Designing a new necklace…..
Morning to you all, had a great nights sleep so I am now ready to start the day creatively!
When I have a focal bead or pendant that I want to use for a new necklace project the first thing I do is look for beads & spacers thhat I think will work well as accents for the focal bead. I will do all of this before thinking about what I am going to use for connecting them together or even how they will be spaced.
I will then end up with a pile of beads I can use, I probably won’t use all thhe beads I have selected but I like to have some choice in my selection. My next task is set out my focal bead on my bead board and start arranging thhe other beads on the bead board to create a design. This is the part I like best and like to have my camera next to me so I can take snap shots of deisgns I like while I am still swapping and changing the beads around. I usually spend far too long on this part of the process, but in the end getting a design that looks good is the main aim so it deserves the time.
Once I have decided on a design I will usually take a quick look through the photos I have taken to see if there was a better design I had done and then swap round if needed. I will usually keep the photos to use as inspiration later. I have a scrapbook where I keep photos of finished designs along with photos taken during the design stage, I find these are great for days when I have no ideas what to do.
The next stage for me is to decide how I am going to connect them. This usually depends alot on the design, ie how close or far apart the beads are in the design, the colours and style I am looking for.
The clasp is last on the agenda but by no means an afterthought. There are lots of beautiful clasps available so you need to look at what will suit the style of the necklace.
I usually take another photo at this stage just incase something gets knocked or I have to put it away to finish another time, then my time spent designing has not gone to waste (although I never mind spending the time designing).
Hopefully this has given you an insight into how I design, whichh may be helpful to you.
I will be adding some how to guides over the next couple of weeks so if there is anything you want to know first then just let me know.
See You Soon X X X X
