Refining

I fixed the pendant with the two-hole bead studs, fixed it so I liked it better, fixed it so the chaton showed up better and wasn't in shadow, fixed the bail to be something repeatable and not horrible to stitch. Verified that it works with other beads, that sort of thing.

I also fooled around with variations on a beaded bead which I first showed you at least a month ago and to which none of the beads below bear excessively much resemblance.

I actually first made the one on the right and was pretty happy with it because it's almost lacy: those curving swoops of seed beads border little "portholes" into the hollow interior, so even though they're somewhere between three-quarters of an inch and just under an inch in any direction, they're very light for their size and so are suitable for earrings, always a plus.

Then I made the one in the middle and it's my least favourite. It's more squared but without the clean elegance of a real square; it just looks dumpy to me. Also the fringe beads (clearly not made to terribly exacting measures) may well tend to roll to the inside which is not useful. I suppose I could use berry beads which don't have a business end like the fringe beads.

The last one, the one on my left, is my favourite. It's less round, more tapered at each end and the cluster of fringe beads is like a cluster of delicious berries or lips puckered for a kiss.

Definitely the best but perhaps not the last.

I'm not out of ideas yet.