I hope you all had a lovely weekend. We had one springish day and one wintry day AND we’re supposed to be getting snow tomorrow night. Bleck.
But, I’m happy to be inside and creating. Today’s project is a continuation of what I started last week, kumihimo braiding, but now with beads.
(Click on any of the pics for a closer look.)
I was given this gorgeous lampwork heart ages ago, but never found just the right way to string it.
What do you think, does this combination of blue, green and gold work with the bead?
I made the bail by twisting two pieces of 20 gauge wire together and then wrapping them around a 10mm mandrel. Two wraps made the bail and one wrap made the large jump ring.
Kumihimo is definitely an interesting process, and while I think it’s just “meh” with cording alone, I love it with beads. However, it’s very time consuming. The 16-inches I made for this necklace took about three hours. It’s a great project to work on while a TV show or movie is playing.
Have you tried kumihimo? Would you? If you’re interested, here’s a YouTube video introduction to doing kumihimo and this video shows how to add beads to your braiding.
Check back tomorrow for day 17 of my Make It In March challenge.
It’s gorgeous ! I love how you’ve used differing sizes of beads, adds so much texture and interest to the necklace. A fabulously inspiring piece! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Nan! Yes, I’m quite pleased with the way the combination of beads makes the braiding much more interesting.
Yes, that’s gorgeous. I wouldn’t mind at all spending three hours on something like that if it turned out as well as this did.
Ah, you make a good point. I guess I was thinking in terms of sales and just HOW much I’d have to charge. Don’t think I’ll be making these to sell any time soon, but it’s a great technique to add to my bag of tricks. 🙂
wow that is really amazing thanks for sharing, Shaz in Oz.x