My Inspiration for Moon Tears
- Layered necklaces. This trend is still going strong at shops like Anthropologie.
- Celestial colors. I noticed lots of sparkle in July's Pretty Palettes. I used one of Erin Prais-Hintz's bead choices (aqua glass 8mm rounds #80151) and others from my own stash.
- The new Pixar movie Inside Out. This story showcases the inner emotions of an 11-year-old girl. I couldn't get the character Sad out of my head and she inspired the "tears" part of this necklace.
Four Strands, Many Looks
I made four strands for this necklace (numbers are for the Bead Gallery beads at Michaels):
- A large teardrop pendant (#10288320) strung on small gunmetal curb chain.
- Wire wrapped rough lava rounds (#10112507) and faceted clear AB glass coins (#10290739) inside a few links of large, round gunmetal chain.
- Beaded links using round aqua glass round beads (#80151) and silver-plated eye pins and jump rings.
- Two types of AB rondelles (#82520 and #81230) and clear faceted glass discs strung on metallic silver leather cord and finished with silver cones.
Design Tips for Layered Necklaces
- For a more sophisticated design, add a bit of contrast to the texture or finish in your bead choices. The rough lava rounds make a nice contrast to the smooth sparkle of most of the beads. I've also mixed gunmetal and silver findings.
- Incorporate similar elements in more than one strand to make them "go together" and look less random. For example, two of the strands use different types of gunmetal chain.
- Use a neckform to layer the necklaces as you work to make sure that they look the way you want when layered. I made my layers fairly distinct, but if you look at fashion magazines, you'll see that some layered necklaces are meant to look more tangled with overlapping strands.
The Hidden Secret
This necklace has a secret. I've added lobster clasps to the ends of each of the necklaces, making it possible to wear them alone (just connect the lobster clasps to each other) or attach them in any number and combination to the multistrand bar clasp. You can also attach the lobster clasps to chain links or jump rings, as I did with the beaded aqua strand.
This would be a great type of necklace to take with you on vacation. You could wear some form of it every day and never get bored!