Garden necklace

 I've been working on this necklace a while, but have only just recently put it all together with the help of a lovely clasp from Tanzee Designs that seemed just perfect for the design. What I like about it is that the beads in it remind me of my friends and family, or places that I've enjoyed visiting.

The dragonfly charm is from Kerrie Berrie Beads in Brighton. The little iridescent flower and the butterfly beads are from The Bead Master, Sydney. The green seed beads are (I think) from BeadWorks. The wooden beads are from The Bead Shop in Brighton. The turquoise beads are from Hobbycraft in Solihull. The ceramic disks are from a vintage necklace which I got at our local antiques fair. The cobalt blue foil beads and the red cloisonne beads are from PJ Beads. The metal filigree beads, and the large bead with the white background, are from the haul donated by my running friend.

I made the necklace in sections, with short stretches of beading wire attached at each end to the metal components (clasp parts or the filigree beads). Before, I'd worried about attaching beading wire to simple (non-wrapped) wire loops because the very thin beading wire might escape from the gap in the wire loops. However, I think with the weight of this necklace it will be ok. The crimps are the part of it most likely to fail. We'll see - the necklace is going out on a test-wear today!