A Malachite Surprise

by Nancy Vaughan.
(San Diego, California USA)

A couple of weeks ago I went to a street fair for Antiques and Collectables. I didn’t expect to find anything I wanted but you never know. The bead fairy must have been looking out for me.

I was going through a basket with several small bags of beads in it when I came across a grungy bag with some green beads in it. I opened the bag to see what the beads were and discovered a small collection of malachite beads and the price on the bag was $5.00! I bought the bag.

I could hardly wait to get home to see exactly what I had purchased. The beads inside were hand cut malachite in several sizes. There were 25 of them and a broken piece. What a find!

The frame for this necklace was one I had finished but hadn’t chosen a focal for it yet. With just a few adjustments on the loop and the addition of more wire wrapping it was perfect for the largest of the malachite beads.

The frame for the finished piece is made with 12 gauge copper wire and the wrapping is 24 gauge.

Nancy Vaughan
Wicked Wire Works on Artfire