Wearable shrine and altar - our Lady of Lourdes, mystical healer

I cannot think of anything more profound and powerful.

and yes, beautiful,

than wearing an altar on my heart!

I am so excited about these pendants.

I could write an entire book about the weeks and literally

months it took me to source the right material - as these are

not freely available in Cape Town.  

I went through three different soldering irons until I imported

one - thank heavens for the internet, EBay and Etsy!!

This tiny shadow box is recreation of the feel of the grotto

at Lourdes.  I used a holy card that I brought back from

Lourdes and I embellished it with tiny silk roses, seed pearls

and tiny crystal.  I placed it between two cathedral shaped

pieces of glass and then created a tiny box.  I applied the

solder on the sides reminiscent of the water dripping on the walls

of the grotto - so I spent quite a bit of timing getting the solder

to run down like water.

Above the box dangles a tiny crown - the one thing

that stands out most about Lourdes is the presence of

Mary's crown

Here are some images that I got on the internet

that makes clear what I am talking about

Underneath the shrine hangs an image of Our Lady of Lourdes

cast in sterling silver with resin and a beautiful

sterling silver piece with tiny swarovski crystals.

The beaded chain of the rosary is hand strung and

contains swarovski crystals, freshwater pearls and indian silver.

What a blessing to wear her image and fragrance on your body.

She is the Mystical Rose of our hearts that has such potential

and power for infinite love and compassion for each other

and this world and all her creatures.

blessings