Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Hexagons, Spirals, and Fringes

It’s been so long since I’ve made a lariat necklace, that I actually had to go looking through my blog archives to remember what the last design was. It’s actually one of my favorites, a violet and daisy piece with beaded beads, and I made it back in November of 2010, during the Necklace a Day challenge. That’s far too long a gap between lariats, and so when I starting planning a design to use up some of my hex cut seed beads, a super long necklace seemed like the perfect choice.

Hex Cut Seed Beads


I’ve got lots and lots of hex cut seed beads, but I hardly ever use them. As fun as it would be to weave something flat with them - like a peyote cuff - I’m not all that fond of peyote cuffs to begin with, so I’ve been passing them over for months. I finally decided to use them in a spiral rope, where they would be able to show off their sparkle, while still being protected on either side by seed beads.

I chose a palette of ruby red, sapphire blue, and seafoam, then it was on to seed beads to complement them. At first I wanted to do an Egyptian theme, but something about the colors steered me in a slightly different direction. I paired up jet black and opalescent cream (aka alabaster) for a more art deco kind of palette.

Art Deco Spiral Fail


At first I had a little trouble deciding on a pattern. I wanted a striped effect, but the black really overpowered both the alabaster and the hexagons. Luckily, I had just stocked up on opalescent cream, so I decided to dive right in and use it as the main color for the entire rope. The new pattern is much better, and has the art deco look that I wanted. The way that the black peeks through the slightly transparent cream has the same soft and misty quality as a vintage cigarette ad. I finished the ends of the lariat simply with a pair of druks and a bit of hex and seed bead fringe.

Art Deco Lariat


Unfortunately, I ran out of seed beads before hexes, so I still have a few grams left of each color. There’s always room for more lariats though!

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
Some Images Hosted by Pinterest
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading
Get inspired on Facebook and Google+


1 comment:

Blog Widget by LinkWithin
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads

Inspiration Topics

accessories amulet Ancient Worlds Modern Beads animals April's Army art ArtFire astrology astronomy autumn awards awareness bangle beach Bead Inspired Bead Shops bead soup bead spotlight bead stash Bead Trays beaded beads beading theory beads belt bezel birthstones black blog spotlight blue boho bone book spotlight bracelet Bracelet A Week branch fringe brick stitch brown bugles buttons cabochon ceramic chain maille challenge charity chevron chain christmas collar Collections color Color Ideas color triads conservation craft shows crafts crochet crystals cuff Culled Beads current events Current Faves daggers Daily Sets daisy chain Delicas Destash drops Dutch spiral earrings Egypt Egyptian Gods embellishing embroidery environment etsy exotic fair trade fantasy fashion Favorite Beads Favorite Techniques feminine fibers film findings fire polish fixtures Flashback Test flickr inspiration flowers food found object free form fringe Geek Jewels geekery gemstones geography giveaway glass gold gray Greece green herringbone hex cuts history holiday home decor insects inspiration tip inspired beader Inspired by... Inspiring Links ivory Jewelry Stash knitting ladder stitch lampwork lariat leaf fringe leather lights literature loomwork macrame magatamas Master Class Medallions metal free metalwork Mini Collar a Week mixed media mixture Mood Board MOP multi-color multi-strand music natural beads nature necklace Necklace a Day Nepal chain netting New Beads ocean ombre orange paint paper patterns pearls pendant peyote photography Picasso finish pink Pinspiration PMC polymer clay poster sketch purple quick inspiration rainbow RAW red resin ring Ring a Day rivoli Rome Russian spiral scarf science seed beads shell silver soutache spiral rope spring square stitch St. Petersburg steampunk stringing stripes summer tagua TBT The Elements thread Tilas Time Capsule tools trade beads triangle weave tribal tropical turquoise tutorial two-hole beads Ugly vintage Wear it Twice weather white winter WIP wire wishlist wood World Beaders yellow
Blog Home * About * Beading Tutorials * Advertise

Learn About Sponsoring Inspirational Beading with Project Wonderful
Affiliated With ShareASale.com and Amazon.com