other.  I rounded this out with tiny Thai silver beads.

I actually finished this necklace once, but then had to take it apart and restring it because I accidentally made it too short the first time.  Oops.  I didn't want it to be a choker in the worst possible sense of the word!

I sometimes find it difficult to live someplace where new beads aren't readily accessible.  When I get an idea, I want to start working on it right away, not start sourcing some material.  On the other hand, though, maybe being away from obvious sources of new beads will help me to use some of the beads I've been hoarding for years and test out some of the ideas I've had in the back of my mind for a long time.  It'll be an interesting experiment.