Bone, malachite,and wood necklace

I keep trying to use things I have in my stash, so that I don't feel guilty for buying new things without first using things I already have.

While digging through a clearance bin at Michaels a couple of years ago, I came across some bone beads. What caught my eye was that there were a number of packages of different shapes, and they went well together. So, they came home with me and sat in a drawer.

Last week, I finally made a necklace out of some of them. The wood beads were also from my stash, but I bought new beads too. I was talking to a co-worker about minerals and beads. He has a degree in geology, and he used to live with a woman who did beading for a living. Therefore, he can hold intelligent conversations when I mention beading. (When I say something like "copper crimp beads", I don't have to explain anything.) Anyway, I told him I wanted a malachite necklace, since I love the dark green color. Later, when I was walking home, I realized that malachite green would look great with bone! So, I purchased some Malachite chips (at Jo Ann, with a coupon). The random chip shapes were also different enough to make the necklace more texturally interesting than if I were to use round or oval beads.

The bone beads all had different patterns carved into them. I tried to group them into pairs, and arrange each member of the pair opposite the other on the necklace to provide some balance.

I like that all the beads in this necklace are made from natural materials. Two of the kinds are organic!