Beading, re-using a piece and using up stash

Hello, everyone.

Y’all may remember the peyote-stitched shell image that I had made and hung on a purse in 2014…the purse was just the right size (too small for a lot of junk) and I liked it a lot. Unfortunately, it became dilapidated over time, and I had to get a new purse. The new one has no place to hang the blue shell dangle.

So the shell, after being cut off of the old purse, has been sitting around in the assortment of bead things that need to be dealt with. 

The other day I got brave, pulled out my book on wire-wrapping for jewelry, and decided that a bail with wire-wrapped loops might be the answer for making the shell into a necklace pendant. The result looks like this:

The completed shell ornament, showing the fringe of crosses and hearts, and the new bail at the top.

As y’all can see, it’s not really in the classic form of a bail. The loops are on a wire piece that goes through the channel at the top of the beadwork, which used to conceal the threads holding the shell onto the purse, instead of coming together to thread a chain through.

The shell still needs something to hang from.

I thought of trying a twisty sort of neck chain, and settled on spiral peyote. Denim Blue accents the golds and tans and sort of resembles the blue in the pendant. (Except for the Miyuki fringe beads, all these beads are Preciosa seeds in size 11.)

The supplies used for the spiral peyote piece: Preciosa seed beads, Miyuki fringe beads, Fireline in crystal color.

That turned out like this:

Whoops! It's a bangle bracelet. (Too stiff for anything else.)

It’s not a necklace. But the colors look nice together. Maybe someone needs a bangle bracelet for Christmas?

And maybe I should just string a long strand of seeds (well, several long strands of seeds) and braid them. Or let them be a clump without braiding. It might be less likely to steal attention from the pendant that way, too. And then I would be able to wear my shell!