Memorium

This necklace is a special memorial piece, the photos is of my mother's sister when she was a little girl, it's her dress, legs and feet, and her hand in the upper left corner of the photo.

I made most of the unusual components on the necklace, the large fleur-de-lys and the filigree-capped beads on the chain. The faux ivory game piece die and the faux vintage cameo, as though from a family necklace handed down. To see the story and see more photos, go to the Art Bead Scene for my Studio Saturday post yesterday.

A friend gave me the large skeleton key in this photo and made me a challenge to use it in a design - so here's where it ended up! As part of this chain in the necklace ...

A while back last fall I sponsored a charm / bead / clasp exchange, and I've been promising to show the necklace I made using some of the charms. Mary Harding made a gorgeous necklace, putting all the charms on it together. I've been making pieces individually but put several on this one necklace.

The focal is called "Medici Gate" and I made it from glass and metal, it's hanging from the large skeleton key. Suspended from the bottom of the focal from soldered wire loops are three of the charms from the swap.


One is Gaea's ceramic heart charm, looks like it might be raku with the crackle design, suspended from my stamped brass link with the numbers "1-2" on it. Counting, like the old child's game of one-two-buckle my shoe rhyme.

Another is the bottle of gold flakes with the word 'LEAF' on the front of the bottle that I made. I like the pun contained in it, 'gold leaf'. Did you get it? I know, it's a bad pun but I couldn't resist it.


The center one is by Lorelei Eurto, with a small key and dangle over her stamped metal component
with the word 'H-O-M-E' on it.

It feels ancient and reminds me of friends, near and far, who made it possible by their gifts and generosity to me.

As a bonus - it jingles when I move!