Rose-tinted glasses and anti-statements

We went into town today and of course, the shops seemed full of Valentine's Day things. Most years I get a bit annoyed at the commercialisation of February 14th and the not-so-subliminal cultural messages about what men and women are for. This year, against all expectations, I caught myself thinking "that's such a cute little gift", "ooh, like the colours on that", "that's actually really nice" and "hey, maybe I could make something similar"! It's official: I have become sappy in my old age.

 

Guess it might be something to do with the fact that my son was skipping along the pavement with infectious enthusiasm, his little hand firmly holding mine. Plus, I'd been for a seven-mile run earlier, and was getting a decent rush of post-exercise endorphins. All in all, a very good recipe for a rose-tinted view of the world.  

 

Anti-statement necklace

 

In line with the Valentines Day/rose-tinted theme, here is a rare foray into pink for me: my second new work necklace. My category of "work necklaces" has very strict eligibility criteria, including: reasonably conservative design, not too heavy, not too long, not over-complex, not jingly-jangly, and a nice finish without scrappy bits. It is sort of the opposite of a statement necklace: an anti-statement necklace, perhaps.
I've often found myself wishing I had a necklace with pink in, because warm colours can be fussy: often they do not get along with other warm colours (eg pink, orange, yellow, red, purple: pairs or trios of these colours can be made to go together, but they have to be exactly the right shades, or they have terrible fallings-out).


So this is a similar design to the last work necklace, but with some extra features including some chain around the back instead of gemstone chips: I'll see which version turns out more comfortable to wear. I can change the length of the chain section a bit if I want to (meaning: I can add/remove links with the help of pliers!). Could also change the pendant around if I get bored with this one.

Just discovered the "Edit Picture" menu in Picture Manager and have been having lots of fun adjusting settings!

Next thing to think about is going to be a "work necklace" for my sister in Australia, maybe with brighter colours because, I hear, they actually get some sunshine over there. Aiming to get it made and posted in time for her birthday...