Use the Muse II - The Big Reveal

Use the Muse II has officially ended, so I can now show you my entry, entitled "Briar Rose". The Muse this time was an ornate donut shell pendant from Lillypilly, courtesy of Artbeads.com. This was a beautiful, beautiful piece for inspiration, I must say. The winding, vine-like design and the color reminded me of a romantic fairy tale, particularly Sleeping Beauty - whose name, of course, was Briar Rose.

As you can see, I ended up making not so much a fine silver box as a sandwich for the Muse. You can't see the back of the pendant in these photos (and unfortunately the lamp for my light box has a burnt-out bulb, so I can't photograph it tonight), but it's actually one of my unicorne pendants. The front is cut out like one of the compass rose designs I've been working on this summer. I just happened to have a tiny carved coral rose in my stash, which fit nicely in the center of the donut. I ended up using the crystal and pearls from the kit to "encrust" the piece with "jewels":


I used a pale rose flatback crystal to both (practically speaking) cover the hole in the pendant and reinforce the idea of a compass rose - the crystal stands for North, of course, where the heart lies. Also, it's a little difficult to see through the wire-wrapping, but the stringing holes in the pendant are actually cut out heart shapes.

So there you have it - my interpretation of the Muse. For photos of all of the entries, including the fabulous winners (and they are fabulous - once again, the range of entries was both fascinating and stunning), please visit Scarlett Lanson's website.

Thanks for visiting!