I am constantly finding interesting ideas in magazines, online, and pretty much everywhere!  This time I saw a cute necklace in Redbook, and I thought, “I could totally make that necklace!” It seemed simple enough: 3 strands in 3 colors of beads (black, neon yellow, and blue), all of them bicone shaped. It is also one of the few necklaces that I knew I would be making for me to wear. Necklace + T-shirt= easy and fun outfit for summer. The project started off well, I already had the black beads necessary to make the necklace, all I needed were the neon yellow and just (the perfect shade) of blue beads. How hard could that be? Well I should have known better–I am always saying that to myself, and always finding out that yes, there is a problem–or challenge, to completing seemingly simple projects. In this case it was a combination of finding a) the right colors, b) the right sizes, and c) the right shape of beads. I did eventually prevail by making some concessions: I wouldn’t be able to use all bicone shaped beads and the perfect shade of blue I was searching for doesn’t exist. Except of course in the magazine necklace! I was, however, delightfully surprised to find exactly the right shade of yellow–I had thought that would be impossible. Swarovski makes wonderful “pearl” beads and I used these for both the yellow and the blue sections of the necklace. I was able to find them thanks to the magic of online shopping. My favorite online bead store, www.firemountaingems.com carries the best selection of Swarovski items at a reasonable price too! In the end I am very pleased with the result, and I can’t wait to wear my new necklace out for some summer fun.