My "creative process"

I have finally finished another project, and it is up and listed in me Etsy store. It is called the crowning laurels choker necklace. I have decided to record the process I went through to arrive at this end product. If you write it down, it is really rather funny, how I get distracted. If you called it a journey, I guess you could say I got a little lost, but still ended up somewhere nice in the end.

So I started this project because I decided to do a choker necklace. I had done a custom one a while back and really enjoyed making it, and was pleased with the end result. I was going to do a similar one to the custom one. It had a rose as the focal point.

So I started going through my stash of silk. I picked out lovely pink on one side and purple-blue on the other side for the rose. For the band itself, I chose a purple on purple stripe. As I was laying out the fabric, this beautiful piece of green fluttered out from the folds of one of the pieces. I took one look at that green, and all I could think if was leaves on gold.

So, the pink and purple was immediately put back away, and the gold was dug out to go with the green. So I drew up a leaf "pattern" and I started making the rolled hems on the leaves. I was worried about all the leaves looking the same, but I need not have feared. That problem solved itself very quickly, as I had cut half of the leaves with the bottom on the salvage edge, and the other half just on a regular raw edge. Since I am lazy, I decided not to roll the bottom edge before pleating. For the salvage I just left it be, and the raw edge I just turned it once. My leaves now had a slight variety to them!

Next, I had to think about the front. I had to have a focal bead. So off to the nearest bead store it was. I came home with a bead, and got back to work. But I kept on questioning the bead. Was it too plain, too big....you get the picture. I tried my hand at wire wrapping, but that lasted about five minutes. If you don't have patience, then wire wrapping is not for you! So I went to another bead store. This one was bigger and farther away. I discovered Cabochons there! A whole new perspective opened up! For those of you not into beading, a cabochon is (as far as I can tell as a non beader) a bead with no whole in it. You glue it to a setting so you can string it (or in my case sew it) to whatever you are creating. I ended up coming home with two more beads. Then, I got to second guessing again. But this time I had some new knowledge. You can frame a bead. (who'd 'a thunk) I ended up taking my original bead and making a half rosette to mount it on.

My next dilemma was the back closer. A choker is a very personal fit, because it hugs the neck. I could put several sets of snaps, but that would show, and look ugly. Buttons and buttonhole that small would be so much work that the end product would really not be cost effective at all. I decided that it should tie. If I angled the ends of the band a little it would really look just elegant! But then I got thinking again. The knot could be bulky, and the ends would have to be really long. I finally decided to make a pin. Of course, that involved yet another foray out to the real world because, of course, I had no pin backs.

Well, three trips, three beads, two settings, and forty pin backs later, I now have a complete choker necklace that I am satisfied with. And now for my next project.....