a semi-precious necklace for my oh so precious friend.

so I have this friend. she's amazing. we've been friends for over 25 years, since high school. we live far from each other, but thanks to a shared and enduring love for Barry Manilow, we meet in Las Vegas every year to swoon at his concert. what does this have to do with a necklace?

for a few years now, I've been making jewelry and wearing it during these Barry pilgrimages. my friend always comments on my necklace or my earrings, saying she'd like me to make her a necklace. since her jewelry style is very classic and elegant, and mine is a little funky, I always thought she was just being kind. she's lovely that way.

well, that may still be the case, but recently she gave me a specific list of semi-precious stones and some sample necklace pictures, so she was in for it. she was getting a cynthia creation whether she liked it or not.

off I went to let it bead in downtown portland [sigh, I so love this store]. here's the raw materials of what I started with [citrine, lepidolite, iolite, sunstone, & smoky quartz], along with some delicate gold chain...

(the makings).

and here's what I shipped to her today...

(the necklace).

some closeup views...

(the necklace). 

(the necklace).

the citrine was by far my favorite stone; the cloudy yellow is gorgeous. I machine-sewed a fabric pouch, wrapped the necklace nice and tight and nestled it inside...here's hoping she loves it as much as I loved making it for her.

(handmade fabric pouch).