Sea Urchin Spine Necklace

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Last week my friend Brooke Bock, of Artistic Endeavors 101, sent me a wonderful gift... a box of beautiful handmade polymer clay beads. Opening the package was like opening a treasure chest, brimming with beautiful baubles. Her polymer clay beads have a fabulous finish, with the look and feel of porcelain. Her thoughtful gift was the inspiration for this necklace.

Brooke made the focal bead and the 5 supporting disc beads on the lower left. As soon as I saw them I knew what I wanted to make.

I had been saving the sea urchin spine for years. It was not drilled, and I wasn't sure how to approach that task. I decided to use my drill press. At first I worried that the delicate spine would shatter, so I approached the task very carefully. It turns out that drilling holes in sea urchin spines is a fairly easy process, much like drilling wood or metal. Going slowly is the key.

To complete the necklace I used faceted quartz beads, in a pinkish brown color, and a handful of vintage African horn beads, rescued from a thrift store. I used 20 gauge black annealed steel wire from Susan Lenart Kasmer's wire collection to make the bead connectors and clasp. The wire can be purchased here:

https://stampington.com/the-shoppe-at-somerset

Brooke sells her lovely beads in her etsy shop:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtisticEndeavors101

I am excited about incorporating more of Brooke's inspiring beads into my designs. 

Until next time!

Leaving you with this quote:

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one' - C.S. Lewis