This past Christmas, my budding geologist of a little brother took notice of my interest in rocks over the past year and gifted me some pretty incredible rock + mineral beads. (He also included some coal in his gift, but I probably deserved that for the times I tricked, pestered, and pummeled him growing up. :)) One of the sets of beads he gave me were these incredible malachite beads.
Real malachite, the tiny beads in my fingers, is this gorgeous, flowy, green-banded mineral. I first fell in love malachite when some faux malachite beads appeared in my For the Makers box in February of 2013.
I was waiting for the perfect project to use the beads when For the Makers sent this vibrant drop necklace last month. I love wearing that necklace so much that I wanted to make another in a similar style. (Plus I had some extra faux malachite beads from the ladies at For the Makers that I’d been saving for the perfect time.) This necklace is a lot simpler than the ones I’ve been making recently, but it feels a bit refreshing to make something a bit more casual.
To make a drop necklace you need:
-beads
-chain
-jump rings
-crimp beads
-beading cord
-chain nose pliers
After you string all your beads onto the beading cord in the order you like, here’s how you finish the beading cord. (I used the pics from For the Makers because mine were taken in hurried excitement mid-project. #needtoslowdownanddocument)
Once you string all of the beads on the beading cord in the proper order, you can make tiny loops with the cord and fasten them with a crimp bead and pliers. Something about crimp beads feels so satisfying to me.
I wore this necklace for the first time over the weekend when we had a little picnic in Central Park. It was 70 degrees and it felt perfect outside. 🙂
There is nothing like a spring weekend in New York city to lift your spirits and incite some warm optimism for the coming months. <3
Love it!! What a nice brother 🙂