It's All My Dad's Fault...

What do you give a dad who has everything and doesn't care much about possessions? Well, for a while, I just donated money to a charity I knew he would appreciate. But, that kind of got old (and I didn't have much money to give any more). So... I learned how to make bolo ties. 


Lucky for me, my Pop loves bolo ties (also called string ties). I think it started, for him, with trips to the Southwest. He would purchase beautiful Navajo silver and turquoise bolo ties. Whenever he went to his office, or out to dinner, on went the bolo.  

When I first started making them with polymer clay, I used to buy silver tips and leather cord. But, in an effort to place my own "voice" in the ties, I began making my own tips, and used buna cord instead of leather (heh, guess they could be called "buna bolos" - say that five times fast).  

Now I'm making them not just for my dad, but as necklaces (as in, for women). I really like wearing them myself. While I still love making my "honking big bead" necklaces, and am still playing around with the torque style necklace with magnets, my personal favorite to wear is the bolo. They are light, colorful (well, mine are), and unexpected (at least on a woman).  Throw in my kooky organic "cilia and cell" patterns, and they can generate a lot of surprised looks from folks - in a good way, that is.  So yeah, it's all my dad's fault.