Freeform Beaded Fairy Tale Flower Pendant

Over the long holiday weekend, I got a chance to work on a small project for Artbeads.com's blogging challenge entitled 'What's Old is New Again'. Artbeads was kind enough to send me a piece of 16g sterling silver half hard wire and some new Toho seed beads! My challenge was to incorporate something old into the design. So, I chose an antique watch face! A few years ago, I picked up a bag full of old watch parts at an antique market in London. I love to use these because, to me, they add a bit of mystery. I always wonder what the watch might have looked like, who wore it, and where they had to be at any given time...

For this piece, first I formed a flower shape out of the wire. I stitched the watch face onto a piece of Ultrasuede, and began beading around it. I then used a freeform peyote stitch technique to fill in the flowers' petals with seed beads. I stitched white beads onto the front of the flower, and a green seed bead mix onto the reverse side. This really adds visual depth to the piece! After I completed the beadwork, I added a brown leather cord. This is definitely one of the more unique art pieces I have ever created. It almost looks like something out of Alice in Wonderland, but not quite.. So, I decided to call it a Fairy Tale Flower Pendant, and I listed it in my Etsy shop. What does it remind you of? :D

*Please note: I have received the above mentioned products free of charge from Artbeads.com. This is my honest review of the products and I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received.