GALLERY 5: DAYS OF THE DEAD FLAG NECKLACES
These two necklaces were made from sets of Days of the Dead Flag beads by Sabrina Koebel of SabrinaDesigns. (http://myworld.ebay.com/sabrinadesign)My necklace and earrings, on the left, are made from a single larger bead (middle) Sabrina made and two smaller beads from a set of four. Sabrina also supplied the round spacer beads. I wanted to make this necklace symbolic of a Days of the Dead Ofrenda altar, but couldn't figure out how to make enough marigolds small enough to decorate the altar concept. Then I realized the marigolds are usually, like the beads, arranged in ropes. In the latest Step by Step Beads Nov/Dec. 2007 issue there's an article called Twist and Shout by Linda Gettings showing how to make a peyote spiral rope with crystals. Her choices were purples but I figured if I made mine with marigold colors of yellows, oranges and reds and used the fire colored Swarovskis I could incorporate both the marigolds, which stand for the earth element in the altar (along with the glass fruits I added to the middle) and the fire element of the crystals, representing candles traditionally found on the altar. The banners, a lampwork representation of the papel picado banners found on the altars, personify the element of air. For the water element I chose blue glass drops and used them to frill the bottoms of the ropes framing the fruits. A plastic bone toggle from a K Mart set completed the necklace. For the earrings, I took two beads from a 7 bead set of sugar skull I purchased from Sabrina, added two fire colored Swarovski teardrop pendants (again, these can stand in for candle flame) and hooked them together. For pictures of Days of the Dead altars that are not jewelry, visit my Purrsonals section.
My friend Tania is tall and slender with a slim neck and she plays the fiddle so she needs a necklace that will not bang against her fiddle, or that she can scoot over out of the way. The little mini set I bought from Sabrina seemed perfect. Sabrina also made the two flanking beads, both green, one with blue dots, one with orange. I supplied the orange spacer beads and the simple seedbead strand, along with a bone toggle from a set of plastic skulls and bones Lea Day bought for me at K-Mart.
All images and patterns © copyright 2004 Elizabeth Ann Scarborough. All rights reserved.