For Brides and Bridesmaids: Crystal Butterfly Jewelry

This past weekend I finally saw the first butterfly of the season. It made me feel so happy. What elegant creatures butterflies are and wouldn't you agree -butterflies simply make the world a prettier place!

The summer months are still the most popular for weddings and the following handmade butterfly jewelry pieces are perfect for the butterfly themed wedding. Not only can the butterfly bride and bridesmaids wear these necklaces and earrings on the wedding day, they will easily transition into their casual spring and summer wardrobes, as well.

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Inspired by the butterflies in my own garden are these graceful butterfly pearl wedding jewelry sets for brides.

Swarovski Pearl Crystal Butterfly Necklace (N026-GS)

In this handmade butterfly necklace, a single golden shadow Swarovski Crystal Butterfly drops gracefully from the center circle of this Y-style necklace of 14kt gold fill chain, accented with bridal white Swarovski Pearls. Length is 17-3/4" with the center drop length of 2".

Butterfly Pearl Mini Chandelier Crystal Earrings (E235)

These petite handcrafted beaded earrings feature golden shadow Swarovski Crystal Butterfly beads, a fluttering of bridal white Swarovski Pearls wire wrapped on mini gold plated open diamond chandelier earrings with 14kt gold fill leverback ear wires. Length is 1" from the bottom of the ear wire.

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Beautiful bridesmaid butterfly jewelry sets make for special and heartfelt bridesmaids gifts to the women you have asked to stand in your wedding party.

Swarovski Crystal Butterfly Necklace (N026)

Looking for a way to make your bridesmaids stand out? How about putting your maid of honor in a fuchsia butterfly necklace and your bridesmaids in light rose butterfly necklaces?! In this design, a single fuchsia Swarovski Crystal Butterfly bead drops beautifully from a center circle in this Y-style necklace of 14kt gold fill chain, accented with fuchsia Swarovski Crystals. Length is 18-1/2" with a center drop length of 2-1/4".

Crystal Butterfly Cascade Earrings (E102-FLR)

These crystal earrings are the perfect example for just how lovely handmade beaded butterflies jewelry can be! Perfect for the bridesmaids in your wedding and they can even wear these beauties after the wedding for a classic look with a touch of glam. There are three strands of 14kt gold fill chain with the butterfly drops measuring (largest to smallest): 1.75", 1.5" and 1.25". There are a total of two fuchsia Swarovski Crystal Butterfly beads and four (total) light rose Swarovski Crystal beads with 14kt gold fill lever back ear wires.

*There is only one piece each of the pictured jewelry above that are available and ready to ship. If you wish to purchase multiple pieces, please be aware the price may be higher due to the current cost of the metal you choose (either sterling silver or 14kt gold fill). But, there are also bridal discounts available for multiple piece orders. Please contact me to discuss your wedding details and how Crystal Allure Jewelry can best complement your special day.

If you are looking for a complementary butterfly bracelet, you might find Charlene's Custom Crystal Butterfly Charm Bracelet (B091-II) to your liking. I can either switch out the chain or create a brand new design -just for you!

Springtime Beaded Lanyards in Butterflies and Blooming Colors

These days it seems just about everyone has to carry either work keys, ID badges or access badges. For us ladies, digging through our purse is just not very efficient -right?! At some companies you have to wear a company ID badge all day -and let's face it, those "old school" collegiate cloth lanyards just aren't very sophisticated.

That's exactly what inspired my collection of handmade beaded lanyards! This collection offers a variety of spring, summer, fall and even holiday inspired ID lanyards featuring colorful Crystals by Swarovski. You will even find awareness badge lanyards!

The following crystal beaded lanyards offer a fresh springtime palette of blooming colors in pink, lavender, yellow, blue and peridot green. Always available is the option for custom beaded lanyards designed just for you!

