Jewelry.

I made the cord using several strands of thread, and tore apart a funky silver necklace for the clasp and silver ring for the drop.  The beads were a gift from an angel- not my normal thing, but I think it turned out nicely enough.

I would never have picked these beads.  But I had them (Thank you, angel!) and when I poured them out, they seemed to tell me what they wanted to be.  By this point I had no monofilament, they were too heavy for thread, and I wanted to reserve what little coated wire I had left for something else.  So what to do, what to do?  I found a small roll of silver and just kind of... winged it.  I made curlicues like wind in a Winnie the Pooh drawing, and played with the idea of red leaves being blown by a very blue stream.  Something like a nursery rhyme illustration, bright but somehow peaceful.  I like it.

This one came because of some serious, hardcore inspiration.  For months I've been wanting to do something for someone who suffered a loss.  And jewelry seems contrived, nothing else seems good enough.  So I was thinking about the "Hope" bracelets we'd make in Bible Memory camp (black is sin, red is blood, blue is baptism, white is purity, purple is riches in heaven) and I thought, there's got to be a way to make a prayer bracelet that doesn't look childish, that has real meaning, even if the wearer isn't a Christian.

So I made this bracelet.  Here's an explanation of each bead:

Either end is a pearl, to represent the beauty that comes from pain and patience, the wisdom that comes from a full life.

Black is for loss.  Some great, some small, but inseparable from life.
Red is for pain
Yellow is for fear and anxiety
Brown represents earth- to bring us back to reality and keep our feet on the ground
Blue is for water, which represents the currents of the ocean and being washed clean
Green is for life itself- but especially the new life of spring which is only born because of the little deaths of fall and winter
And the final bead is a pink rose, for the hope of the seasons still to come.
And of course the bracelet is worn as a circle.  One cycle ends, the next begins.

It may not be a comforting thought for all, but I look at it and feel a certain kind of peace.  Life is bittersweet, but it is life.  And life is good.

Of course, as always, they are on Etsy.