What's A Girl To Do? Part 5

What's a girl to do when she finds a bag full of these at the Flea Market??

...she makes these....

...and these...

...and these...

I found a bag full of bottle caps at my favorite Sunday flea market and couldn't resist them for the price! I wasn't sure what i was actually going to DO with them but i knew they could be transformed into something quite lovely if i gave it some thought. 

"A reliquary (also referred to as a shrine or by the French term chasse) is a container for relics. These may be the physical remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothing, or some object associated with saints or other religious figures."

This "chasse" was the inspiration for my bottle cap transformations. It is an authentic reliquary of Ste. Therese...a French Carmelite nun also known as "The Little Flower of Jesus." It was given to me by my dear friend, Marguerite, after my father passed away. Ste. Therese has special meaning for my family as my father was especially fond of the Saint. My friend bestowed it upon me knowing that it would be give me great comfort and would be greatly cherished as well.

 

I combined my love of reliquaries and mourning pins to create these pieces.

Mourning Pin: "Pins meant to be worn during a period of mourning. Commemorating the passage of a loved one by immortalizing his or her portrait, or by using pieces of the deceased jewelry in a new piece of jewelry."

I've used copies of vintage prayer cards and holy images, distressed the caps with ink, added snippets from vintage French dictionary pages and added bits of glitter and vintage rhinestones from old jewelry as embellishments. The piece is then preserved with a thin layer of resin. I will add jump rings to some, pin backs to others and magnets to some as well. The possibilities of how to use these are limitless. They just "speak to me." I hope they speak to you as well.

Avec Amour,

~*~Michelle~*~