Micro Macrame Mandala Necklaces

Color me excited, people!  I can finally share!  I'm extra super excited about this one because this is the bead that gave me back my mojo.  I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been in a major slump lately.  And by "lately" I mean more than six months.  Other things have been going on in my life and just sort of took the joy out of me.  It's like I've been extra appreciative of time I can spend with my family and friends, but there's just been nothing left when it came time to create something.  I've been going through the motions and doing a bit of designing for the Beadsmith but the passion just hasn't been there. And then this happened!

Steven (Beadsmith Biggie) called and asked if I could design something using a new super secret bead.  I said "sure" because I never say no to Steven (he's a really nice guy who sends me beads!) and because I kept hoping to find that spark again.  The beads arrived and they were pink.  Uh huh.  Well, more coral which is better than baby pink but still close enough to pink in my book to scare the bejezus out of me.  And then it was Christmas.  And then my family all came down with Influenza A.  And then my grandmother (she's 92) fell and broke her hip.  

When I finally managed to sit down to make something I was only one week away from my deadline.  The super secret beads are called Paisley Duos and are a really pretty paisley shape with two holes.  There's another paisley shaped bead on the market but you can't just flip it over to make the paisley shape curve the other direction like you can with this new bead.  I have always been a fan of paisley...

I tried really hard to find a design to really showcase the beads and I really wanted to show them going both directions but the harder I tried to force it, the more I disliked the outcome.  And then it came to me!  I wanted to try working them into a round mandala-like design.  

Finally!  A piece that felt like it was from my heart.  I am just a tiny bit disappointed that it seems to show off the Gem Duos (the white diamond shaped beads) a bit more than the Paisley Duos but I'm calling it a win.

And what's more, I've been loving my micro macrame time again.  I've tried several variations on this mandala design and each has been beautiful and unique (including the one I've already shown you in this post).  I'll show you them in more detail in my next few posts, but here's a peek at my micro macrame mandala necklaces: 

Look out world!