The other day, I posted my entry for the weekly Shadow Hunters contest. The post featured shadows of some rosaries that I have made.
I thought you might be interested in seeing the rosaries that cast those shadows, so here they are. I made my first handmade rosary last November while visiting my wife's brother. He wanted to make a rosary and looked on YouTube for advice. We watched a video, then went to Hobby Lobby and Michaels looking for supplies.
We wanted to make paracord rosaries of the type made popular by Rugged Rosaries. Unfortunately, we couldn't find beads large enough, so we made smaller rosaries with glass beads.
I eventually ordered large beads on-line and started making paracord rosaries. I gave several away for Christmas gifts, but I have a few left at home to photograph:
Saint Michael Archangel Rosary
Memento Mori Rosary
"Memento mori" is Latin for "remember that you shall die," a reminder similar to the one Catholics will hear this week on Ash Wednesday when ashes are imposed on our foreheads - "Remember man, (+) that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return." Or, in Latin, "Meménto homo, (+) quia pulvis es, et in púlverim revertéris. To make that point, this rosary features skull beads for the "Our Father" prayers. *(+) = ashes imposed in cross on forehead
I also made some rosaries with a thinner form of paracord. The two shown below utilize semi-precious stone beads.
This next item is a pocket rosary.
A rosary bracelet that uses knots instead of beads.
I made this rosary as a Valentine's Day gift for my wife, but it was too large for her wrist.
So, I made a smaller bracelet along the lines of a pocket rosary. It stretches a bit to get it on and off the wrist. The sterling silver crucifix is on a clip that can be removed from the bracelet. The beads are actually plastic, so I felt bad about this being her only gift and bought her earrings from James Avery.
Last week, I prayed the Divine Mercy chaplet and I have decided to make a Divine Mercy paracord rosary with red and white beads and a Divine Mercy medal. All the supplies have been ordered, so I hope to have this new rosary this week.
Thanks so much for taking a look at my handmade rosaries and jewelry. If you are not Catholic, here is some info on how the rosary is prayed. If you are Catholic, pray the rosary every day. We are living through extraordinary times and I believe, as Saint Padre Pio said "the Rosary is the 'weapon' for these times."