Frame & Fortune - Carnelian & Seed Set

Combine carnelian beads and organic seed frames to form Michelle Nazar's striking set

Michelle Nazar, MJ Designer

Create a stunning effect with organic seed frames, threaded with a variety of semi-precious stones. The natural brown of these pieces sets off the beauty of orange carnelian, bright chalcedony and glittery goldstone beads to perfection and the whole necklace is built around a fabulous silver and onyx slider pendant. Create a pair of matching earrings and prepare to really dazzle!

Necklace

1. For Frame 1 take a 40mm organic seed frame and form a wrapped loop at the end of a length of 0.6mm gold wire. Pass it through the upper hole of the seed frame and thread on a 6mm goldstone round, a carnelian needle, a pink chalcedony briolette, and two more carnelian needles. Go through the lower hole in the seed frame and close with another wrapped loop. As a finishing touch, take a gold head pin and thread on a fancy gold spacer and a 4mm goldstone round. Close with a wrapped loop and attach to the lower loop of the seed frame.
2. Repeat for Frame 2, but thread on a 4mm goldstone round, pyrite briolette, three carnelian needles, and a 6mm pink chalcedony round. Pass through the lower hole in the seed frame and close with another wrapped loop. Attach a drop with a fancy gold spacer and a 4mm goldstone bead to the bottom of the frame, as before.
3. Bead Frame 3 in the same way, with a 6mm carnelian round, a pink chalcedony briolette, two carnelian needles and an 8mm goldstone round. Pass through the bottom of the frame and secure with a wrapped loop, adding a fancy gold spacer and a 4mm goldstone bead drop as before.
4. Bead Frame 4 with a carnelian needle, pyrite briolette, two carnelian needles, and a 6mm pink chalcedony round, securing with a wrapped loop and adding a fancy gold spacer and a 4mm goldstone bead drop at the bottom. Make up Frame 5 with a 6mm pink chalcedony round, two carnelian needles, a pyrite briolette, and another carnelian needle. Secure with a wrapped loop and add a gold spacer and 4mm goldstone drop at the base.
5. For Frame 6, thread with a carnelian needle, a pink chalcedony briolette, two more carnelian needles, and an 8mm goldstone round, securing with a wrapped loop and adding a gold spacer and 4mm goldstone drop at the bottom. Make up Frame 7 with a 6mm pink chalcedony round, a carnelian needle, a pyrite briolette and two more carnelian needles, securing with a wrapped loop and adding a spacer and goldstone bead drop.
6. Finally, make up Frame 8 with an 8mm goldstone round, two carnelian needles, a pink chalcedony briolette and two more carnelian needles, securing with a wrapped loop. Attach a spacer and goldstone bead drop at the bottom, then set all of the frames aside. Form a wrapped loop in 0.5mm gold wire and pass it through the top of a 60mm carnelian oval frame. Bead with a carnelian needle, a carnelian dagger, a pyrite briolette, another carnelian needle and a pink chalcedony briolette. Pass through the bottom of the carnelian frame, closing with a wrapped loop.
7. Cut 5.3cm of 0.6mm gold wire and form a wrapped loop at one end. Thread on a 40mm orange agate nugget and press down the loop so that it sits flat against the bottom. Add a fancy gold spacer and close with a wrapped loop, before attaching it to the loop at the bottom of the carnelian frame.
8. Cut 51.3cm of 0.18” gold bead stringing wire and pass it through the top loop of the carnelian frame, so that it falls in the middle. On the right-hand side, thread a 4mm carnelian cube, a 12mm goldstone rectangle, the top loop of Frame 1, a 6mm carnelian round and a 8mm carnelian round. Pass the wire through one end of an onyx and silver slider pendant, then slip on another 8mm carnelian round, Frame 2, two 8mm carnelian rounds, Frame 3, two 8mm carnelian rounds, Frame 4 and 14, 8mm carnelian rounds, finishing with a 6mm carnelian round and a coco shell rondelle.
9. sequence on the other side of the carnelian frame using Frames 5, 6, 7 and 8 as shown above. Attach a gold hook to one end of the beading wire and a 12cm length of oxidised silver chain to the other, using gold wire protectors, gold crimps and calottes.
10. Cut 43.7cm of gold bead stringing wire and attach with a gold crimp to the bottom loop of Frame 8. Thread on seven coco shell rondelles, pass through the bottom loop of Frame 7 and thread on more coco shell rondelles. Go through the bottom loop of Frame 6 and thread on more coco shell rondelles as required, then thread through the bottom loop of Frame 5. Add 22 coco shell rondelles then take the wire through the bottom loop of the carnelian frame.
11. Repeat the stringing order of Step 10 in reverse, attaching the end of the beading wire to the bottom of Frame 4 with a gold crimp. To complete, thread a fancy gold spacer and a 12mm goldstone rectangle onto a head pin, securing with a wrapped loop, and attach to the end of the oxidised silver chain.

Earrings

1. Create stunning matching earrings to complete the set
2. Hang a pyrite briolette from the bottom, then attach a silver and onyx ear hook to the top loop
3. Pass 5.5cm of 0.5mm gold wire through a fancy gold spacer and seed frame, securing with a wrapped loop
4. Add a 4mm faceted carnelian bead, pink chalcedony briolette, three carnelian needles and a 6mm goldstone bead, finishing with a wrapped loop