Melon seed jewelry

when i saw these necklaces, it was love at first sight! i discovered maya’s blog (and the necklaces) thanks to linda’s blog. i told myself that i just HAD to give it a go myself.

it’s quite simple: just remove the seeds from a melon (i used those melons that are yellow outside), wash them with some liquid soap or dish detergent and let them dry. then you color them however you want. i really liked the effect maya got coloring only half of each seed and leaving some uncolored. i also used some non-varnished wooden beads (some of which i colored). i wanted to repeat maya’s effect with big wooden beads, but i couldn’t find any around here. it’s a shame because mine didn’t come out as wonderful as hers.

to string them up, i used a needle and transparent thread (like a thin fishing line). then i thought that i could also make a bracelet which, in my opinion, looks quite nice without the big beads.

maya wrote that in the past she used nail polish to color the seeds but, now that she doesn’t have as much time on her hands, she uses markers. so i tried both ways. the orange ones are with nail polish and the purple ones with permanent marker (the much-loved sharpies). she’s right; using markers you can go a LOT faster because you can color the seeds and beads all at once. with nail polish, on the other hand, you have to do one side, let it dry and then do the other side. i had to use tweezers to hold them while painting. painting these little beads was a total disaster because i couldn’t hold onto them well enough, not even with tweezers. and then, after a while, the nail polish starts getting thick and stringy and very hard to use. (i’ve heard of a way to thin out thick nail polish, but i can’t remember how it’s done. do any of you know how?)

***update: maya told me that putting the little beads on a toothpick stuck into a corkboard (or i would try in styrofoam packaging) makes it much easier to paint them with nailpolish. i will definitely be using that trick next time!***

***update #2: i made a new necklace and tried the styrofoam idea!***

but in the end, i preferred the method with nail polish because the color is brighter and shinier and makes for a nicer effect, in my opinion. also, i discovered after a few days of using these that the color from the seeds and beads colored with the permanent marker started smudging off onto the seeds and a beads without color. apparently it never got completely absorbed. i don’t know if this is a defect just with the brand of markers that i used, but i would like to redo that necklace with purple nail polish. then i thought that you could also make nice little earrings with these seeds. maybe i’ll try that out when i remake my purple necklace…

so, thank you again, maya, for having shared this marvelous idea! i advise all of you to go check out her blog. besides having lots of great ideas for natural jewelry, she does tons of other lovely things.