Sweet Child of Mine

I wrote the other day about the challenge of necklaces. My own personal challenge it seems - many designers I know seem to think necklace first and bracelet very much later. My brain is funny like that. 

I also promised that I would share my other necklaces from that particular necklace-making session. Those sessions tend to only happen when I have stern words with myself, and epic events on the horizon....! It began with my wheeling myself off to a cafe (my travelling beads have reached such proportions that I use a mini wheelie suitcase right now - not my usual but it does tend to happen with a big event around the corner....I am *not* one for travelling light, it seems), ordering some tea, resisting cake with the mental promise of hot chocolate further down the line, and pawing through my bead boxes. 

And this is what happened:

In all honesty, I'm not totally sure how it did. These designs usually come about because I am drawn to a particular art bead in my stash - something that gets up and shouts 'pick me, pick me!'. I've had the gorgeous puffed ceramic heart from the hands of Nancy Schindler-Adams for a while now, over a year in fact, but somehow (although I love it), it never quite made itself heard. Something about that particular shade of yellow - I'm never too good with the greener yellows. And then the grey-black wash over it too....I just wasn't sure how to use it in a way that was both the heart, but also 'me', if you know what I mean. 

I think it actually began with the pressed glass - the grungy, rough-cut black/bronze faceted rounds, and the bonnie turquoise poppies. And then it sort of fell together and flowed from there....

Sometimes it's like that. You get to the end of something and are never quite sure how it happened, even though you are rather glad it did!

Some more grungy, rough-cut frosted grey/black faceted glass beads - these are 'English Cuts' although I'm never quite sure what makes them English - one of my favourite pewter Green Girl Studio keys (my stash is very, very low of these, I must remedy that as soon as I have the pennies!) and a couple of my 'end-of-day' handwoven glass {song}beads. Somehow, it balanced itself out, all by itself. 

Black and green-yellow - two colours (yes, I know that's technically incorrect, but never mind!) I rarely work with. Yet here, they both leapt to the forefront of my designer/maker brain. I'm glad they did. 

And, for those children of the eighties like me, here's a bit of nostalgia that (of course) inspired the title. I couldn't quite bring myself to drop the F from of, but Guns n' Roses had no issues there. A real classic - when size truly mattered in a man - hair size, that is. And also, I feel in the shoulder department - check out Axel's from 0.26"! Worthy of Dallas, I'm sure.