Anatomy of a Design - Part III

Fortunately for me, the darker of the two colors of pink disks has a little bit of brown in it and what happens to be sitting in my “go back” pile of stuff from previous projects that I haven’t put away yet? I see some faceted smoky quartz rondelles which will add the perfect touch of depth and sparkle.

However, something is still missing. The piece needs a highlight of some sort. Well, the shell disks are, well, shells and that made me think of pearls and I had some pretty, white freshwater pearls in the “go back” pile also so I added those, too. I just love the “go back” pile. It really saves all that nasty wear and tear from me walking back and forth to the bead storage area. See, I told you laziness is an effective design tool!

With the addition of the pearls and smoky quartz, “Mermaid’s Treasure” is just about finished. I zapped on a clasp and it was done. I chose a hook clasp that can be hooked anywhere on the chain of the necklace which allows the finished piece to be adjustable in length. As usual, the scan doesn't quite do justice to it because you can't see the smoky quartz or appreciate the flashing reflectiveness of the silver disks, but trust me, in real life, it's FABULOUS! This is probably my favorite thing I've done since November of last year!

So, next time someone asks you what sunken Spanish galleons, high silver prices, Disneyland, bellydancers and laziness all have in common, you can tell them: “Mermaid’s Treasure.”