Dancing Lanterns Necklace

Hi creative friends,

Thanks for joining me here as I create along with the September Pretty Palettes inspiration.  This month, Erin chose a Korean Buddhist festival which is replete with colorful, light-filled rows of paper lanterns.  The photos are fantastic, but it must be even more amazing in person to be surrounded with rows and rows of wonderful color against the night sky.

Here's one of the photos she used for inspiration:

Brightly colored lanterns adorn the entire city of Seoul, South Korea to celebrate the birth of Buddha.

Here are the beads that she chose from Michaels:

Beads selected from Michaels L to R:

82867 – Salmon pink glass 6/0 seed beads
96510 – Crackle quartz multi matte 10mm
98230 – Multi floral ceramic 9mm
94513 – Multi howlite stone flower rondelle (these are some of my favorites!)
94999 – gold plated lantern OR 90730 – antique silver plated lantern
97767 – black matte glass beads 4mm
77449 – gold plated Charm Gallery lotus flower OR 77463 – silver plated Charm Gallery lotus flower

At Michaels, I picked out the crackle quartz, the flower rondelles and the black matte beads.  Then, I added some silver bead caps that I reminded me of lanterns.  As I worked on the necklace, I found that I liked the color and shape of the flower rondelles and decided to add more of the bright colored beads in different shapes.  I chose butterflies and stars to add to the mix.  I used black chain, gunmetal jump rings and silver wire, head pins and eye pins.  To connect the rows of dancing lanterns, I used some black filigree buttons.  I love these buttons and have several different styles and colors in my stash; they are so versatile.  

I wanted to capture the effect of rows of bright lanterns swinging in the breeze.  This necklace will definitely sway as you walk and move.  It's perfect for the lantern festival or your next festa or fiesta!  And, although it looks big, the chain makes it light and easy to wear.

Dancing Lanterns Necklace

I really liked the flower rondelles, so I used them in a couple of different ways - stacking them to make a lantern with the silver cap on top and hanging below them sideways so you can see the flower shape.

Here it is laid flat:

Dancing Lanterns Necklace

And, here are some earrings:

Dancing Lanterns Earrings

I've still got the bracelet to finish, which is a chain bangle bracelet.  And, although I love the crackle beads, they just didn't want to play with the bright beads here.  Do you have beads like that?  Stubborn little things!  So, I will use their subtle glow somewhere else.

Be sure to stop by the Halcraft blog to see all the amazing designs created from the Pretty Palettes inspiration!  Thanks, Erin!  Can't wait to see what you come up with next month! 

Happy Creating!

Terry