My Country, of Thee I Bead - REVEAL

Welcome to the Reveal Day of My Country, of Thee I Bead Challenge, hosted by the amazing Nan Smith. Thank you, Nan for setting up this beading challenge!

My Country, of Thee I Bead CHALLENGE

First, a bit about myself. My name is Ana Cravidao and I come from Portugal. For those who don't know where Portugal is, I almost can't see it on the map above, it's a rectangle shaped country, located in the Iberian Peninsule, in western Europe. I live in Setubal, but I was born in Lisbon (the capital). I'm new to blogging (not one year yet) but I've been designing jewellery for five years. Despite my pseudonym, ACBEADS, I don't make beads but one day I'm  going to take that road too.

When I signed up for this challenge, I had no idea of what I wanted to make. So I started to look for inspiration. According to the rules, the piece should be based on something that is distinctive to one's country, for instance, the flag, the emblem, the anthem or anything that one feels is representative. I didn't know what an emblem was, so I looked up in the Wikipedia, and to my surprise, the emblem to Portugal was the Rooster of Barcelos. For me it was an traditional object made of clay with a ancient legend associated - a legend about the miraculous intervention of a dead rooster when an innocent man is wrongly sentenced to death.

Galo de Barcelos / Rooster of Barcelos
(Click here to go to Wikipedia's article to read about the legend )

Now, while I'm writing this, after some research, I'm not so sure about it being the emblem of Portugal, but it definetly is a symbol of my old and beautiful country. And it is a colourful and fun rooster.

The symbols of Portugal are the flag (the most important), the Portuguese shield, the cross of the Order of Christ, among others. If you're curious you can read more in this article from the Wikipedia.

Flag of Portugal/ Bandeira de Portugal

Inspired by the colours of the flag, I started to imagine a piece of jewellery. But how to design with red and green without making it look like a Christmas decoration? That is a challenge! The gorgeous filigrees of Portuguese traditional jewellery were also an inspiration. 

Pendente Coração de Viana (Viana Heart Pendant) - photo taken from Alma e Coração (Portuguese online Jewellery Shop)

For my piece, I've put an intricate brass heart pendant hanging from a chain I made using 7mm and 4mm brass jump rings and Swarovski red and green crystals. It is a short necklace and I like the way it looks when worn. 

I hope you like my post and my necklace. Don't forget to check out all the beautiful creations made by the other participants. Below you can find the full list for the blog hop.

Nan Smith (Canada)              http://wirednan.blogspot.ca  <----- THE HOSTESS

Dini Bruinsma (The Netherlands)   http://angazabychanges.blogspot.com/

Stephanie Weiss (USA)          http://uniquelymebwd.blogspot.com/

Ana Cravidao (Portugal)         http://acbeads.blogspot.com  < ----- YOU'RE HERE

Liz E (Pitcairn/USA)                http://beadcontagion.blogspot.com

Vera (Germany/USA)               http://veradesigns.blogspot.com/

Andra Marasteanu (Romenia)    http://bijouxdemonange.blogspot.com

Delilah (Romenia)                    http://mssdelilah.wordpress.com/

Jessica Murrey (USA)                http://whimsicalweavings.blogspot.com/

Mischelle Fannuchi (USA)          http://micheladasmusings.blogspot.com/

Rebecca (France/USA)             http://www.godsartistinresidence.blogspot.com

LiliKrist (Indonesia)                http://www.pcbylik.blogspot.com

NK Valentine Studio (Canada)   http://www.nvalentine.blogspot.com/

Karin (Canada)                       http://www.maverickbeads.blogspot.ca/

Diah Anggreni (Indonesia)      http://www.pernik-manik.blogspot.pt/

Karen (Australia)                   http://www.overthemoon-design.com/

Cath Thomas (The Netherlands/Switzerland)    http://samohtac.blogspot.com/

Asri Wahyuningsih (Indonesia/USA)     http://asribeadwork.blogspot.com

Crysalis Jewelry Design (Denmark/Canada) 

Jasvanti Patel (Brazil/USA)     http://www.jewelrybyjasvanti.blogspot.com

Lola (Serbia/Canada)             http://beadlolabead.blogspot.com

Becky Peterson (Sweden/USA)

Paula Hisel (USA)                   http://simplybeadiful.weebly.com/

Inge Von Ross (Germany)        http://ingetraud.wordpress.com/

Laurie Vyselaar (USA)             http://lefthandjewelry.wordpress.com/

Toltec Jewels (Mexico/USA)      http://www.jewelschoolfriends.com

Anindita Basu (India/USA)       http://www.alankarshilpa.blogspot.com

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Para os meus leitores em português, vou fazer um pequeno resumo. Este post surge na sequência de um desafio lançado pela canadiana Nan Smith do blogue Wired Nan, que consistia em elaborar uma peça de bijutaria inspirada em algo representativo do país onde nascemos ou do país de onde provêm os nossos pais ou antepassados. 

Como base de inspiração escolhi as cores da bandeira de Portugal (vermelho e verde) bem como o Pendente Coração de Viana da joalharia tradicional portuguesa.  

O resultado foi um colar curto, com um pendente coração de bronze, suspenso numa corrente feita por mim com argolas de 7 e 4 mm e cristais Swarovski em verde e vermelho. Espero que gostem e não deixem de visitar os outros participantes que constam da lista acima. Divirtam-se.