When we first moved to California, Husband and I decided to take a Spanish class through the Adult School. Husband had taken Spanish in high school and definitely had an advantage, but it was a lot of fun. We met a few people in the class that we still see around town, but one woman we met was so kind to us. It was to be our first Thanksgiving without our family, and she invited us to join them. It was so great to be included, and we had a wonderful time.

Fast forward 8 years, and we now call this woman and her husband our adopted California parents (because we are about the same age as their daughter). They are very dear friends of ours, and we have been so blessed to be included in their family (including a family reunion!) all of these years.

And so when this appeared under my car wiper blade one day last week, I knew it was Adopted California Father that left it there for me. I could recognize the handwriting through the windshield. (It says “USEM OR LOSEM.” He’s quite a character.) He knows I’m always making something, so he drops off things like this from time to time. (I’ve also been getting lots of eggplant drop-offs from their garden this year – yum!)

So I dumped the contents of the bag (a broken necklace) and sorted the loot.

I already have 3 projects in mind for these beads, but the orange/peach/golden yellow are the ones for today’s project.

I dug through my thrifted jewelry pile and found this silver chain and pendant. I removed the green pendant and saved it for another project. The chain will work well with the orange beads.

I played around with the beads, grouping them by shade and size, until I found a design I liked. I used head pins and eye pins to create wire-wrapped loops.

I attached the loops to the chain with jump rings, starting with yellow in the middle.

I measured the spaces for the other beads to be attached and used sewing pins to mark their places in the chain.

That’s it!

I love these colors – swirls of yellow, orange, and even a hint of pink. They remind me of jelly beans, in a pretty way.

You know, my blood runs orange, so I think this necklace is pretty great. (And yes, it’s the first week of November, and I’m wearing a tank top, but fall is ALMOST here.)