LOVE TOKEN EARRINGS

I went to the park to gather a few seeds
from the Adenanthera pavonina tree.

They are perfect for this month's Le Challenge theme, "Single".

It's a practice here for single ladies
to collect enough of these to fill up a glass jar
then give them to the guy they like.

 

Why are these seeds used as tokens of love?

Perhaps it's their heart shape (squint your eyes) 

and vibrant red, the colour of passion.

 

 Love tokens made me think of old-fashioned courtship.

What came to mind was a vintage-looking pair of earrings,
something the heroine in a romance novel might wear.

"Something ornate, but not overly so, to frame the red seeds", I thought.
 

These leafy bead caps might work.

The points break up the expanse of red.
The texture on the metal contrasts with the smooth surface of the seed
and provide visual interest.

The caps were just the right size too and held the seeds in a warm embrace.

They were then glued to earring posts.

And I have a pair of vintage-y earrings I think will be worn often.

 

The red is striking, isn't it?

As a child, I was told this story about how the seed got its colour:

Once upon a time, there was a loving couple. One day, the husband was summoned by the king to go to war. The wife was sad to see him go. Every day, she climbed to the top of the hill in the hope of seeing him return. She did this for weeks, then months, and then years. He never came back. She cried and cried. One day, her tears turned into drops of blood. As they touched the ground, Adenanthera pavonina trees sprung up. When pods of the tree ripened, they burst open and threw out bright red seeds. Villagers said they were the tears of the heart-broken wife. 

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See the brooch I made for last month's Le Challenge, "Wood".

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~Ema N~

 

Linking up with Le Challenge.

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