Pink Abalone Shell Buttons!

 Remember my mission to kit ALL THE BEADS?  I am in an interesting stage in my life, and trying to clean up all my messes.  This was a really pretty one to clean!

When I designed and wrote the tutorial for "A Hazy Shade of Winter" I got out all the stick pearls I owned, and imagined that I would use them for future "rare-just-a-few-of-a-kind" kits for this project.  I am now in the process of trying to clear all those trays and boxes of collected bits, and to focus on finding the perfect finishing touches.  I am really happy to be releasing 5 of these kits on Saturday, March 7th to noon CST.  I MAYBE will have one more, depending on whether an order I placed will arrive with enough supporting beads for one final kit.  When these are gone, there will be no more. Edited to say, the beads that arrived were a paler pink, so I made that last kit up for myself.  I LOVE it.  Very delicate and I sized it to sit right at the bas of my neck and barely dip into my cleavage with a black jumpsuit I own.  Yum. That is what you see above, and you can see the alternating color in the rice beads at the top of the yoke fringes.

The buttons are quite luscious!  They are made from Pink Abalone shell, and some of the nacre is just staggering!  In the photo above, two of the buttons are not catching the light as they could, but you can see a range of beauty in the four that are reflecting like they mean it. They are luminous, and flask from soft grey through peach and pink, with tiny hints of rainbow.

I have supported the pink in the nacre with Swarovski Rosaline Pearls, for H, J, and K beads.  I could find no 5mm in this color, so have subbed 6mm.  This K bead sits in the bezel fringe and also at the top center of the yoke.  If you have a wider neck, the 6mm should work nicely for you, and if your neck is more slim, then I have included an extra 4mm pearl in the K bag for you to use in that center yoke position. These push the pink a little, but feel like a nice choice when I view them situated in position.  The L beads are Czech drops, and transparent Rose with a rainbow finish.  What a good find they were!  They help to make the pinks and peaches and rainbow flashes all hang together.

The A and B (and one row of C) beads form the bezel, and I tried to emulate both the pearly finish and primary peachy-pink shade in the bead choice.  C and D provide sparkle (transparent with an AB finish) and are used as spacers in the yoke and the fringe.  For the majority of the yoke, I chose a flat matte silver bead, trying not to compete with or overwhelm the soft pinks.

I know I have missed the wintery season.  But this necklace with its delicate pink might be pretty spectacular at Easter.  And for what this is worth, as a Northern Girl, I have made Snow Bunnies (like Snowmen, but with ears!!!) for Easter on more than one occasion. So there is still the potential for Winter for at least some of us.

I am hunting beads for one more version of this piece, and hope to bring it to you soon.