Currently, I am working on a handful of projects... Some of them have been waiting for quite some time, as I have struggled to find the materials I have in mind ... This is one of those projects. I had finally put into words the meaning the copper heart pendants had for me ... and have been asked a few times to consider including that WITH the pendants. Since everything used to make the pendants is scrap/repurposed/second-hand, I wanted whatever I made this part of to also be some form of eco-friendly. I am kind of surprised at how difficult it has been to locate eco-friendly paper options in town, and the online options are quite expensive that I just can't do right now. But that is ok.. because I got creative with it and realized I already have everything I need. I used an envelop - that happened to be from a friend's wedding invite, so it makes me smile to be using something like that (every element of these pendants are going to be filled with love and goodness!) ... I used a typewriter I am borrowing from a friend, which worked perfectly because I wasn't sure how else to print it on such odd sized pieces of paper. I made mistakes. All kinds of them. And there is no CTRL+Z on this machine. But part of the "beauty" of the actual pendants is in their imperfections ... just like us humans ... and just like our lives. 
I wanted these printed on paper thin enough to fold - like...origami. A while ago, I learned how to fold paper hearts, for a specific reason ... I would put messages/quotes on them for someone who meant something to me, who was going through some tough times, as little bits of inspiration or things to hopefully light up a smile ... As I've mentioned in the past, the heart shape has taken on a wider meaning for me, it isn't just this lovey dovey thing ... there is a speaker (Kyle Cease) who really opened up my mind on love - he said that each of us, as individuals, we ARE love. When we realize that, we realize we can spread/share love in so many more ways than just relationships, we can just BE it, we don't have to go out trying to GET it ... we don't have to feel down because we don't have it (from others), because we ARE it ... (and realizing we ARE it also allows us to realize we are complete as is ... we don't have to get the rest of ourselves from others - this gets pretty complex to write out ... if you are interested, I highly suggest checking out some of Kyle's videos - I linked to his youtube which is loaded with incredible content) ... and we become so much more open to the various ways to receive love. Hearts/love also are a reminder for me to come from a place of love - vs fear (also a thing I learned from Kyle Cease) ... to tune into my heart, and listen... to be my truest self...and follow that truth. Much of this was also behind the motivation for creating the paper hearts for this person ... and of course, hearts can be used to show that you care. I also think there is a neat little bit of symbolism to this ... in order to read/see what is inside, you must "open your heart" ...
People come and go from our lives for a variety of reasons. A quote that has always stuck with me regarding this was from a random person who was photographed by the Humans of New York fellow ... this woman said "When my husband was dying, I said: 'Moe, how am I supposed to live without you ?' He told me: 'Take the love you have for me and spread it around.'” Sometimes when we care about someone, and they leave our lives for some reason, it feels like love also goes/dies... because we don't get to give that to them anymore, nor do we get to feel it from them. This quote + Kyle Cease's work reminds me that that isn't necessarily true ... Those who truly mean something to us, chances are they changed our lives and changed us in some way ... to remember what you've learned from them, to remember the care/love you've felt from them, and spread that around in creative ways is a way to "carry them on" in a sense ... to honor them ... this person, who I had made paper hearts for, with meaningful words within, had been a huge inspiration in so many ways for me. And while I unfortunately may not be able to keep the actual human, I may not be able to continue giving paper hearts to them ... and as sad as all of this can feel ... the lessons, the memories, the inspiration, the love from and for this person are a part of me, and I can carry it on and spread it all around. It lives on in a different form ... the person lives on in a different form ... and to do this is the best way I can think of to say "Thank you" for existing, for the moments with you, and for what you've brought to my life ... and that will all live on.
When I was thinking about how to include the meaning of these pendants, everything I've shared here just connected at one point, and it felt the paper hearts were fitting for this ... with their personal history/meaning, with the materials used, and with the symbolism.
Here is the written meaning of the inspiration behind the copper pendants themselves, that is imperfectly typed onto folded paper hearts ... This pendant is made of scrap wire, hammered on concrete, symbolizing the times in life we feel beaten. The yarn serves as a forget-me-knot to keep a softness in our heart. The pendant represents that no matter what we go through, we can choose to BE love, kindness, compassion, whatever we want to be...and we can choose to make something beautiful.
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