7 hours later on a rainy Saturday...

I woke up this morning to a rainy Saturday, and it made me smile because it's perfect weather to stay indoors fussing with my beads! I went to the bead store, picked out some more crystals, pearls and shells and made it home in time for blueberry pancakes.

I tried not to be anxious to start my project...after brunch, I did the dishes, read the paper...and then set myself up at the kitchen table with iTunes powered up on my laptop.

I laid out all the materials and arranged them in a pseudo-random pattern, measured and adjusted...and finally got to work. I thought I was done on 3 or 4 separate occasions, but it was either too long or too short, or the stones didn't layer together properly, or the colour combinations weren't right to my eye...so I'd cut the wire, several times in the middle of the chain, and re-connect with a different bead.

Even when I thought I was finally done, I wasn't. I removed a bead or crystal here or there and re-wired. Here's my version to the right. Not bad, huh? It’ll look fabulous with summer white.

In the end, it turns out I bought too many beads—about $40 too many! I suppose I got a little carried away and didn't plan as well as I thought I had. Oh well. I figure I can make something with what’s left for my sister. I’ll have to go back to the bead store to get additional beads though…I’m not thrilled with the combination of what’s left on its own. They’re rather blah colour-wise.

And with this necklace done, I can turn my attention to a new project...and I have many waiting in the wings...but I'm not sure my bank account can handle it. The materials for this one alone cost about $100 (though the one that inspired it retails for US$250). So much for my fantasy of turning this hobby into a side-gig. The costs are probably too high for it to be viable, unless I were to take on the occasional "contract" to make pieces for friends and family.

Sourcing the materials to make this necklace was quite fun; it was sort of like a grown-up version of a child's learning game to match things that are the same. I think I might explore other bead stores though...and start comparing prices and selection. There's a store in Scarborough that apparently has really great prices for Swarovski crystals...and there are a couple stores on Queen Street I have to check out as well...