craftgrrl | Long Overdue Necklace Post (Reply)

I took up beading this past summer just as an excuse to hang out with my aunt and my two cousins. These were made then (I know, that was a while ago) and I think that, for me, beading isn't a hobby that's going to stick. I still have several 'not started' and 'half-finished' projects lying around.

Warning: Image Heavy!

Bakelite is one of the first kinds of plastics invented and was used in common household items like hairbrushes and handles to silverware. Now it's become a pretty collectable item. These necklaces have Bakelite scarf ties as centerpieces. Some of the beads are also vintage from around the same period.

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The yellow ring is the Bakelite piece.	The darker oval bead and the kind of tulip shaped bead are vintage from the 1950s.

There were two of these yellow Bakelite pieces being sold together, so I made a green one...	and a pink one. The swirling pattern in the Bakelite is pretty cool looking.


I like the color combinations in this necklace but I think the green one is a stronger look.	None of these beads are vintage.


This is my favorite of the Bakelite necklaces. This is also the first piece I bought (basically because my Mom was standing next to me telling me to do it) and I just think everything about it is cool; the color and the shape.	See? The bead at the top there is vintage.


I really love the colors in this necklace as well. Everything just pops.	The most interesting vintage bead with a unique shape I haven't seen duplicated (but sadly, I broke one while making this necklace).


This was the first necklace I made. The scarf tie came in a little baggie with a necklace I bought in an antique mall.	The green beads are vintage and look amazing on the red thread.

Detail on the scarf tie.


Originally I bought a bunch of beads from Wal Mart thinking I'd make an entirely plastic necklace. It didn't work out when the beads turned out to be nearly impossible to string.	Heart drawn on white shrink plastic with a drafting pen, left to dry for two days and cut out.


Close-up of the hole I (thankfully) remembered to make for the thread.	I ended up using the nice (and all new) glass beads my cousin helped me pick out to finally get an end product I was satisfied with. I still think it's the emo-est necklace ever.