Thursday's Worktable

All rightie... I get to show off what I've been working on this week! Woo-hoo!

But first, some background. My grandfather was a retired Episcopalian minister, and in the last years of his life he really started to relax and enjoy himself. He took frequent trips to Mexico, where he enjoyed the beach and even saw some Mayan ruins (so jealous!). 

He also started to wear Hawaiian shirts and black-cord necklaces, and when he passed away, I asked for some of those necklaces. I received three of them, shown here:

As I said, they are hanging from simple black cords... These are in varying levels of disrepair, and I've been meaning to remake them so that I'll actually wear them. After all, it seems a fitting way to remember him--and remember that age really is just a number.  

So, what does that have to do with my worktable this week? 

Well, my husband's birthday was yesterday, and I have been wanting to make one of these necklaces into a birthday present. Now, my husband is not a jewelry wearer... but it just felt right for him to have one. 

So, after I picked which one I wanted him to have, I cut off the fraying cord and gathered some supplies: 

...And made this:

The stone pendant has been wire-wrapped with 22 gauge wire, and hung from a custom-length rope chain. It's fairly simple (I was trying to go for "masculine"), and my husband seemed really touched that I made this for him. 

I think Pop-Pop would be pleased.

...Now, that's not actually everything I made for my husband's birthday. The second was a keychain, made to replace another of his keychains that broke:

...Yes, it's sappy. The key is supposed to be the key to my heart (yep, sappy), and that bead is actually made from rose petals--specifically, the petals of the roses he bought me for our last anniversary. He seemed pretty touched by this one, too... After all, I'm not the only sappy romantic in this relationship. ;)

So, there you go. Those are two of the projects that have been on my table this week: presents for my husband's birthday. I've also been finishing up some pieces for upcoming challenges, but I have to wait until next week to share those. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today... Happy Thursday, everyone!