Bead Soup Blog Party Celtic Spring

 I haven't sat down with a pair of jewelry pliers in my hand in a very long time. One reason I decided to participate in this Bead Soup Blog Party was because I needed some motivation to get me to sit down with some pretty beads and make jewelry! And the lovely lampwork beads from Lara Lutrick were a great inspiration, along with the other goodies she sent to me.

 I was inspired by the spring-like colors to create something that reminded me of my garden. I used flower-shaped beads and ones that resembled snail shells, to go along with the flower and leaf design in the glass beads Lara sent me. I knew I wanted to feature the clasp, a Bali silver heart shaped toggle, and make the viking knit wire front and center.

 The pretty blue ribbon was used to give some softness behind the neck, the toggle is attached to it and tied to one side of the necklace. I like to wear necklaces with lots of color, and Lara's beads gave me tons of options to pull from. I like to keep things simple, so I used wire wrapped connections to make a single strand of color at the center.

 The celtic knot in the focal bead reminds me of the pattern of a wrought iron garden gate! All in keeping with the spring garden design idea.

 I started working with sterling heavy-gauge wire on the focal bead first. The wire is some sterling that I brought back from my trip to Ireland - I wanted to use it for something really special. From the center, I started working out, using Lara's beads and some from my stash, until I had a long enough strand to attach with large wire-work loops to the ends of the viking knit. That way, both the glass focal and the sterling wirework could be front and center in the necklace!

With the knotted ribbon off center in the front and the toggle showing - why hide it behind my neck, it should show up where it can be seen - I like the fact that it can easily be shortened if I wanted it to be choker length, by adjusting the ribbon tie. And very dainty and feminine it is, too. I also like that the focal bead is free to rotate, as both sides are very pretty and unique.

It will be great to wear with a dress, or with jeans and a t-shirt ... Or a lace camisole!

So there you have my necklace from the Bead Soup Blog Party.

Check out Lori Anderson's blog if you want to hop over to the many other participants, from the 1st, 2nd or this 3rd reveal. Click the link to see all of the participants of this 6th Bead Soup Blog Party Fiesta!

And many thanks to Lara - it was fun, and you are very talented!Be sure to drop by her blog and tell her how much you liked her beautiful lampwork beads ... If you want to see what she created with the pewter I sent her, take a look!