White Pearl Cats Eye Pastel Crystal Butterfly Beaded Lanyard (L106)

Show your ID in style with this handmade beaded lanyard. Design features a beautiful array of pastel colors in grade A fiber optic cats eye: yellow, light purple, pink, light green, blue, rose; white pearl glass seed beads, sterling silver, light rose, violet, jonquil, peridot, and aquamarine butterfly Swarovski Crystals. Comes with a 24mm silver key ring, lanyard hook and finished with sterling silver signature jewelry tag. Length is 18" long, including key ring and badge hook.

Pink Luster Rose Cats Eye Crystal Beaded Lanyard (L103)

This beautifully strung pink beaded lanyard features rose pink grade A fiber optic cats eye beads, both pink and white pearl glass glass seed beads, sterling silver and clear Swarovski Crystals. Comes with a 24mm silver key ring, lanyard hook and finished with a sterling silver signature jewelry tag. Length is 16-1/2" long, including key ring and badge hook.

Beautiful Springtime Jewelry: Dragonflies & Butterflies

As I sit here today, the snow is coming down pretty heavy and although it's 19 degrees out, the blowing wind is making it feel like 7 degrees. It's actually quite mesmerizing to stare at the falling snow. What's going through my mind? Spring and Gardens!

You have no doubt heard the saying that when you see a butterfly, especially one that flutters closely to you, that it's your guardian angel (relative, friend, etc) that has passed on.

Freshwater Pearl Dragonfly Charm Lariat Necklace (N099)

I happen to believe my guardian angel is a dragonfly! I've especially noticed this the last few years from the start of spring through the entire warm season, I was 'followed' by a dragonfly. Every time I turned around, there it was, right there by me. And this makes sense to me because my older brother, who passed in 1998, would definitely have chosen to be a dragonfly instead of a more delicate butterfly!

The handcrafted pearl necklace above features garden of fresh blooming freshwater pearls in olive, light blue and peacock individually wire wrapped, accented by sterling silver ring circles and blue Swarovski Crystals. This beautiful lariat necklace is given modern edge with a 44mm hand-wrought delicate teardrop wire loop that has been hammered for added interest to showcase the sterling silver dragonfly charm. Measures 18-1/2".

For you butterfly lovers, there is this trio of springtime colored crystals in a lovely dangle earring that matches the Floating Blue Green Yellow Crystal Butterfly Bracelet (B174).

Floating Butterflies Crystal Beaded Earrings (E295)

As if floating through the air these handmade beaded earrings feature springtime colors in blue, green and yellow Swarovski Crystal Butterflies beads. Accented with aurora borealis Swarovski Crystals, Swarovski Pearls, sterling silver beads and sterling silver french hook ear wires. Length is 1-1/4" from the bottom of the ear wires.

Flight of Life Butterfly Transplant Awareness Necklace (NA104)

October raises awareness of many causes that include Breast Cancer, Depression, Mental Illness and Red Ribbon Week -to name a few.

As well, October is National Healthy Lung Month which is sponsored by the American Lung Association. The goal is to increase awareness of steps we can take to maintain healthy lungs.

Our lungs are amazing organs! They are affected by anything we breathe in and although our body has a defense system in place designed to protect our lungs, there are things we can do to reduce our risk of lung disease:

1. Don't smoke! Cigarette smoking is a major cause of COPD, lung cancer and it destroys lung tissue.
2. Avoid exposure to pollutants that can damage your lungs such as secondhand smoke, outdoor air pollution and chemicals/bad air in both the home and at work.
3. You can prevent infections simply by washing your hands, getting a flu vaccine and brushing your teeth.

Flight of Life Butterfly Transplant Awareness Necklace (NA104)

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Unfortunately, for some, even taking these preventative measures cannot save their lungs. For example, those with Cystic Fibrosis were born with the lung disease. No matter what precautions they take their lungs will eventually deteriorate to the point that they will need a lung transplant. That doesn't mean they shouldn't still take these precautions because they should still do anything they can to protect their lungs, for as long as they can.

So, for me, Healthy Lung Month and Transplant go hand in hand. Which is why I created the Flight of Life Butterfly Transplant Awareness Necklace (NA104)! Not only does it raise awareness of healthy lungs, it represents the importance of organ donation and giving the Gift of Life.

