ArtFire

This colorful floral necklace is a lovely combination of polymer clay flower beads, amethyst gemstones, soft-hued green faceted glass beads, and stand-out yellow glass rounds. It is such a pretty and cheerfully bright piece, with a sense of greening meadows and blossoming flowers to it.

The highlight of the piece is its quartet of finely made polymer clay floral rounds. Their flowers are predominantly purple, with little blue floral touches as well as small pale yellow flowers with green edging. They are shiny and very eye-catching, and measure about one-half inch around. (Please see my photos for a measurement illustration.) These beads were handcrafted by Julie of BlueMorningExpressions on ArtFire, and they are simply gorgeous! I added silver-plated scallop bead caps to them, to give them an extra-special touch.

Between each of these florals is a complementing set of two green glass beads with a yellow round in the center, separated by sweet daisy spacers. The yellow glass is a rich, deep yellow with matte finishing, which provides a nice variation to the shine of the other beads.

This front design is followed, on either side, with a single green glass bead, a set of four amethyst rounds, and two sets of four green glass beads. More daisy spacers are added between each set. All the daisy spacers in the necklace are fine silver-plated pewter beads made in the U.S.A. by TierraCast.

The necklace is finished off with a single repeat of the yellow glass beads, a silver bead, and double sterling crimps with crimp covers. Wire guards were added to the beading wire, which is high-quality 49-strand "satin silver." The clasp is an eye and hook type. All the silver components used to finish off the necklace are sterling silver, including the clasp.

The length of this piece is approximately 18 and 1/4 inches.

All together, this necklace is a touch of pastoral peace and prettiness to take with you wherever you go!


About Amethyst:
A member of the quartz family, amethyst is considered a protective stone that deflects negative influences, reduces stress, and calms the mind. It is also regarded as a spiritual gemstone that fosters inner peace and spiritual awareness. Amethyst has been appreciated since ancient times. Its name derives from the Greek word "amethusos," which translates as "not drunk." Among the range of healing properties attributed to amethyst is the ability to aid people who have problems with alcohol and other substance addictions. Other beneficial effects include help with insomnia, digestion problems, arthritis, and headaches. It is also February's birthstone and associated with the crown chakra. Amethysts are actually crystals and often have inclusions, clouding, and other interesting elements to them, as well as varied shadings of their purple hue.

Making this necklace was a meditation on my mom, who loved the color purple and was always so happy when springtime violets would start blooming in her little inner-city backyard. Many wonderful loving memories of walking in the yard with her and enjoying the "bit of country" there went into the making of this piece. :)

Polymer clay floral beads; amethysts (8mm); green glass beads (10mm); yellow glass beads (8mm); daisy spacers (TierraCast); sterling silver crimps, beads, crimp covers, hook-eye clasp; silver-plated bead caps; 49-strand beading wire