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Big Dipper Mixed Media Necklace

by Tamara Robertson.
(Sarnia, Ontario, Canada)

I have to confess that my first idea of a title for this necklace was “Roadkill Jewellery, Part 2”, based on a previous submission I made to this site (Copper Wire Roadkill Jewellery)! 😀

I found this spoon when I was out for a walk one morning, on the road. It had obviously been run over, creating the folded-over shape.

It wasn’t the most attractive spoon, unlike some of the spoons I’ve seen jewellery creations made from, but I brought it home, unsure if I would ever do anything worthwhile with it, or if I would end up just throwing it away.

As you can see, there’s a bit of rust on it. I tried to shift the bended part so it was straighter, but it had been too “work hardened” by it’s accident, lol.

It sat with my supplies for a while, until one day when I was working on another project. I had out this pretty silver and gold sand dollar pendant. It’s made of something like paper mache, and the back isn’t in the best shape. I still love it though.

I was going to use it for something else, then I noticed my spoon, and wondered if that might be something I could put the sand dollar in, hiding the back and giving it support. That was the start of the inspiration for this piece.

I decided to go with the mixed metal look. I knew I needed a substantial chain. This chain is gold-plated, and I’ve had it for a while. It’s a little too brassy and traditional for my liking by itself, but I love it with this, because it totally changes the look. And I like the idea of combining a “good” chain with a beat-up spoon.

I continued adding elements into and onto my spoon. The bright teal green lace softens the look and adds a pop of colour. Everything is beach-inspired, as is common in my pieces. The stone at the bottom of the spoon is clear quartz, but it has a bit of clouding at the top, making it look a bit like beach glass.

I love that I was able to use a variety of my bits and pieces here. I love aqua beach glass, and the flattened freshwater pearls also have a slight aqua tone to them.

The pearls were the last thing I added, and at that point I knew it was finished.

To me, it looks like a big spoon dipped down into some special lake or ocean and came up with lots of beautiful sparkling and shining underwater bits. 🙂

I recently bought a teal green cotton sweater, and it might end up gracing that this fall and winter. 🙂

Tamara Robertson
Pink Pearls and Potpourri