The Making of a Statement Necklace - Three Weeks of Hard Graft, by Caprilicious Jewellery

Hello good people, thanks for coming back to Caprilicious for your weekly Friday read -  I was so exhausted from the day job this week that I fell asleep in my armchair last night like a little old lady and had to write this in the morning, just before posting.
​I apologise if there are more typos than usual, my proofreading is bound to be out of kilter while I put this post together in an effort to catch up with the rest of the day. It's a good thing that I've got something to look forward to this weekend and all of next week to chill out. 
I would have loved to go away with hubby for a few days, but we decided that we didn't want to risk trying to find a safe haven to fly to, and then find out that we were actually in a hotbed of Covid and had to quarantine once we got back.

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This post is going to be all about Cherry Blossom, of course, now that it is all finished and photographed. But first, I thought I'd put together all the pictures I took along the way into one little gallery, so that you can see how it began, before I show you the end product.

These photographs were all taken using my i-phone - I obviously need some lessons on how to use all the features of my phone, but haven't the time to get them. Once I'd made up the piece, I took some pictures that I am more satisfied with, using my dslr.  

Of course it's great fun, painting with beads. However, the more tedious bits are when the necklace has to be finished - the stiff felt board I embroider onto isn't quite stiff enough, so it requires a cardboard back, in turn covered over with soft felt and the whole lot covered over with ultrasuede. The pretty little pink beads that edge the necklace hold the layers together using a brick stitch, and I put in the little rings that will carry a chain of some sort at this stage. The final stage is to decide how the back is made - and in this instance I used pink dyed jade beads and fresh green handmade blown glass to denote the leaves that will soon arrive on the cherry tree. A couple of the green beads are fiorato, or 'wedding cake' beads - I got them in a stash from an antique shop, although I am unsure of their provenance. You can read more about these pretty beads, with their “icing” of frills and flowers in this article.  

That's me for this week, folks. I have a friend coming to stay with me at the weekend and we're bound to have a great time. I'll tell you all about it in my next post and as we plan to go out and about in Warwickshire, I'll have some pictures as well. 
Have a lovely week, and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place. Until then,
​xx