Memory Bead - The Wedding Gift

I've written at length about my love of making Memorial Beads. But another similar type of bead I love to make is what I call a Memory Bead. It's a way to capture a memory.

These can vary depending on the occasion. I've made hollow beads and filled them with sand from a beach to celebrate a proposal. When I went to visit my niece last year in Nevada, I was stunned at the powder like quality of the sand on the lake by her house.  Because that sand was so fine, I melted into glass and made her a bead out of it.

With her recent marriage, the good memories continue. This is the gift I made the honeymooning couple:

Forgive the bad photos... it's POURING here and that's the best shot I could get on this gray day!
It's a silver shadow box style frame containing a heart made from the champagne bottle I found on their table while cleaning up after the wedding. Behind the heart is a story I wrote for them. Here's a closer view:

It reads:

David & Athena

February 17, 2012

Made from the champagne bottle used to toast your nuptials, this heart symbolizes your journey together...

Formed from two distinct beads and shaped into one heart, just as your love has turned the two of you into one...

...Air bubbles were carefully placed inside the heart. Some consider this a flaw... but they are there to remind you that no marriage is perfect and that sometimes... you just need to breathe and work through whatever is troubling you. 

On the front of the bead is a spiral. This is the symbol of the circle of life. In some cultures, this means "home." No matter where life takes you, follow your heart and it will lead you home. 

Life is a journey - one you have chosen to share with each other. Life will lift you up and it can beat you down. But love is a shelter in any storm.

Treasure One Another.

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Photoshop Tutorial for the how to geeks: 

• Photograph the bead. Measure it as well. 
• In Photoshop, create a new workspace the size of your project...mine is  4 x 6. 
• Paste the bead pic in and using the rulers size it down to actual size. 
• Fill background layer with white.
• Type your memory story on top of the bead layer, using the bead pic as a guide to create a void in your type. 
• Hide the bead layer and change your printer settings to a greeting card weight paper before printing.