Wedding Blog

I’m very partial to amber as a semi-precious… stone… or… um… resin? I have a hard time calling it a stone when it’s so different than anything else I have in my gemstone bead collection. It’s warm to the touch and feels very light. I like the color and the glow; I think it’s the kind of thing that works well with my skin tone.

I’ll be making an adjustable amber necklace for a party I’m going to, to add a little color. I can never decide what length of necklace works for me, so having an adjustable piece is critical.

Ingredients:

• Amber beads
• Cord for stranding
• Ribbon
• Wire or Jump-Rings

First, I placed my beads on my cord. I cheated a little here and used a strand that I had already strung by size and tied off. I can only plead a busy work schedule as a reason for taking shortcuts. I twisted my loop on itself to form an extra thick strand of amber.

Next, I made my wire rings by winding my wire around a glue stuck, making a short spring about 1 inch in diameter. Next I wound the wire through my amber strand just like how one would place a key on a key ring. Then I wound the ends of the wire around the loops to form a ring. I tucked in the pointy ends so that they wouldn’t poke me or snag.

Finally, I cut about 12 inches of black ribbon with pinking shears to keep it from unraveling. I pulled the ribbon through the rings and tied a bow after placing the whole contraption around my neck. I can tie it high for a choker effect or a little lower like a regular necklace.

I’m not sure if this piece is too much for me; it just looks so big. However, I tried it with the amber strand unwound into one layer and that seemed too anemic. Luckily, I still have a day to make something else. Making two pieces would be appropriate; I already made two dresses for one party, so why not two necklaces?