Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Melon Seed Necklaces - Organic jewelery





I have always been inspired by the lavish, ever-inspiring nature and its incredible power of taking care of its loved ones. In every sense of the word. Whether it regards providing food, clothes or decoration.

I would love to linger on the latter. The primal source of the ancient people to embellish their homes and garments. Back at uni I used to make myself necklaces by using these gifts of nature. So today I returned to the roots again and used the fruits of nature to create a series of organic jewelery. I am going to share my ideas here and the first to be introduced are

The Melon necklaces






Tips for using melon seeds:


If you want to make a necklace or something else, scoop the seeds with a spoon and wash them in warm water with mild washing detergent to take off the slimy fibers. Then, let them sun/air dry. I usually put them onto a cotton napkin so they wouldn't stick to it. It is great if the seeds are big because they are easier for manipulation.

Once dry I love to add a little colour. For my necklaces I used ordinary markers, (in the past I was more patient and used nail polish in different colours). I painted half of the seed because I like the effect they create when stringed together.



When piercing the seeds it is best if you do that in the middle. If you make a hole near the edges the seed might easily split.

After being painted, apply transparent nail polish on the colored parts so that the seeds don't bleed due to body heat/sweat or just simply if you get caught in the rain with them :) 

UPDATE (July 2019) Use acrylic paints instead of markers!!



Choose your favourite colours, string the seeds and make yourself some eye-catching jewelry!



32 comments:

KJ@letsgoflyakite said...

Wow! I have never seen anything like this. It's so striking. This is really wonderful Maya.

Maya Kuzman said...

Thank you KJ!

Hattie said...

I need to buy a melon, because this is just beautiful!

Mruna Mistry said...

I remember my grandmother used to make these for me...Yours look lovely with the half painted seeds!

Barbara said...

Can you tell us what you used to pierce the seeds ?


Love just the splash of color

Maya Kuzman said...

Barbara: I used an ordinary embroidering needle (aided by a thimble) to pierce the seeds and to bead them I used cotton thread for some of them (since I made about 6-7 necklaces) and for others I used a fishing line.

deanna7trees said...

love this. i will give it a try.

Sheri@childmade.com said...

NEVER would have guessed your necklace was made from seeds! Well done! Thanks for sharing ... I've posted a link.

Stacie said...

These are wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
Best regards,
Stacie
http://jewelrymaking.craftgossip.com/

loverachel said...

Wow, this is so pretty! How long does something like this last? For years? Or do the seeds eventually fall apart?

Maya Kuzman said...

loverachel:I still keep the ones I made in the past and they are about 15 years old and as good as new! So I guess they can last forever, if you don't wet them, that is.

Valerie said...

awesome !!!

Clara in Paradise said...

This is so gorgeous. That's exactly the kind of jewelry I love. You really d have a lot of patience though.

I love your new profile picture. You look like a Madonna (the renaissance type, no the silly bimbo type).

Maya Kuzman said...

Clara: I am glad you like them. I am the type that likes that kind of jewelery. Happy to have a mind/soul mate!
And thank you on the lovely comment about my profile picture. I couldn't stop laughing when I read it! I thought I would get a fit! ;)

PEACHES said...

GAHHHH! Oh gooodness how I love this somethin rotten! I'm just crazy about the look of it, but using seeds just makes it more amazing. What a beauty!
*Bookmarking NOW*

Andrea @ TheTrainToCrazy.com said...

That is crazy cute! Can't believe what it is made out of!

Cucicucicoo said...

i absolutely love this and HAVE to try it! just a question, what did you use for the big round things? they remind me of avocado seeds, but i can't imagine those would be very easy to thread!
btw, i love the rest of your blog, too. i just discovered it and immediately became a follower! :) lisa

Maya Kuzman said...

Lisa: Thank you for being here!
I failed to mention that the big round things are wooden beads.

Cucicucicoo said...

thanks for letting me know! i can't wait to give this a try! :) lisa

Leisel said...

So beautiful! A fantastic idea. Thanks for linking!

Leisel

le Méli Mélo de Val said...

Such a beautiful idea.

Cucicucicoo said...

i finally finished mine and posted about them! they're not as beautiful as yours, but i'm still happy! :) lisa
http://cucicucicoo-eng.blogspot.com/2010/10/melon-seed-jewelry.html

The Beading Gem said...

It's not what you use but HOW you use it that counts! This melon seed necklace tutorial is awesome. Thanks for sharing. I will link in a future blog post so others can come see what a fabulous project this is.

Pearl
http://www.beadinggem.com

Cucicucicoo said...

hi maya, i made a new necklace and tried the suggestion you gave me for painting small beads (which was wonderful!). thanks so much again! :) lisa
http://cucicucicoo-eng.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-necklace-with-melon-seeds.html

Nisa InDizzy said...

hi maya, it's so pretty. i luv it, and i'll give it try. thank you for sharing

HJC Editor said...

Your tutorial is an awesome inspiration! Many thanks for sharing. I would like to feature your designs at http://www.handmade-jewelry-club.com/

Contact me here if you have a concern.

Jane
http://diylessons.org/

aCon said...

hi maya, these are really cool. i think i'll give it a try. do you lacquer them with anything or do they keep pretty well?
thanks!

Maya Kuzman said...

@aCon: The ones shown in the tutorial are not lacquered and they are as good as new. As suggested in the tutorial instead of using markers you may employ nail polishers only the polishing and drying process would take a while.
If you want to lacquer seeds colored with markers I suggest you leave them to try otherwise the color might get smudged.

kpeebles said...

Absolutely gorgeous!

Unknown said...

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tatoou said...

Really,really late to the game, but I found an adorable little 'beaded' shoulder bag purse at a thrift store & upon closer inspection, realized it was made completely out of, not beads, but SEEDS! I'd never seen anything like it! Uniformly sized seeds, shiny,laquered brown & in tight, alternating rows forthe body with seeds strung into daisy shapes as accents & for the shoulder strap. Must be a million seeds!! (Well, not a 'million,' but just SO many! And seems so labor intensive if done by hand!?!)...I wondered if the seeds were even real or not,So and bit into a couple which did seem to have organic insides, not plastic or poly material! I'm just fascinated w it & researched to find out how common it was too reuse seeds for craft projects when I found this...possibly the only melon seed project on the internet! Thanks for posting this in case I need a cute necklace or bracelet to go with my purse! 👜📿💃

Maya Kuzman said...

Hi there tatoou and thank you for stopping by! This is an old project and I am sure you can find other (craft) seed projects, but I am honored by your comment and happy my seed necklaces are still interesting for people :)