Sugar Skull Pendants...

Czech Glass Sugar Skull Pendants by Andrew Thornton

These Czech glass sugar skull beads have been hanging around the studio for a few years now.  They were in a little ceramic dish next to my computer, peering up at me with their floral eyes.  I just love them!  I think they're fun and festive.  When you look up the Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos), it's so bright and colorful!  It really is a celebration of remembrance.  I knew that I wanted to do something special with them, but I didn't know just what I wanted to do with them yet.

That's when I had the idea to bezel-set them!  I've been bezel-setting a lot of stones lately and bezeling has a really nice way of finishing something off and framing the piece.  I think this technique dresses the components up, without taking too much away from them.

So... it took me awhile, but I finally set the beads in sterling silver, soldered on a bail, and made them into pendants.  Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly), it took longer than I thought it would.  Apparently filing all the curved areas and sanding out the scuff marks takes awhile and can be fiddly work that's hard on the hands.  Luckily I finished and am quite pleased with how they turned out!