While the kids were at home having playdates, I tried to find something to do so that I wasn’t hovering, wasn’t in the kids way, but was somewhere close by and busy looking so they wouldn’t think that I was pouring over their every word to each other. So this week I did a lot of jewelry making.
The first thing I made was very basic, just a few bits added to a big key on a chain to match some earrings I already had. The clear looking bead is actually purple.
The next one was in a similar vein: I have tons of pendants, but rarely wear them. So I made a Lisa Necklace (like a charm bracelet) with all little things that I like and have pendants for.
The next one is a necklace that I’ve had in my mind for quite a long time. I got the bigger beads at a bead shop in Kerrville in 2005. It’s a little raw around the top edges, but the way I wear it my hair always hides those parts, so I’m not concerned about fixing that right now.
The next necklace I’ve also been meaning to make for quite a while. I bought the beads in a bead boutique in Branson, Missouri a couple years ago, then never got around to making it. The flowers are glass, but the little dark beads are garnet. The other beads are sterling silver. The big one at the bottom is a slice of paisley granite. I love it! 
The last necklace I finished today, finally, after having to take it all apart again today because I forgot one of the shells at the bottom. I got some of these beads at Hobby Lobby in town after last summers stuff went on sale. The golden pearls came from a bead shop in town. The small shells came from an old, old necklace David brought home from camp years ago. (Amusingly enough, we’ve inadvertently had a fish theme today: we ate goldfish crackers while watching the Incredible Mr. Limpet and fixing this necklace. None of that was planned.)
I have one last necklace planned for this week before moving on to some cross-stitching. I’ll try to remember to post a photo of it when I’m done.
