When Artbeads.com invited me to pick out a selection of beads that reminded me of Spring, my first thought was to go for something leafy or flowery... but then I saw this octopus and had to have it, so my theme became Spring Break at the Beach! I eschewed dainty pastels in favor of the brighter colors that come out as Spring fades into Summer, the colors of tropical water and growing plants and my favorite warm-weather clothes!Once I'd picked out the Sterling and Resin Pendant by Taina Hartman, I thought of CRYSTALLIZED - Swarovski Elements, specifically stars and fish! The bright peridot stars were the perfect accent for the octopus. I added turquoise AB 2x crystals and variegated Czech glass as well as chain and a clasp from my own stash to make this simple but adorable necklace that perfectly matches my favorite peridot green t-shirt. You can see the full-length view in yesterday's blog post.
The octopus focal is quite nice, the resin is perfectly smooth, the image shows clearly, and the silver frame/cup gives it a professional finish. However, it's also very tiny, so it's hard to use it as a necklace focal, unless you go really dainty like I did. I think it would be really well-suited to use in a charm bracelet, and other styles would make cute earrings.
My original plan had been to use these clear fish crystals and the Sterling fish clasp to round out the necklace, but they proved to be too big for the octopus focal. Instead, I'm setting them aside to go with this sea faerie lampworked figure from Giggling Grizzly, which I have had forever. There are some Bali fish and Czech pressed glass fish waiting to go with her, too. I'm thinking I might need some medium-weight silver chain, and I'll just dangle all of the fish and hang her in the center.The fish clasp is just perfect, a hook and eye, with the head and body being separate pieces. It hooks and unhooks very smoothly, and looks nearly seamless when it's connected. It seems like it should be large and sturdy enough to balance out the heavy lampworked focal.
All of my crystals came nestled in the little white compartment trays that Swarovski packages them in, for safe travels and safe storage. As you can see from the photos, both shapes are cut for lots of sparkle. I envisioned the stars as sea stars for this piece, but they'd be just as perfect for a celestial theme.
FTC Disclaimer: As was clearly indicated in the above post, some of the beads in these projects were provided for free by Artbeads.com for promotional consideration. In return, I have posted my honest reviews of them.
