Technique fun

Awhile back, I got a nifty little bone pendant of a dragon and a phoenix. I'd read that you could "antique" bone beads by soaking them in tea, so I thought I'd try it. It worked out quite well, but then I couldn't think of what to make with it, so I set the pendant aside.

Last night, I put it with some gold beads and red tigereye, and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. You can go to the Flickr page to see the completed necklace, but I thought I'd share the closeups of the pendant here.

Before:

go to http://www.shipwreckbeads.com/catalog/Pendants-and-Charms/Bone-and-Horn/ if you want to buy this

After:

Front

Back

As you can see, one side ended up a bit more tea-y than the other; I turned the pendant over a couple of times, but I think it's just how the bone absorbed it. I'll definitely do this again; there are times when the stark white of bleached bone works, but I like the way the tea highlights the carvings.

Another note: I generally have more pictures of my pieces than what I put on the Flickr page; if you're interested in one of my necklaces, for example, but you want to see the whole thing, or the clasp, or just how it looks on a different background, e-mail me and ask about it!