Baubles, Bangles, & Beads

On Saturday, I did something I thought I'd never do: beaded. I'm still convinced I don't really have an eye for it since I didn't do any actually pattern work, but I will present my first ever project (you guessed it, the necklace above). I did a bit of frustration-inducing work with jump rings to hook the bit of gold chain to the strands of gemstones (real blue tiger eye, pyrite, and coral), all under the supervision of a seasoned and extremely patient beader. We also decided that the toggle was too amazing to have hiding in the back, so it slowly made its way to the front of the piece. All in all, I do love this necklace, despite it weighing a good bit.

Searching through the assortments they had at the beading store reminded me of when I was a kid and obsessed with gemstones, y'know, going to the science store or museum and searching through the piles of rocks they had in their gift stores, sorting them in little compartmentalized containers, forcing anyone within 20 feet to listen to me list the different stones I had in my collection. Then you get a little older and read Chaucer and realize stones were believed to have magical powers and you think, how awesome!, and begin to research more and more. Geez, I'm shaking my head at myself as I type this. Anyway, good times.