Abuzz in Black and Gold

With Bees announced as the Inspired by Nature Challenge this week, I explored my bead stash for every shade of black and gold it would yield. Not a bejeweled bee in sight, but I did remember two vintage buttons I found last year, both in traditional bee colors!

I liked that the button on the right suggests a flower, but on closer inspection, I found that the gold had flaked off in spots. The one on the left reminds me of ancient Egypt, where bees were thought to be the tears of Ra, the Sun God, transformed into the radiant honey producers when they fell to the earth.

My lariat is based on an ingenious design by Carole Ohl, where a button is used both as the focal and the closure. I totally missed the two brown lampwork beads in the lariat strap the first time I searched my stash. So glad I noticed them (and their honeycomb resemblance) on my second look!

“Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn’t know it so it goes on flying anyway.” – Mary Kay Ash

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