I had a really hard time finding the gold pieces that I needed, especially the leverbacks. In the end I got them from "KathysFindings" on eBay. Her prices were reasonable and shipping was dirt cheap.
I was super scared making these, because I only had two headpins, and I usually break about four before I get a nice pair of earrings. Lucky me, they turned out nice on the first try!
I found the gold a lot harder to work with than silver of the same gauge. I suspect it's a lot harder to break, which is probably why I got it right on the first try.
Sorry about the bad picture, I'll try to get a better one. In case you can't see because of the blurriness, it's alternating garnets and rice pearls, with a 2mm 14k yellow gold bead between the gemstone beads. It's strung on nylon cord (strung through twice for added strength) with french wire ends and a 6mm ball clasp (also 14k yellow gold).
I really think it's the nicest thing I've made yet.
As far as the design process goes, I knew I wanted to do a necklace because Mom has lots of pendants. And I knew I wanted to use pearls because I love them. But a string of pearls is a little on the formal side, and I wanted it to be something she could wear everyday, so that's where the garnets came in. I didn't want all of the beads to be round because I just didn't think that suited her, which is why I decided on rice pearls. And then I figured "Who doesn't love gold?", so I threw a bunch of that in.
This was my first try using SoftFlex, and I'm not sure I like it all that much. On the one hand, it's really strong and I don't think nylon would have worked with these beads (that rock at the bottom is heavy!), and also it hangs really well. On the other hand though, it shows through the beads in some places and I think crimp beads are really ugly. I wish there was a nicer way to finish the ends. Also, I don't like the idea of my jewelry having steel in it, even if you can't see it. I know it's silly, but I still used french wire on the ends, just to make them a nice silver colour instead of a steely one.
Still, I think it's okay in this necklace, because it's just a fun little piece. I don't think I would use it in something that was meant to be formal or given as a gift though.
