Using the Muse

I finally finished my necklace and uploaded my form for Use The Muse IV, a beading challenge hosted by Scarlett Lanson. This was a great challenge. It had some wonderful beads to use and the Muse fit perfect with all of them. According to the rules, I can't say, in any way, what the Muse is until the Big Reveal. Then all of the pictures of the pieces that were sent in will be posted to The Beaders Muse.

I can show you a bit of my piece, tho', but not the Muse.

Magna Mater Medallion Necklace

I was able to use a strand of Rhyolite, some faceted Tigereye rounds and a strand of faceted Picture Jasper rondells with some tinier Tigereye and Jasper beads I had in my stash. While looking through the rest of my stones, I found a bag of Tigereye drops and decided to bring them out and see if they would fit. They did. I ordered extra beads from Artbeads.com (great supplier) and added two colors of green seed beads to it. The colors from the kit inspired me to go with a nature theme and this time of year the weather here can be very dark and rainy with brief flashes of sun. I can look out my window and see the hemlock, douglas fir and cedars. Green branches and great woody trunks, the raindrops on the tips of the branches look like crystals, sparkling when a splash of sunlight hits them. The Magna Mater Medallion Necklace was created from these inspirations.

At first, I was going to make a large barrett, but as the piece grew bigger, decided it would be a necklace. I very rarely sketch things out, and audition fringe and necklace designs on my design board as I need them. I had about five different designs for the fringe this time. So...I did four, saved one for one side of the necklace and made a completely different one for the other side. I like asymmetrical stuff and with the small wooden connectors, that were part of the kit, it was fun to see what I could do. (Of course, I had to order more because we only got two in the kit.) These are very lovely pieces, laser cut and varnished. I think I need to have some more in my stash.

Now comes the frustrating part. I have to put the necklace away and wait for the Big Reveal. I can't wear it out or show it to anyone. As soon as Scarlett gets all the pieces up, (she does this all by herself), I will let you know. In the meantime, go on over and take a look at the previous challenges and don't drool too much on your keyboard. The Beaders Muse