Ugly beads - a challenge, Part 2

I didn't think I'd be back so soon. Seems that Mabel did some overtime and she came up with a few ugly bead designs.
I have to warn you, two of them are not really me. As I said, this challenge is pushing me over my personal limits. Yes, it's true, I did NOT use a crochet hook for them. Don't worry, it didn't take me long to go back to my beloved hooks as you will see on piece #3.

1. The green beads with the black spirals on them
Actually I like these beads although I'm not much of a green lover. Had they been a little smaller, I might have tried to combine them with crochet beads, but somehow I felt I had to pick up the spiral pattern. And maybe the 70s worked their way up in my brain again ... or in Mabel's ...
I did a little test and although it doesn't "flow" on your neck, due to the slightly springy nature, it's amazingly comfortable.


2. The "painter palette" beads
One problem with these beads is the "filling". While the powder in the green beads cleaned out pretty nicely in vinegar, the palettes have something inside that almost looks like concrete. I tried to clean it out as much as I could, but I was a little afraid to break them (in fact when I dropped one, not even from very high, it broke), so I looked for a way to cover the holes. My Bali silver beads were too small, the Bali cubes were not at hand which is always a problem if you have a sleeping feline on your feet and are too scared for your life to move, so I settled for seed beads instead which turned out quite pretty, I think. Probably the silver even would have been a little dull in the combination. Strung on silver and finished off with a black double suede cord it didn't look ugly to me.


3. The vase
Everyone saw vases in these beads. But what to put into the vase? Flowers, yes, but how? This is what I came up with. Crocheted blossoms with seed beads, green leaves and everything held together by sterling silver wire through the hole of the bead. It's a pity that the beads are so heavy, they would make nice earrings otherwise!


Now all that is left are the matryoshka beads and four more vase beads. I have another idea for the vases, but that will take a little longer, as for the matryoshkas I'm still pretty much at a loss. Some wire, some earwires, I know, but that would be so unoriginal, don't you think?
Again - I'll keep you updated ;-)

P.S. And while I struggled and worked and thought and designed today (I haven't even shown you my beach pebble pendants yet!), someone else took the chance to occupy my computer chair and to look adorable. Esme, my half vampirette (she lost one of her fangs recently, therefore half).