Folklore Friday - milagros

 Folklore Friday - milagros

I have been thinking a lot lately about what inspires me to make a piece, to create a pendant, to wear a certain piece of jewelry. Yes - partially this is inspired by preparing work for Beadfest in Philadelphia this upcoming August. But I have been chatting lately with fellow bead makers and discussing inspiration, ideas, motivation. It seems to make me a bit introspective. I am motivated to create a piece with meaning, with intention, with a history and a symbolism that speaks to the wearer. I want a person to be drawn to my piece ( be it pendant for their own use, or a finished piece I have created).  I hope it resonates with them; that it is a meaningful piece they can carry with them, an amulet, a talisman. So I plan to do a series here, if you will join me - on ancient and multicultural amulets - their meanings, and how they inspire me. 

Milagros - trans. from the Spanish -  "Little miracles" 

Photo credit: nomads and zingari blog

Milagros are votive charms, a sort of folk medicine and prayer combined. They are used in many Hispanic regions and countries, from the US through Latin America, even the Iberian Peninsula. Made of gold, silver, wood, wax... but most frequently found in tin and pewter, milagros vary greatly in size and depth. (Most are relatively flat, and smaller than a quarter.) Whether found at a saint's shrine, in a church, left as an offering or hanging on a simple ribbon in a home - they are unified by their symbolic meanings, and their intention.

"As part of a religious ritual or an act of devotion, milagros can be offered to a symbol of a saint as a reminder of a petitioner's particular need, or in gratitude for a prayer answered. They are used to assist in focusing attention towards a specific ailment, based on the type of charm used. Milagro symbolism is not universal; a milagro of a body part, such as a leg, might be used as part of a prayer or vow for the improvement of a leg; or it might refer to a concept such as travel. Similarly, a heart might represent ideas as diverse as a heart condition, a romance, or any number of other interpretations. Milagros are also carried for protection and good luck." (Wiki)

Ceramic milagros fresh from my kiln this morning. 

My favorite: the eyes milagro. These are currently available in my Etsy shop. 

I find the eyes a very powerful symbol of the self and the soul. I like this icon paired with inspiration words - perhaps things we need to "see" in ourselves or our lives. 

Two very different necklaces that I have made - and wear often.


What milagro symbol would you wear for protection and luck?
What do you need to "see" more clearly, or manifest in your life? 

Thanks for stopping by - I would love to hear your thoughts... 

Jenny

www.jdaviesreazor.com

References and shopping: 

Zanzibar trading 

Sacred Art Images

Happy Mango Beads

Direct from Mexico

An assortment from Etsy: 

Milagros on Etsy: LindaQueally, SHIWASHIWA, reDonewhat, LaMariposaGallery, HINT, suenosimports, TheRealJackChow, suenosimports. 

Are Your Flowers In Full Bloom?

Ours are!  Find some flowers in our AJE contributors shops!

Jennifer Cameron

Kristi Bowman-Gruel

Karen Totten

 Diana Ptaszynski

Kristen Stevens

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Lesley Watt

Melissa Meman

Linda Landig

Susan Kennedy

Rebekah Payne

The Brain Dump System

Today I'm going to introduce you to my simple plan to keep from going insane. I have dubbed it the Brain Dump System.

Between prepping for Bead Fest Philly, transporting two very intense and driven kids around to their various things, (one wants to single handedly improve and increase mass transit and got himself an internship with the city bus service without any parental assistance. The other wants to be an actress/dancer on Broadway and has play rehearsals, drama camp, dance class, and is in a film currently shooting locally), two houses to care for, bills to pay, pets to feed and care for, summer parties to host, etc etc etc.

 

 I have a system for keeping track of our daily agendas involving Google calendar and a weekly chalkboard calendar (photo is from May 2011)

These two things working together help make sure I always know where and when. However, it's the "to do's" that were killing me. I was trying to remember them. And doing them on my phone just didn't work well for me...

Last weekend I was at the store and ran across a 4 pack of cute journal sized notebooks clearanced for $4. That was when the idea was born....I bought a pack of the notebooks.

They were located right next to the scrapbooking aisle. So I picked up a few inexpensive things that would make the book functional AND cute. I am pretty sure they all came from the "Smashbook" line.

First I added the blank sticker and titled it Brain Dump. Then randomly glued some "fortunes" from one of the scrapbooking things I picked up.

 

I also picked up some red and white striped paperclips that came with little adhesive flags and labeled them for my needs.

Here's a close-up of one of the tags. How you label your tags depends on your needs. But I have so many to do lists under separate categories, that 3 of them are specific to business, house, and lake house in addition to other categories: to make, to buy, party planning (yes, I do a lot of that), and Remember This (for misc stuff). I have a couple leftover paperclips I can use if needed.  

 

As soon as I started "dumping" all my to do's onto the page rather than trying to keep them filed in my brain, I already started feeling less stressed. I even have a list of specific beads to make for Bead Fest.

I also found these super cute sticky notes/page markers that are stickers. Super convenient to just stick one set to the inside cover of the journal to use when I'm "on the road".

 

 Lastly, I wanted to make sure I always have a pen with me to write with. After all, what good is a brain dump system if you can't write in it? I bought some of these journal bandoliers a while back as gifts. I forgot to give them (oops) and took one to use for myself.

Hope this inspires you to create a system that works for you!

-Jen Cameron

Glass Addictions

Bead Fest Philly Here We Come!

Yep, it's only six weeks away!  Bead Fest Philly August 23-25, 2013!  I thought I'd share with you which AJE members are vending, booth numbers, the floor plan link and a coupon so you can get discounted admission!  Woot Woot!

Here are the AJE members who are vending and their booth numbers:

Jennifer Cameron:  Glass Addictions #559

Karen Totten:  Starry Road Studio #373

Susan Kennedy:  SueBeads #463

Jenny Davies-Reazor:  Jenny Davies-Reazor #461

Diana Ptaszynski:  Suburban Girl Studio #359

Click on the photo of the floor plan to see it bigger, that way you can locate our booths!

In addition, we all have little bookmark cards with discounted admission - please feel free to contact any of us to receive one!