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Kelly Diane | Autistic Catholic Rosary Maker

@itskellydiane

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📿 Turning rosaries into iconography through symbolism in metal + stone. | ✨Sharing church history with every bead
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The patron saint of hunters, archers, forest workers, outdoorsmen, hunting dogs, and more.

He was a nobleman who used hunting to cope when he lost his wife in childbirth. But the coping went too far and hunting turned into an idol for him as he abandoned the faith he was raised in. So God met him where he was at and on a hunting trip gave Hubert a vision of a stag with a crucifix glowing between its horns and a message that if he didn’t turn back go God, he’d be destined for hell.

Hubert renounced his titles and birthright and distributed all his wealth to the poor. He became a priest. But he didn’t abandon the forest he loved so much. Instead, he returned to it with a new purpose.

He began evangelizing to the pagans who lived in the forest and because he was such an experienced outdoorsman, he was able to connect with them and relate to them in ways others couldn’t. He gained their respect and their friendship. Hubert was seen as an expert authority on all things related to the forest and was consulted often on these matters.

He became the first bishop of Liège, established the cathedral there, and was known as a prolific teacher and had many miracles of healings (particularly of rabies) attributed to him.

I designed this rosary as a tribute to Saint Hubert and his patronage over modern day hunters and archers. But credit where credit is due — it was my husband’s idea to use orange gemstones for the Our Father beads after the safety gear worn by modern day hunters and I thought it was a fitting touch.

Today, November 3rd, is his feast day. It isn’t the day he died, which is usually the day we choose for saint feast days. Saint Hubert died on May 30, 727 or 728 in Fura, near Liège. But his remains were then transferred on November 3, 825 to Amdain, which became a pilgrimage site. Unfortunately, during the Protestant reformation, his remains were lost and never recovered.

Saint Hubert, pray for us. by @itskellydiane

I designed this rosary to be a cherished family heirloom. Just like the childhood Christmas ornaments you pull out every year or the antique nativity set that you always look forward to seeing every season, I wanted this rosary to stir up memories of Advent & Christmas prayers with your family.

It’s patterned after the advent wreath with purple decades to reflect the penitential liturgical color of the year along with a rose (not pink! 😉) decade for the Guadete Sunday candle and finally, a white decade for the Christ candle.

I intentionally made the pater beads gold and white which are the Catholic Church liturgical colors of the Christmas season following Advent and the centerpiece is a nativity scene with the Holy Family.

Advent is a penitential season of waiting, hope, and anticipation. Many families intentionally pray the rosary together throughout advent along with lighting their advent wreaths. My vision for the Advent rosary is that you’d have a special rosary for those Advent and Christmas prayers. by @itskellydiane

Without a proper theology of death and a reverence for the saints, you cannot possibly understand the profound significance and importance of Halloween.

Halloween is the first day of a sacred triduum in the church calendar. It is the evening before All Saint’s Day, a solemnity in the Church, much like we have a Christmas Eve.

Contrary to slanderous misrepresentations of history online, Halloween is not some “baptized” or reclaimed version of pagan holidays like Samhain. It is wholly, originally, completely ours as a Catholic holy day.

Did celebrations and festivals like Samhain exist? Yes. But it has nothing to do with why Allhallowtide was instituted by the Church. They were created in different parts of the world for different reasons, wholly independent of one another. While the Catholic Church has absolutely adopted and adapted non-Catholic traditions into our culture, Halloween is not one of them.

The origin and purpose of Halloween is holy — to remember the holy — and to call us to BE holy.

It is a season to remember, “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?” It is a time to remember that death is real. Death is coming for you. You too must also die, so what kind of a death do you want to have?

Celebrate the saints.
Rejoice in the rich history and heritage the blood of the saints helped to grow for you.
Honor your ancestors.
Pray for the dead.

And this Halloween, remember that you will also die. by @itskellydiane

I admit it. As much as I love the rosary, there’s many days where I just am not motivated to get started with prayer. But just like going for a walk or working out, if you can get yourself going, you don’t ever regret it when you’re done. by @itskellydiane

I was absolutely blown away by how much you all loved this idea!!! I do not have all the mysteries of the rosary memorized yet or remember which days you pray through which mysteries, so I found I was always rummaging through my purse for a prayer card or pulling out my phone to google it when I was in the middle of my rosary.

But that brought about distractions, temptations, and also just didn’t create the atmosphere I was looking for while I was trying to pray.

So I decided to put all the mysteries right on the rosary itself with sliding, compact disks on the rosary centerpiece and a disk which tells me which days to meditate on which mysteries. No more looking at my phone or forgetting the mysteries!

This rosary is turquoise — but there’s 12 different gemstone choices! 🩵 by @itskellydiane

As an autistic Catholic and a rosary maker, I have poured my heart and soul into this piece. I wanted this to be more than a rosary. I wanted it to be an icon of medal and stone, telling a story of not only Saint Thorlak himself but of the autism community who have claimed him as their unofficial patron saint within the Catholic Church.

I originally thought about blues and whites because Iceland, but the color blue has a bit of a controversial history in the autism community, and this rosary is to represent Saint Thorlak as a patron saint for us, so I decided to avoid that.

Instead, I focused on red and gold because not only are those the two main colors seen in some of the oldest St. Thorlak iconography we have, but those are two colors the autistic community has chosen to adopt for its own awareness and advocacy causes based on #redinstead and the gold infinity symbol.

The autism community largely rejects the colorful puzzle piece symbol and has instead chosen the gold infinity symbol because gold is “Au” on the period table which is the beginning of the word “autism,” and the infinity symbol represents the endless variety of human nervous systems and the limitless potential of autistic individuals. It replaces older deficit-based icons like the puzzle piece, celebrating autism as a natural part of human diversity rather than a condition that needs to be fixed.

