One-of-a-Kind Wasp Nest Necklace

This is where it all began. I was picking up the mail and this delicate little section of wasp nest fell into my hands. You just never know where inspiration will come from do you?

Well, that was one of those moments for me! I thought about what I could do with it and for some reason jewelry came to mind. Hmm. I used Diamond Glaze to first seal the nest. Next I painted it with a creamy white color acrylic paint. After that dried I sealed it a few more times and added a fine irridized glitter to it before it dried. Pearls seemed to go best with it, so I stitched up some pearls to form a ring and placed the nest in the center. I wanted some filigree for the backing and found a pair of earrings shown in one of the photos below. I added another row of tiny recycled pearls from another piece of jewelry to frame the nest. When it was all wired and glued into place it was still missing something, so I glued individual pearls into each opening. Below are some photos as I designed the necklace, figuring out where to attach the chain, and a final photo of the necklace. What do you think?

I love doing crazy things like this once in awhile. I once made a necklace out of dried out miniature marshmallows for a 30th birthday. I painted them, sealed them and strung them together to make a necklace. After all, the Victorians made jewelry out of hair! Now if I can only figure out something to do with that dryer lint. lol!

Hope you are all doing well. Connie