Half Of A Good Idea

A lovely strand of faceted Czech firepolished glass in variegated soft colors called my name at a bead show.  So like any beader worth her salt, I bought that strand. And two of its identical twins.

We won't dwell on the fact that I just admitted to hearing beads talk to me.

The thought was to use them to make a netted rope necklace, kind of like this one.  Hopefully I had enough beads that I wouldn't run out halfway through (again...)

That was all well and good, until I actually started making the necklace. It was obvious that the beads were a little too big to let the necklace flow softly. Instead, it was going to make a rope about as big around as your thumb - a little chunky if it's solid around the neck.

So, plan B! Instead of a whole necklace, I made beaded beads.  

Oh, and it turns out it wouldn't have been enough to make a whole 16" or 18" necklace anyway. Gotta stop trying to eyeball bead quantities in the midst of the bead show floor.

But now I have an assortment of lovely sparkly beaded beads, and no clear idea of what to do with them. It's not the first time I've discovered that my great idea was actually only half of a great idea. Any suggestions for what might work with these?

The "Whoops!" Challenge Reveal

Have you ever ordered something online (or, gasp, horror, from late night tv shopping channels), only to discover, when you rip open the package with wild enthusiasm, that it's not quite what you had envisioned? 

Kind of what I imagine online dating might be like...

Cynthia Machata, the glorious woman behind the creations at Antiquity Travelers, had one of those "whoops!" moments when she ordered some glass pearls from ZNet.com.  When she expected to get some dainty grey beads, she ended up with some bodacious, bold 16mm beauties.  And a conundrum as to how to use them.

So she invited some friends to figure out what to do with these big balls. What does one do with Big Balls? (Now there's a sentence I never imagined I'd write!!) They brought to mind several ideas, which I had to pare down to be able to accomplish them amid the complete lack of free time that my new job leaves.  But I hope I've turned "Whoops!" into "Wow!"

First up, Big Balls become Beach Balls, when you add some equally bodaciously-sized shell beads.

These are wonderfully light beads, with the clasp in front for added fun. It may not be completely visible in the photo, but there's a lovely grey swirl throughout the shell beads that the pearls pick up beautifully. While I may be a beadweaver, I also apparently enjoy rocking some big beads, since these 20mm shell beads came from my stash...

Then, as anyone who came of age in the late 70s might do, I thought of Disco Balls!  So I added some woven beaded beads (made with crystals I had previously gotten from ZNet.com) to channel the glam.  

The sparkle is fairly subdued, balancing the size and subtle glow of the glass pearls, on a delicate sterling chain.  I don't go to the disco anymore, but work often calls for me to be in evening dress, so this necklace is probably going to get worn A LOT.

Thanks a million to Cynthia for the chance to play with these, and for the push to get back to beading and blogging. Go see what wonderful things these other folks have created with these Big Balls -- I know they'll make them from "Whoops" to "Wow!"

Linda    http://lindysdesigns.blogspot.com/

Bobbie     http://www.beadsongjewelry.com/ (thanks for visiting!)

Christine   http://onekisscreations.blogspot.com/

Hope    http://www.craftyhope.com/

Therese  http://theresestreasures59.blogspot.com/

Val  http://missvalscreations.blogspot.com/

Cynthia  http://antiquitytravelers.blogspot.com/