Here's another Make It Monday! This one is kind of funny - it's one of my favorite designs, but I would make it very different if I made it again! Read on for an in-depth explanation.
This is one strand each of natural red quartz and red carnelian, in 8mm. Putting it together was super simple - I threaded one strand on bead wire, and attached both ends to a soldered jump ring. I threaded the second strand, and simply wrapped it through the first one before attached both of those ends to a second soldered jump ring. Add my clasp to the two rings and voila! A finished design!
So why would I change it? To be entirely honest - it's far too short for me! A standard strand of beads is around 16 inches, and once you add the clasp this necklace comes to about that length. 16" necklaces tend to be much daintier, and I personally am not a fan of that length as I feel choked 😬
I do adore being able to take two very different stones in the same color family and mix them together in a unique way! Using something like rose quartz + botswana agate, amethyst + lepidolite, or moss agate + aventurine could offer some beautiful possibilities. You could even go contrasting - say, a gold hematite + lapis lazuli to bring out those gold flecks? 😍
The other route I considered with this design was to connect the strands to a connector instead of wrapping it within each other - so you'd end up with two strands on each side instead of one twisted strand, and a ring connector in the middle you could even dangle a pendant from. I'd bet you this design will come back around with some new changes!
Catch you on the first Monday of next month for another Make It Monday!