Down in the Depths... Did the Octopus capture her? Rescue her?

Or did she ensnare him and keep him in chains to protect her until...until she was found...or, until YOU found her? Sometimes it looks like she is smiling.....

OOH - I Did enjoy making this immensely!

From a brass curtain ring, a blank disc and around open blank- a porthole is created!

Firstly patina all components that require it (as per instructions in Chain Tutorial). So having verdigris-ed the moon, open drilled round blanks, base 32mm disc blank, chain, curtain ring and Oooky (octopus) and sealed them all we are ready to proceed. You can emboss the blanks with your Cuttlebug or Sizzix machine, there are some cool Deco Emboss Vintaj dies on the B'sue Boutiques website that works nicely with their lightweight blanks.

Glue the blank 32mm disc to the base of the curtain ring, attach the moon using a chain link or jump ring to an eyepin threaded through the hole in the blank ( if there is no hole -use a punch and make one ), coil the wire and flatten on the reverse to fix in place. The chain link allows the moon face to move to and fro slightly

Attach the mica to the back of one of the double drilled blanks and glue into place. Once dry sandwich the mica between the two double drilled blanks and glue (or rivet ) together back to back. You could just use one drilled blank but I wanted it neat even though you can't see the inside!

Add some "algae" to the mica (green acrylic paint dabs with finger).

Allow all glue to dry.

Then glue top "porthole" section to the front of the curtain ring.

Even alone this looks an effective way to create a versatile setting similar to a pocket watch case.

I am sure I will be revisiting this technique many times with lots of variations on a theme. You COULD use resin instead of mica but the back would need to be very sealed OR cover back of curtain ring in tape and remove after the resin has cured. Also, the face wouldn't have any movement as would be set in the resin filling. I like mica as it has bubbles and looks old.

Glue Oooky octopus strategically onto the front - try not to hide too much of the moon face.

I positioned him so the necklace would be asymmetric. Select some glass Czech Picasso beads to match your theme. I LOVE Picasso finish beads-they really do look aged as if they have been to the bottom of the sea.

Now add your chains, as much or as little as you please.

His tentacles make great places to hang the chain from

Fasten loosely in place with a chain link and add the padlock.

Connect all your beads and chain sections as you prefer,

I used wire wrapped loops directly onto the chain links

(NB make sure the chain links are TOTALLY closed so there are no escapees )

Add as many drops and dangles as you wish - simple beads on headpins are effective.

I used sari ribbon looped through either necklace end to make a simply knotted fastener.

Did she just wink?

Linzi Alford IS the Magpie in MagPie In The Sky Designer Jewellery in the UK. A penchant for glittery pretty things has led her to become a jewelry maker. Lucky enough to live in a beautiful part of England -the Lake District and is Mum to 3 (and Mimi the cat!) She trained in Silversmithing at Evening classes a few years ago and is a regular attendee at the local Artisan Collective Roaming Gallery. Photography is also a passion and she likes to incorporate her love of this with her jewelry collections using her photos as part of the creations.

Would you like to design a project for our website? All designers will get full credit, links to their website and a gift certificate to spend any way they like at B'sue Boutiques website. Contact B'sue for details at [email protected]