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)
$65.65

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".