Challenge Entry- Rock Magic
When I pick out a crystal or rock to work with, I often find myself looking for certain traits. They should be shaped a certain way to hold a cradle, whether wire or beaded. The smoother they are, the harder it will be to hold onto a cradle (and glue just doesn’t work for me), so I look for growths or indentations at the base. Just one is enough, if I can get my crafting material to stick.
I like to cut wire a bit longer than what I need for the wrapping. That way, I can spin the ends to make a pair of antennae. Then take each end and curve it to make a heart shape. The spun length then wraps around the crystal as part of the decoration and the ends are tucked into the heart shape, where they aren’t as easy to catch on anything.
When beading, I begin with a circle of beads around the base of the crystal. Wrap the thread around twice through the beads to tighten their grip, though it makes the second row harder to sew. From there, I can choose my stitch: brick or peyote. Brick sews each bead to the row before it in a loop or whipstitch, while peyote skips a bead in between while using something similar to a running stitch. If there is a growth at the base of the crystal, I make a loop of beads to go around it; and if there’s a concave area, I skip a bead once in a while to keep the beads tight around the crystal. Add a bead once in a while to cover a bulge. Then skip a bead once in a while to pull the cradle over the end of the crystal. I make a loop of beads sewn tightly to each other several times with which to hang the crystal- metal jump rings or chains will cut through thread while you are wearing the pendant, so I go back over the sewing several times.
