“Purple Pearls”

“Purple Pearls”

   

How wealth is defined in society today varies greatly on who you are talking with.  Some define it by the job you have, income level, education etc.  Some cultures base wealth on having things that are rare or difficult to obtain.  I could argue on similar scale wealth is still gauged this way today.  A person is wealthy because they have a lot of money and most people don’t (rare item).  A person has a PhD. which takes a lot of money, time and (theoretically) skill/knowledge to obtain that level of education (rare item).  A person is in charge of a large company with many fancy titles for their occupation and the big paycheck that comes with it (rare item). Some of my husband ancestors are Eastern Band Cherokee and from what I have read they had status symbols as well. As far as I can tell necklaces were made from beads from seeds, bones, pearls and seashells. Beads made from shells that were purple in color and purple pearls wear a status symbol because of how difficult these were to obtain (rare item).

Everybody has a picture of what wealth looks like and how to get it or even how to keep it if they have it.  I think wealth in its most lasting form is defined by the love that exists within a family.  Do the parents love their children?  Do the kids love their parents?  Do the husband and the wife love each other? I believe that love within a family is wealth (rare item).I am aware this is an opinion.  My own kids my feel differently as they become aware of their own opinions about society.  One of the ways I like to show my kids I love them is by making things for them that show them that I was thinking about them as an individual.  My oldest daughter is really proud of her Eastern Band Cherokee ancestors and asks me for stories about them frequently.  So when she my oldest daughter and my husband got invited to a daddy daughter dance at church and the theme was to dress up like your ancestors she was so excited.  I don’t have pearls I can string for her; we don’t have that kind of wealth.  However, we did have seashells from a trip we took to see family. 

Step #1

I made cold porcelain beads and let them dry.  This took about a month.

Step#2

I sanded the beads smooth when they were dry.

Step#3

I painted the beads with a metallic purple paint I mixed.

Step #4

I painted a thin coat of a white metallic color to make the bead look more like dark purple pearls.

Step#5

I took a dremel and drilled a hole in the sea shell for the rope to go through.

Step #6

I threaded the rope threw the sea shell and knotted it.  Then I added a “purple pearl” on each side of the shell. Making a knot before and after each bead.

My daughter loves the necklace and I love that I can make her something that she loves.

Materials

Cold porcelain - I already had the ingredients in the kitchen  0.00

Acrylic paint- my husbands that he keeps around for projects 0.00

Black cord- left over from another project                  0.00

Seashell- from a family trip                                0.00

Total Cost

                                                             0.00