Nautical Necklace!

Ok so here is my first birthday necklace - The Spoon asked me to make her a sailor/seaside inspired necklace for her birthday and I was happy to oblige! I must be honest and admit that this was probably the hardest piece I have made to date, I couldn't get all the layers to lie flat and compliment rather than detract from each other and I wasn't exactly sure what Spooners wanted it to look like - long chains with a couple of charms on the end (though I'm pretty sure she has one like this), short but full of dangly bits (but she def said she wanted a long necklace and not a choker), or something in the middle - guess what I went for?! Yip - something in the middle, short pieces with charms, longer chains, different types of chain and beading...and even some home-made rope!

I began with the thickest (and longest) chain as the foundation of the necklace, it was the heaviest and also the strongest so it could support the weight of the rest of the necklace, without being too overpowering (both in terms of link-age and weight!) I attached a few sailing-inspired charms (anchor, ship's wheel) and a some special pieces - like the chinese fish pendant and the mother-of-pearl-esq shard that hangs in the centre. The clam shell on the left is made up of two shell charms joined by wire, that can be opened to reveal a little pearl hanging in the inside. I made a pair of earrings that feature this idea and will be shown here later - I just love the idea of secret jewels (or in this case pearls!) you know it is there and you can tell people or keep it a special secret!!! [You know this reminds me of a pair of shoes I got years ago in Clarks - Mum kept asking me if I was sure they didn't hurt and to be honest they could have made every single one of my toes bleed and I would still have wanted them because they came with a key and this key, once inserted into the heel turned a little turntable so that you could see a picture of a rose or a 'diamond' showing through a small window on the sole of your shoes - brings a whole new meaning to the concept of 'Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes' - as an (gulp!) adult I now wonder what on earth was the point of having pictures of roses and small 'diamonds' on the soles of your shoes? Knowing how proud I was of them I have no doubt that I probably crawled about on all fours so people would notice them - seems strange now - especially because the top (read-visible) side of the shoe was so dull! White with maybe a flower motif somewhere but just nothing compared to the secret underneath - and that is probably where this hidden pearl, secret surprise, utter delight probably stems from - so thanks for that Mum - see what you have created!?!] Anyway where on earth was I? Oh yes, back to the necklace. I made the blue chain out of metal wire which is surprisingly maleable (or is that ductile?) and lightweight and then attached it to the main chain (it's fun to rhyme!). Above the clam shell is a little blue twist (I thought it reminded me of a wave? - or maybe that was just my over-active imagination?!) and a ring with tiny bells on it, to add a little jingling sound! i then attached the finer chain and hung more seaside charms (dolphin, crab and wee clam shells with blue sparkle beads).

I wanted to use the metal heart as the catch as I have done with othere necklaces but the chains were just too heavy and kept pulling it apart so in the end I hung it beside the 'made with love' charm and used a regualr lobster-claw catch to hold it all together! Though I have just realised i put the catch on the wrong side - Doh! Rookie mistake!!!

The above pic shows a close up of the convergence of my two favourite parts - the rope and the pearl chain. I love the asymetrical pearl necklace with all the tiny wee pearls!!! Never enough pearls! And as for the rope, I tried to twist the cord to imitate a ship's rope but it just untwisted as soon as I tied a knot in it. In the end I just gave up and plaited it with a couple of knots every so often. But I'm really happy with the way it turned out - believe me, there were times when i fantasised about chucking it out the window and even when i gave it to June it was just out of sheer desperation - to get it out of my house cause I had taken it apart about a zillion times!! But whenever I saw it on Spoon's neck at her party i began to relax and appreciate it. It turned out better than I expected, so I'm even more proud of it than I ought to be (in the way that when an under-performing child gets an A in his/her homework is way more encouraging than a straight-A student getting an A+)!! So yes it is slightly lop-sided and prone to tying itself in knots (dear love J - as we all know she is not one to keep her jewellery in a tangle-free zone!) But I really like it now and I think the imperfections give it character and unique-ness!

Beautiful! (Nice necklace too!)