Have you heard of Black Lip Shell?

I originally picked up this pendant quite a while ago. I have never come across Black Lip shell before and this link will tell you quite a lot of information about it. All the pendant required for it to be the finished article was a bail and a chain. I can hear people now saying how can she claim that this is handmade and to some extent I agree. Normally I will add to the pendant with beads and embellish it even further. However time was running short, and to be honest I thought it looked beautiful enough on it's own. The other thought running through my head was it was Mothers Day on Sunday and maybe a more simple necklace might suit more people than a more elaborate necklace. The strange thing is that I was proved right as it was sold on Saturday. Maybe sometimes I should listen to the other person in my head (I was born in May and I am definately a gemini) and have some courage in my convictions and learn that sometimes less is more. I would love to hear what all the other crafters think about this subject. I have called it Black Lip shell pendant and it is strung on a sterling silver chain.

A Week of Firsts

This week is proving to be a week of firsts. Fimo, bookmarks and now Wire Wrapping. Now this is on a small scale, need to build up gradually. Actually when I first took the shell out I thought this was going to be a straight forward large shell on a cord and organza necklace. It wasn't until I looked at the shell closer that I discovered the six holes in the bottom. This caused me a problem what was I going to do, the shell was so large that I didn't want anything too long as I did not think they would suit. I tried just attaching some sort of drop beads with jump rings but they just didn't sit well. Anyway I took out my trusty books and magazines and sat for about 1/2 an hour looking through ideas and projects and the upshot was I decided to bite the bullet and try wire wrapping for the first time. Now what I have done is basic but I am quite happy with the finished result. I made a wrapped loop at one end of the bead, threaded the bead on and then made another wrapped loop at the other end, I then took the wire down one side of the bead wrapped it around the end and then took the wire down the other side of the bead and again wrapped it around the loop. And surprisingly it was not a difficult as I had convinced myself it would be, watch out for more examples, I shall definately be doing this again. Anyway enough waffle from me, here is the finished result. I have called it Shades of the Sea.