Beth Stone has two seed bead stitching books - with the second one appropriately titled More Seed Bead Stitching: Creative Variations on Traditional Techniques . It has a lovely Daisy Chain necklace on the front and I had to try something similar. You can see it in the picture above, right in the middle - which is a little strange because the necklaces on my cover are exactly the same, but in a different order!
I have lots of bead soup and I'm still learning about color combinations, so I thought this was a great project for me. Rather than follow the instructions from More Seed Bead Stitching, I actually used the basic daisy chain instructions from Beth's first book Seed Bead Stitching. Her instructions are very simple and helpful - especially since it made me realize that even though I've been doing daisy chains since I'm a kid, I don't think I was ever really doing them the 'right' way.
I love the variations and projects in the book for daisy chain. I can't believe I never considered moving the center of the daisy to the outside, or making a stacked daisy chain. These are just two of the several variations that Beth explores in the projects and instructions. She also adds dangle beads to daisy chains. All of these are ideas that I will try to explore in the future - but for now, I wanted my bead soup daisy chain!
So, I started stitching and immediately realized that standard daisy chain uses the same beads repetitively for the daisy and the center - which makes it easy to create each stitch since you know how many petal beads there will be. By using a bead soup, I made it more difficult on myself since I have to decide when I make each flower, how big will the flower be, how many petal beads do I need for the chosen center bead, etc.
So, that means my project is not moving as quickly as I would like, but I am still excited by the results. There are so many little things I can imagine with these daisies... Hair accessories - like a headband or bobby pins. Earrings with a couple of daisies? A daisy band ring is a definite yes! There are projects in the book for a variety of rings in varying widths and styles.
I am definitely loving this book and there are still many more stitches for me to tackle! As always, you can see more of my jewelry on my main blog at Lisa Yang Jewelry or on my Pinterest board for My Creations.
Great idea with the "bead soup" daisy chain. I learned to make these when I was a child and still enjoy the process. Thanks! Camille
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