The Completion....

Very recently I posted about these earrings that I designed and I mentioned when I shared them to my facebook fan page....the response was more than I expected.  I hadn't really considered that butterflies would mean so much to so many people!  When you think of the butterflies lifecycle, they definitely do represent new beginnings and transformation.

I was asked to design matching pieces, a bracelet and necklace to make a complete set.  I wasn't quite sure how I would proceed with that because the earrings are so involved.  As pretty as they are....there's a lot going on  there! I knew that a necklace would have to be more subtle, simple and low key but it would have to tie in with the earrings without looking like the buyer was being attacked by butterflies! hahahaha!

So I sat and thought....

and I sat and thought some more....

Then finally, I came up with something.  Just a simple strand of the different colored rice pearls, just one of the filigree butterflies for the focal and...... a-ha! ....... I have a butterfly clasp that would tie in with the theme.  Perfect!

 

I tell you, it wasn't easy to string those pearls on the material that I chose, simply because the holes are so small.  I finally got them all on, with no real pattern just randomly strung but I kept my eye out for color balance.  I chose not to use any of the 4mm green bicone crystals in the pearl strings so the necklace wouldn't be uncomfortable.  Most people probably aren't bothered by the edges of bicones but I am and I always consider the potential new owner....maybe they will be too!  Though, I wanted the necklace to have SOME sparkle to it, like the earrings so I put a couple crystals where the strings connect to the wings, one for the butterfly's tummy and one at the very end of the dangle!

So now that I was done with that...what do I do for a bracelet?  Again.....I wanted to be careful of butterfly overkill!  Hmmm.... *thinking*.... *thinking*...."butterflies".... "garden" .... "grass" ...."spring" ...."meadow" ... .. yeah, that's typically how my mind brainstorm when I'm going for ideas...it helps put images in my head that help me draw on for inspiration.....and finally I came up with "vines"....."flower trellis".....wrap bracelet on memory wire!  

BAM!

And here is the final piece!  The rice pearls accepted the memory wire pretty well, with maybe every 4th or 5th one needing a little extra umpf to get into the hole.  But....here it is.....*smiles*