Jaded

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my great grandmother was a woman of many talents and is a source of inspiration to me.  While going through a box of old things, I ran across a bag of jade beads that used to belong to her.  I had long ago decided to restring the beads, but I hadn't had a good idea for how exactly to string them until recently.

I wanted to make a necklace that used ribbon, and I found some gorgeous purple velvet ribbon at Joann Fabrics.

To string the beads, I used a silk thread.  In hindsight, I think I should have gotten a colored thread that would have blended in a bit bitter...

Basically,  I cut two strips of the velvet ribbon about two feet in length each.  Then I looped the string around the center of one velvet ribbon and tied a knot.  Next, I threaded one bead at a time onto the silk thread, tying a knot after each one like an old fashioned pearl necklace.  Once the beaded portion was as long as I wanted, I secured the thread to the center of the other ribbon.  Voila!

 

I'm happy with the result and I love the fact that it's adjustable (and super easy to make!)