Christmas Presents for My Best Friend

Well, here it is.  The last entry in my Christmas present blog series.  

...or is it?  ;)

This particular entry is dedicated to my best friend, and the presents that I made for her.

And, wow, how to introduce my best friend?  She is no stranger to this blog; I've written about her in many, many entries.  We've gone fossiling together, we've burst into laughter at the craft store together, we've done NaNo together.  She is a good listener, a book-lover, a jewelry-maker, a loom-knitter, an awesome cook-and-baker...  We can spend hours in a used bookstore, or watching documentaries, or simply knitting quietly next to each other.  Our shenanigans range from ridiculous to legendary, and I'm honored to call her my friend.

Now, it's always difficult deciding what to make her for Christmas--not because I don't know what she likes, but because it's hard to narrow it down.

This time, I decided to go with gears.

Look familiar?

You see, she really likes the steampunk aesthetic--and looks really good in it, besides.  So, I made her a gear collar necklace, much like the Inventor's Workshop necklace that I have listed on my store.

So.  Much.  Wire-wrapping.

And she knows how much I love her, because she's seen me make one of these necklaces before.  It took two hours to wire-wrap the gears alone...  And then I had to string it. 

She was amazed when she opened the present...  After all, as I said, she's seen me make one of them before, and had always wanted one but never wanted to ask me to make it for her.  

But, I didn't stop there.

You see, I was on a roll.  And, besides, the collar necklace is awesome for when she wants to make a statement...  But what about those times when she wants something more subtle?

And so, I also made this necklace:

Please forgive the strange focus of this picture...
I was going a bit quickly, taking photos before
I wrapped the present.

The gears are smaller, and the chain is quite thin, making this necklace much more delicate and dainty...  And steampunky all at the same time.

Close-up of the gears and wire-wrapped black beads.

 

The gears were placed in a semi-random order, with the only rule being
that the same color metal would not be placed two in a row.

So many tiny jumprings...  so much wire-wrapping...  but, so worth it!  :D

Drama shot!

And, still, that wasn't it.

You see, I had one more trick up my sleeve.

Last, but not least, I also made her a teacup necklace, like the one I made for my mother-in-law.

I'm a little teacup, short and stout...

I mean, she has an entire kitchen cabinet dedicated to tea...  I think if anyone would deserve a teacup necklace, it would be her!

Gratuitous teacup shot!

One lump or two?

So, those three necklaces are the presents that I made for my best friend for Christmas: a teacup necklace, an Inventor's Workshop gear collar necklace, and a brand new never-made-before dainty gear-design necklace.

But, wait!  There's more!

...This is where I'm going to reveal that this entry is actually going to be a two-parter.  Mwahahahaha! 

You see, my best friend is like me--she's a December baby.  So, not only did I make her Christmas presents, I made her birthday presents, too!  :D

So, indeed, there is one more entry coming--a bonus entry, as it were.

And then I really will be done.

...I think.  :D

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...And, on another note: Happy Superbowl Sunday everyone!

I hope your day is full of family and friends, and much laughter!