My New Hobby

I'm having fun playing with jewelry, which is funny, because I hardly ever remember to wear jewelry. My ears go naked for weeks at a time without my even noticing, and it takes just the right neckline to get me to think about putting on a necklace. I have the wrists of an underfed spider monkey, so bracelets are almost out of the question, and most rings get in the way of using my favorite power tools. So why, you may ask, am I having fun with jewelry, despite all of the aforementioned hindrances to self-decoration? Well, I bought my niece jewelry-making supplies for Christmas--books, tools, beads, and silver wire--and it all looked like so much fun that I couldn't help but start to play. The designer in me is enjoying throwing together various combinations of sparkly stuff, and the tinkerer in me is enjoying the dexterity challenge. So, here's my first major effort:


I'm not much of a display photographer, but you get the general concept, right? It was so much fun making this necklace! I modified a bracelet I saw in a really great book called Making Bead & Wire Jewelry, by Dawn Cusick. Here's an Amazon link, just in case you want to play too!