Lucky New Year
January 1 always makes me think of the infinite possibilities for the year ahead, so when I saw the December Pretty Palettes challenge I knew I wanted to create a layered necklace set with four separate necklaces that could be combined in numerous ways.
Is It Lucky or Not?
Before I went shopping for beads, I started doing a little research on luck, looking at different symbols on Pinterest. No surpriseāI found that what is considered lucky is open to interpretation with different colors, objects, metals, and numbers being thought lucky by different cultures. In some cases, the very same item might be considered lucky by one group, but unlucky by another. For example, this set includes four strands. Four is an unlucky number in some cultures, but not all.
Beads You Need
All Bead Gallery beads and materials used in this layered necklace set were purchased at Michaels. Here's what I chose:
- (A) Metallic resin cubes (#10367561)
To me, these looked a little like tiny dice. I liked the idea of the random roll of the dice and how the results may be lucky or not. Many things in life are a gamble or risk. - (B) Freshwater 7x8mm potato pearls (#10402127)
Pearls have an interesting history of being thought both good and bad luck. I've always personally found pearls lucky for me in jewelry design; most of my early magazine acceptances for jewelry design featured pearls. - (C) Infinity link chain (#10473064)
The infinity symbol is also known as a double 8 or "double lucky" symbol. (One of the most interesting ways I've seen the number 8 used is as a middle initial for author Jennifer 8. Lee. Her book The Fortune Cookie Chronicles is a must-read if you're interested in Chinese culture in the U.S.) - Metal beads: (D) Hematite, including gold 6mm rounds (#10471730) and (E) mixed colors 4mm rounds (#10471727); (F) Gold-plated 3mm glass rounds; (G) Copper-plated 5mm wired rounds (#10464337)
- Flower beads: (H) Metal daisies (#10471481); (I) Copper-and-crystal flower slider (#84330); (J) Copper flower bead caps (#10472570)
- Glass beads: (K) Crystal glass rondelles (#10321911), (L) Faceted glass coins (#10471935)
I liked that these coin-shaped beads were gold on one side. It's popular to think of "gold coins" being lucky.
Infinite Possibilities
A few ideas on the many ways to wear this layered necklace set in addition to wearing all four strands at once:
Happy New Year!