Wednesday, January 28, 2015

January's Pretty Palettes :: Rose Blush Necklace/Bracelet

According to Pantone, 2015's color of the year is Marsala, a rich red wine shade with earthy tones and killer versatility. I love this image showing Marsala with some of its possible color companions. This color was the start for Erin Prais-Hintz' January Pretty Palettes blog hop hosted by Halcraft USA.

For more information about the blog hop and to see what others have made using the same color palette of beads, visit the Halcraft blog here.
  

Erin used this image as the inspiration image for her post, and I LOVE it. Whoever thought to put succulents in a bridal bouquet? Brilliant! The dusty rose and the almost greenish gray of what we around here call "hen & chicks" feel sophisticated and lush.

Here are the beads I started with to match the Pretty Palette. I used the image as much as the swatches at the bottom, and I really loved the faux pearls in dusty rose. I ended up adding some metal spacers with crystals and left out many of the pinkier beads in favor of just using the ombre pearls in the end.

My Bead Gallery beads from Michaels Stores!
I fumbled a bit with this project, as the colors were way pinker than what I am usually comfortable working with. What is it about pink? It's intimidating to me. Is it to you?

Do you ever have days where you just want to do something sort of monotonous and repetitive? That was my day yesterday. I wanted a project in which I could just enjoy the beads, their rosy color, their different textures and finishes, so I decided that I wanted to create a really long knotted bead necklace. 

I ended up using the great ombre pearls, some of the green blue faceted beads, and some of the marsala red rounds along with the great silvery resin rounds that look like they have tiny crystal caves inside. 

I used Beadalon's handheld knotting tool (how-to video in the link). They have a newer tabletop tool (how-to video in the link) that I haven't tried yet, but I'm really happy with my little handheld jobbie. I love this little wooden thing. It makes the knots slide off easily and keeps them close to the beads. If you haven't tried one, it's definitely worth asking some of your beading friends about. Maybe one has a knotting tool you can take for a test drive. You string all of the beads you'd like to use, then slowly and meditatively get into the rhythm of knotting and sliding a bead, knotting and sliding a bead. It's lovely, and just as relaxing as knitting!

Maybe I'll get a chance to use the newer tabletop tool next week when I visit the Beadalon booth in Tucson!
You can wear this as a long necklace, or wrapped around your wrist multiple times as a bracelet, or even doubled as a longer and shorter strand necklace, as I did on my little mannequin here in my office.

And with the leftover beads, don't forget to make yourself a pretty pair of earrings!

Even though the greenish gray flashes that showed up in the succulents didn't show up in the little samples on the palette, I decided to incorporate them into my jewelry. I love how this color looks with the dusty rose and marsala red. It's so sophisticated and unexpected!

Thank you for another wonderful Pretty Palettes blog hop, Erin!







14 comments:

  1. Just lovely, Miss Molly! I like that versatility of this design and the fact that you found some other inspiration in the palette and picture. That is always my hope! That you will take what you like from it and interpret it how you wish. Thank you for playing with me on the Pretty Palettes challenge. Enjoy the day! Erin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Erin, that photo with the bouquet was so, so pretty! The images you pick are fascinating to me and add so much more to the designing experience for me than just color swatches. I really love your design, too. The convertible necklace is fabulous!

      Delete
  2. Oh, that's so pretty! The blending of the colors is so well done, and I love that you did all the knotting. Such a lovely end result. Christie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really love the look of knotted beads. Each one gets a little bit of the spotlight that way. Thank you!

      Delete
  3. beautiful colors. Love the dusty pearls and the quiet beauty of the darker beads that look grey or metallic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And there's the beauty of Erin's palettes. She really does put together colors that inspire, and this one is SO ROMANTIC!

      Delete
  4. I love knotting and have done in a while you just woke up my interest in knotting , your necklace has very feminine and delicate look its very pretty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Elsie, I've been wanting an excuse to get my knotting tool out and this was perfect. Those gradient pearls are some of my favorite things.

      Delete
  5. WOW! love your take on the classic long pearl necklace! I can also sit and knot with the knotting tool for hours, its very meditative. Great addition with the dangle at the clasp!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Alison! That dangle was something I'd been wanting to add but fumbled a bit before I knew exactly where to put it!

      Delete
  6. I love your knotted necklace, and the colors you used. The blue adds a nice spark to all the red/grey tones.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Louise! I almost didn't add it, but couldn't help myself!

      Delete
  7. I adore your necklace! It's wonderfully designed!

    ReplyDelete