I am so excited about my latest little creation for my Etsy shop Ruby Robin Boutique! It's my 'Wish and a whisper' bottle necklace, which I made by encapsulating a single Dandelion wish from my garden in a lovely little glass vial.
I love Irish folklore, and especially when it comes to herbalism! Even the most neglected and unloved of weeds have such wonderful stories and superstitions associated with them in this country, and the humble dandelion is surely no exception.
There are so many romantic myths surrounding the dandelion, the obvious one I remember from my childhood was that if you didn't wash your hands after picking them, you would be your bed that night :) I have a feeling that might have been a conspiracy on the part of some grown-ups to make kids wash their hands more often than they are naturally inclined to, and it worked too! Another fun one is that the longest stalk of dandelion you could find in spring indicated how much taller you would get by the end of the year, or that you could predict if a child would grow up to be rich is their chin shone golden when you held a dandelion flower under their chin!
Dandelions also have lots of romantic and whimsical connotations associated with them, included in a hedgerow wedding bouquet they bring good luck to the new couple, and planting dandelions Northwest of your house is said to being you good weather! If you blow all the seeds off a dandelion head in one go, someone loves you dearly and truly, if any are left, you have been forgotten. Furthermore, blowing the seeds off is also said to carry your thoughts and dreams into the mind of your one true love.
So I decided to create a necklace in wish you could have your very own wish and a whisper, encased in a tiny little glass vial for safe keeping, until the time you might need it.
