Memory Bracelets



My sample memory bracelets
& buttons

My initial thought about making the memory bracelets was that this might be a way to encourage support of my participation in the AFSP "Overnight Walk", while honoring not only Larry's memory, but also of others lost from Golden Gate Bridge.  Before sending out my emails to the group of people associated with the Bridge Rail Foundation, I contacted two of the BRF Board members to ask permission to send out my fundraising request and offer of the memory bracelets.  I made my sample bracelets for each  Board member with their childrens' names on them as an example, in addition to the bracelet I’d made with Larry’s name. They  gave me their blessing, along with their kind words and encouragement.

 

So my “never-been-done-before-by-me” beading experience was about to begin.  First stop… a craft store.  What the heck’s a craft store?  I know my way around a hardware store… but a craft store? A completely different beast.  My first lesson would be…. “Never go to Michael’s Craft Store on your lunch hour”, unless of course your lunch is actually two hours."  Within only a couple of days, I would become a regular at the Dublin Michael’s Store and was well on my way to becoming a bead junkie!

While the sample bracelets that I’d made were okay… the more I looked at them, which was all day (as my plan is to wear every bracelet, every day until the walk)… I being an Aries and a perfectionist, soon realized that I would be remaking not only the first three bracelets that I’d made, but more than likely many of the bracelets that I hadn't even made yet.

Matthew Whitmer
1986 - 2007

I found myself rushing home to get started on remaking the original bracelets.  The first bracelet remake was for Mattie Whitmer.  I knew from his mother Dayna that before he left this world, he had become interested in his Irish heritage.   I had found some pretty green beads that reminded me of clover leafs, but also looked like tear drops. I thought they would be perfect for Mattie's memory bracelet and to finish it... a clover.

Kathy Hull
1977 - 2003

The second bracelet remake was for Kathy Hull.  I picked an aqua colored bead, along with little rosettes and a heart in the center.  The picture that I have seen of Kathy is a beautiful black and white photo.  Even though it's black and white, her eyes look as if they were a color that when you looked into them you might  have felt as though you were swimming in beautiful ocean waters.

more memory bracelts to be posted as I make them....