This fall, Judy had to read Bram Stoker's Dracula for her 10th grade World Literature class. At the beginning of the book, she really struggled to understand the old world customs Stoker describes, and as a result of her struggle, I ended up re-reading it with her.
One of the things she didn't understand (and I have to admit, I also don't quite understand myself) was the sign of the evil eye. It made me realize how insulated we were from those old world traditions. We looked it up and although I am not really sure I could explain it coherently for you even today, we understood that the sign protected against the evil eye or in the case of Dracula, the evil, all-seeing eye.
Now if you look up "evil eye," you will find a couple of different symbols...one being beads that have an eye shape in them and another being the hamsa, a hand which sometimes appears with an eye in its palm.
This is not my photo, I found this image here.
Recently, in an on-going search for fun components to add to my jewelry, I came across some colorful evil eye beads and thought it would be fun to incorporate them into a few pieces.
In the true spirit of all things Dracula, I came up with these necklaces to help ward off vampires, you know, just in case you were looking for just the right gift for your vampire-hunting friends...of course, they should be sure to carry and nice sized wooden stake and some holy water with them as well.
The Cross with Evil Eye Necklace:
The focal point of this necklace is a sterling silver cross that is shiny and slightly domed. It attaches to the chain by a silver-plated swivel clasp so you can remove the cross and mix and match your many pendants.
The chain upon which it hangs is an assemblage necklace with a several different components including silver-toned chain, a hand-wrapped rosary segment with colorful glass beads and a hand-wrapped link featuring a juicy lampwork bead with a tiny heart charm dangling from one of its loops.
The chain measures 19 inches in length and fastens on the side with a silver-plated lobster clasp.
The Protective Hand with Evil Eye Necklace:
The second necklace I have to share with you today also sports the colorful evil eye beads.
The focal point of this necklace is a sterling silver hand holding a heart...it is not really a true hamsa, but a sweet variation!
I did not make this pendant, but it is hand-made. I bought it from Etsy several years ago. I would love to tell you who the artist is, but I cannot find the transaction.
This necklace is very similar to, but slightly simpler than the cross necklace above. It utilizes the same components, but the hand-wrapped link features a slightly lighter glass bead and it does not have a dangle hanging from its link for the reason that the hand pendant is lighter and cannot counterbalance the weight of the heavier lampwork bead and extra dangle.
It measures 17 inches in length and fastens on the side with a silver-plated lobster clasp.
Both of these necklaces are available in My Etsy Shop now.
That is it for this week, although I have some very fun components on the way that I am excited to try out -- watch keys, watch movements, tiny harmonicas and whistles. More on those as they become available.