This inspiring handmade beaded necklace was designed for all those who are organ donors, transplant recipients and lung transplant survivors. The 17-1/2" necklace features a beautiful sterling silver 30.15mm butterfly pendant (symbolizing life) with a full beaded strand of gorgeous green marble seraphinite gemstones, white Swarovski Pearls (hope) and sterling silver beads. Not only is green the nationally recognized ribbon color for Organ Donation and Transplant, it's also the awareness color for Healthy Lung Month!

Did you know? It has been said when lungs are transplanted and take their first breath, it's like a butterfly opening its' wings. A beautiful symbol for what can only be described as a beautiful -life saving -event. That is why the Butterfly is a Symbol of Lung Transplant.

Looking for more handmade Butterfly Awareness products? Check out Bronson Hill Arts handcrafted Flights of Life Butterfly Notecards, in support of Lungs for Life.

Beautiful Butterflies in Swarovski Crystal

Painted Lady Butterfly 2012

You may recall some weeks ago an unusually large number of Red Admiral Butterflies invaded the area.

They were everywhere! The combination of a mild winter and an early spring produced a warm front that sped up the butterflies' migration back to Rochester.

This influx event is called an irruption. It's a natural, cyclical population boom that causes an increase of butterflies every couple of years. It's been estimated the last time an event like this happened was 12-15 years ago.

The Painted Lady Butterfly pictured above was taken with my IPhone (no marketing plug there..) on my way to work one morning. It's actually the underside of the butterfly as it was resting on glass. If you've ever wondered what the underside of a butterfly looks like, well, there you have it. For the last ten plus years, my own personal butterfly garden has gone through numerous changes. But, each year, it continues to get a variety of visitors. I can't wait to see what it brings this year!

Yellow Tiger Swallowtail from my Butterfly Garden 2010

For those of you who follow this blog and Crystal Allure Jewelry regularly, you also know, the butterfly is a symbol of lung transplant. It has been said that when newly transplanted lungs take their first breath, it looks like a butterfly opening its' wings.

Which is why on nearly all our handmade beaded lung transplant awareness bracelets and jewelry you will find a sterling silver butterfly charm.

There is much more to butterflies than just their beauty. Butterflies symbolize many different things. Some butterfly mythology reads:

• The Mandarin Chinese word for butterfly is "hu-tieh". "Tieh" means "70 years", therefore butterflies have become a symbol for a long life.
• Greek mythology, links butterflies to the human soul. The Ancient Greeks also considered butterflies as the souls of those who had passed away.

The butterfly is also a symbol of transformation because of its impressive process of metamorphosis. The butterfly goes through a huge transformation, in the short span of about a month, to such an extreme that they are unrecognizable at the end of their transformation.

The symbolic lesson of the butterfly transformation is to casually accept and have belief in the changes taking place in our lives. By accepting the change that comes we can emerge from our own transitions as brilliantly as the butterfly.

Our lives are always in transition. It's how gracefully we accept the transition that determines how successful we will be. Others will either share in your new found beauty or they will not. Conditions do not have to be perfect (and I'm sure most will agree, they rarely are!). But, if your transition is one you accept, believe in and welcome in your heart -you will.not.fail.

Floating Blue Green Yellow Crystal Butterfly Bracelet (B174)

What I want to know is, why does the butterfly get to hide in its' cocoon until its' transformation is complete.  :-) Maybe its' transformation (physically) is so gross you wouldn't want to see it? But, I digress...

Although I have attempted all week to share this inspiring butterfly blog post, it wasn't until today that I guess it was meant to be. Today's weather is looking somewhat gloomy. But, I'd say spring has sprung with a field of beautiful floating Swarovski Crystal Butterflies in this handcrafted bracelet.

Each crystal butterfly has been individually wire wrapped with sterling silver wire for added elegance and sophistication. Three strands of various sized butterfly beads in a gentle spring palette of yellow, blue and green presents a beautiful cuff style bracelet. Finished with our signature jewelry tag. The Floating Crystal Butterfly Bracelet (B174) is adjustable 7" to 7-1/2".