My Princess Inspiration
I have princesses on the brain. I've recently read The Tale of Despereaux for the first time for my children's book project on my blog. Princess Pea plays a key role in the book. I've also been watching the TV show Once. (I'm still in the early episodes, so no spoilers please!) And then I saw the royal blue colors for this month's Pretty Palettes challenge.
What does it mean to be a princess?
Well, among other things, you could probably wear a new fancy, sparkly piece of jewelry every day.
Once that thought popped into my head, I couldn't get it out. Wouldn't it be fun to take a small number of beads (4 packages) and make a new necklace every day? The only rule I gave myself was that it had to be easy to do and undo. I didn't want to make and later cut apart wrapped loops, for example. (To be clear, I used loops on the flower sliders, but I kept them that way for all the variations.) I wanted all the components to be something that you could pack up in a little bag and quickly make and unmake in your hotel room without any special tools.
A Necklace for Every Day of the Week ... Plus One!
Beads, Findings, and Project Tips
The neck collar is thick, so you'll need either large-holed beads or beads hung on large jump rings or chain. (The Bead Gallery teardrop beads come already attached to exactly the right size of jump rings and chain.)
When creating the wrapped loops for the blue-and-white flower sliders, I wrapped the wire around a ballpoint pen to make sure that the loop was large enough to slide onto the choker. If you own bail-making pliers, those would work well, too.
The gunmetal chain and black beads add an edgy touch to any jewelry design.
I added a black teardrop to the ends of one of the chains; the other chain I left unadorned.
Instead of plain head pins, I chose fancy ones from Bead Landing that have a little silver bead dangle at the bottom of the wire. They aren't absolutely necessary to complete the project, but they do add just a touch more sophistication to the slider dangles.
All materials are available at Michaels.
P.S. This one is my favorite.