Shiny chain links

I seem to have a growing collection of fancy chains... I don't know how that happened, but every time I see a length of shiny chain that is out of the ordinary, it goes into my shopping basket. I'm like a magpie collecting shiny things! I'm so attracted to those lovely links: squares, rectangles, marquis shapes, ovals and twisted circles. Have you seen them? Aren't they just gorgeous?

I first spotted them earlier in the year when I was in the US and of course that lovely shiny length of twisted silver links went straight into my shopping basket. I was so excited to bring it home and I prized that length of chain, only using it on special pieces. I was definitely miserly with it, worried that if I used it all up I wouldn't be able to get any more. Well I no longer have to worry because they're now available in Australia too. Now every time I see a rack of lovely shiny chain links in fancy shapes, I'm immediately drawn to it - I'm a magpie, remember! And without realising it, I have the beginnings of a collection!

So I've decided it's time to use some of it. And this is what I came up with: a necklace featuring a black glass focal bead, some pewter and turquoise beads and some silver Bali beads.

I love the large daisy ring surrounding the focal bead. It gives the piece a bit of an oriental feel!Using the chain to link the bead elements together has made the necklace so much lighter than it would have been if it was all beaded and it adds some interest to it also. And the shiny silver links work really well with the the turquoise and much darker pewter - a great colour (and texture) combination!