De-Stash Project - Stash Bash

[pattye]

Happy Huku,

This will be a fun project for you!
Do you have one of the inexpensive grooved bead boards so when you take the graduated strand apart you can lay the pearls out in order?
Often when trying a design I use a piece of the designer wire like flexible beadalon to temporarily string the beads/pearls on to see what pleases me and what length to make. Are you planning to knot the necklace again?

 

[Marianne]

Iolite would look lovely with those creamy pearls. You could even make a three strand piece to wear loosely or twisted.

 

[Katbran]

I do exactly the same thing as Pattye. Using beading wire I string 8 inches or so and get an idea as to patterns etc...or string the whole thing if it's a short necklace. Easy to keep taking it apart until you find a pattern you like ! Have fun and keep us posted on your progress !

 

[Happy Huku]

Thank you for the encouragement and for the practical idea of setting them out on a bead board, hopefully some of my husband's fishing twine will do the job of stringing!
It will take me a while to get my act together but I'll keep you posted of progress.
At this stage, I plan to re-knot but will not be knotting it myself, despite all the fantastic how to help here!

 

[Happy Huku]

It has been raining today so I decided to play...

Found an old grooved something in the man cave and undid my old graduated akoyas, my recently purchased but not new freshwaters, my amethyst beads, my iolite beads and my green beads (forgotten what they are...). This is my meagre stash!!

This is the first attempt and comes to an approximate length of 35", the same length as another freshwater pearl and lapis necklace I have and find useful.

There is a total of 76 old graduated pearls from about 5mm to 2mm, some of the smaller ones are unusable. I wanted the bigger ones near the beautiful sapphire clasp and would wear it at the front or side as they are the main reason for my remodelling of this necklace.

The freshwaters have been drilled sideways so they would be flat next to the akoyas and beads, my grooved something didn't let them lie flat!

Funnily enough, I hardly ever wear green or purple but couldn't resist adding them to the mix!

All comments/constructive criticism most welcome...

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Very nice - the clasp is stunning!

I like the colour combination and the pattern variation.

 

[pattye]

Very interesting mix of sizes and colors, looking forward to seeing it finished! Great clasp!

 

[pkinnew]

I love the spacing and the colors! I think this will be a necklace that will look great single or doubled. And that clasp adds a great elegant touch!

 

[Happy Huku]

Thank you for your kind comments.
Yes, the clasp is beautiful and I love it.

Anyway, it is still raining here and I am still playing, I have now 'strung' them onto some of DH's fishing line.
Photos attached but may I say first - hmphh, Lowly Beaders, my bottom!
My admiration for all you clever 'lowly beaders' has increased 1000fold, I don't know how you do it.

I think my original graduated akoyas are a little lost in the general scheme of things but then I know they are there and were once a completely different strand altogether.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Here is something a bit different. I was practicing drilling larger holes in pearls, to string on chains and leather. I made this fun piece with them. The length can be adjusted and it also works great as a back necklace (with or without a pendant in the front).

 

[Sea Urchin]

Beatriz, I love your jewelry site!

Also, what size are these pearls? That is such a neat look. And that's even before discussing the opal at the back of it!

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Thank you! Those are 3-3.5mm. Aren't they cute?

 

[Sea Urchin]

Thank you! Those are 3-3.5mm. Aren't they cute?

They are adorable. I could see them with some giant pearl earrings!

 

[Katbran]

Those are really sweet little pearls ! Lady D And I love the leather look !

Huku- very fun necklace ! That will look great this summer !

 

[kelluvpearls]

Very nice Lady _Disdain and Happy Huku!

 

[Lady_Disdain]

They are from Stachura. Dyed freshwater and not very expensive. I can look up the SKU if anyone is interested.

 

[pattye]

Beatriz, love your interpretation of leather and pearls!

Happy Huku, soooo pretty and fun to think you can change it all again whenever you want!

 

[CathyKeshi]

It's been a while since I worked on reducing stash ... so on a recent rainy camping weekend managed to finish this necklace (don’t look too close at the ends LOL!). I've had the metallic FW pearl strand for some months now, pondering what to do. While it was lovely, way too many of the brightest orange and white pearls were at the center, which didn't suit me. The kind & considerate vendor whole heartedly encouraged me to return the strand, but some of the colors are so unique and beautiful I just couldn't. Finally decided to restring by color, not by size or shape, and separate with some tiny gems from an ombre strand of mixed sapphires, rhodolites and tourmalines. Would have liked the gems bigger (and bigger DRILL holes!) but that defeats the stash busting goal I'm really pleased with my new necklace. While the gems barely show up here, in sunlight they really sparkle.

 

[JerseyPearl]

I love the little gems in between the pearls...and I especially love the pistachio colors! Where did you find the little gemstone beads, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[CathyKeshi]

Those lavenders, greens, golds and pistachios are why I couldn't give up this strand. I got the tiny gemstone strand at one of the traveling Intergem Gem Shows, either Chantilly VA or Oaks PA. They are, as you can see, VERY tiny .... The strand was ombre bands of grey/beige, pinks to raspberries, and various green/greenyblue shades. Now what's left is a mishmash of gems in a little box, all of which DID NOT fit on my needle LOL. I did test the design, and strung 6 or 7 of those beads with no problem. Started in on the necklace, and had to go through 5 - 10 beads for every one on that necklace ... and 3/4 of the way through broke the thread, probably a rough spot inside a gem, sigh. But I'm pretty happy with the end result ... at least as long as I don't look at those ends grrrrrr.