The fleur de lis style lily might seem like a strange addition but I discovered that this is an ancient symbol of the Skálholt Diocese and is a reference to the Holy Mother of God. The lily symbol is also on the coat of arms of their diocese and is on the back of the official Saint Thorlak medal the diocese designed to honor him. Therefore, I knew it needed to be included.

Finally, I worked hard to make this rosary sensory friendly. If you’ll notice, my usual aesthetic style is to mix smooth and faceted cut gemstones in my rosaries. But I wanted to be extra sensory sensitive here, so they’re all smooth beads.

I hope I’ve done well for Saint Thorlak and my fellow autistic Catholics. This is for you. Saint Thorlak, pray for us. by @itskellydiane

Mark your calendars, set a reminder, save the date! 📱

New rosaries — one of a kind, few of a kind, and full five decade rosary WRAP BRACELETS will be here next week! ✨ These are usually gone within a day or two, friends, and Christmas is also coming sooner than you think! 🎄

What are you hoping to see? 👀

#catholic #catholicism #rosary by @itskellydiane

Nineteen years of feeling that tug and pull towards the church before I finally obeyed and took the plunge.

Did you guys know I actually went through an RCIA class back in my teens when I was in college? But unfortunately I caved to peer pressure and influence from my Protestant boyfriend, friends, and parents. It would take almost 20 years before I went through RCIA (now OCIA) again and actually be confirmed.

But all through those years I’d feel an interest, a pull, a nudging. I was SO scared of going against the grain of everyone I knew and loved that I resisted the pull every time.

Until one time, I started to pray some pretty intense prayers. I said, “Lord, I need you to either remove this desire from my heart completely or pave the way with clarity for this to happen. Please guide my steps and make it obvious to me what I’m supposed to do.”

My entrance into the church was painful and grueling. There was heartache and spiritual warfare. But it was BLATANTLY clear to me that this is where Jesus wanted me to be and I was determined to not back out this time.

He carried me through it all. He sustained me. He answered my prayers. He brought me the clarity I prayed for. What convinced me to join the Catholic Church?

Jesus made it abundantly clear to me that this is where he wanted me to be. by @itskellydiane

You guys!!!! I was not anticipating such a huge response to my new 20 Mysteries Rosary at ALL!!!! You have wiped me out of my stock of centerpieces in less than 24 hours and a bunch of you are asking where the listing is and how to order.

It is temporarily out of stock while I work on obtaining more centerpieces and replenishing my stock. I also have to MAKE all these rosaries that have been ordered along with customs I have as well. 😅 I’m going to be BUSY and I am SO THANKFUL!

Seriously, thank you thank you THANK YOU! I cannot tell you what a huge blessing this is to me and my family. Your support means the WORLD to me!!!!

I will work on getting more 20 Mysteries rosaries in stock for you ASAP and I’ll post updates and announcements here.

PLEASE — if you are seriously interested in a rosary, would you comment below and let me know so I can get an idea of how much stock I should plan on? It would help me out greatly.

Thank you again!!!! by @itskellydiane

I’m a newer Catholic convert and I don’t have all the mysteries of the rosary memorized yet and often times forget which mysteries are prayed through on which days.

I’m always losing my little card that has the mysteries written on it or I’m digging through my purse to find it or I’m pulling out my phone to look it up — and that just isn’t the vibe or atmosphere I want to set up for myself while I’m praying.

So I designed a rosary with sliding disks that have all the mysteries of the rosary stamped into it as well as a disk which tells you which days the mysteries are prayed on. They’re right on your rosary so you never lose it and you don’t have to rely on googling when you’re trying to *avoid* distractions while praying.

We’re all about combining pretty + practical over here. 💁🏻‍♀️ And you can customize your own gemstone choice too!

What do you think? Would you find this to be helpful in your prayer life? by @itskellydiane

Saint Zelie is the patron saint of married couples, mothers, lacemakers, those who have lost children, and many people adopt her as the patron saint of businesswomen as well.

Zelie was a successful lacemaker in France, married to Saint Louis Martin who was a watchmaker. Zelie’s lace making business had over 30 employees and she was so successful that Louis quit his own job to help Zelie run her business.

She was the mother of nine children total, but four died in infancy or early childhood. Her five surviving daughters all became religious sisters. One of them is Therese of Lisieux, a saint and one of the four female Doctors of the Church.

Zelie herself was very devoted to the rosary. Her family said that she was almost never without her rosary and she constantly had one in her hands. I wanted to design a rosary for Saint Zelie that I felt captured the heart of who she was and her own personality. I wanted a rosary that felt like an icon of stone and metal that captured her essence and spirit.

My inspiration comes from her own shawl, how she designed her bedroom and house, her jewelry, and her profession. I thought about her own personal choices and aesthetic and developed a pattern based off her life and possessions. I hope I’ve done her justice in making this patron saint rosary.

Saint Zelie Martin, pray for us. by @itskellydiane

An heirloom Advent & Christmas rosary inspired by the liturgical colors of an advent wreath. My vision for this rosary is that it would turn into a memorable heirloom for your family that you look forward to pulling out every season similar to special ornaments, your nativity scene or an advent wreath. May it encourage your family to pray together through Advent and Christmas.

Made with lavender amethyst for the penitential purple candles, rhodochrosite gemstones for the rose gaudete candle, and white jade for the “Christ candle.” The pater beads are white and gold flecked like the liturgical colors of the Christmas season. The centerpiece features a nativity scene of the Holy Family with a gold toned crucifix.

I’m only doing one round of these limited edition heirloom pieces to be sure I can get them to you in time for Advent. 📿 by @itskellydiane