I try to make otters with a more serious expression, but honestly, they just refuse. They are having too much fun, thank you very much, and their joy is contagious.

This little guy would hardly hold still a moment for me to measure him, but I think he's about 1 3/4" from stem to stern. Look at the detail in that little space! He even has tiny whiskers. I made him out of polymer clay to look like real ivory.

I made the pendant with a handmade sterling silver headpin, and accented with a little blue and rust striped antique trade bead known as an "Awale chevron". The brown spacer bead is also an antique trade bead, finished with a small clear blue glass bead. Trade beads were made in Bohemia and Venice over the last few hundred years, and traded throughout Africa, Asia and the American West.

The leather cord is a high-quality braided bolo cord in brown and black. It's about 16" long and finished with sterling silver ends and an oversized sterling silver oval lobster claw clasp. And of course, my signature sterling silver jewelry tag.