Christmas Presents for My Sister

Rapidly, I am seeing that this "Christmas Present" series is turning into a feel-good love-fest for the people I'm writing about.  These people mean so much to me, after all, and I apparently cannot help but burble about them.  And is that a problem?  

Not in the slightest.

And so, guess who's up next?  I'll give you a hint: it's in the title of this post.

That's right!  Now I get to burble about my sister!  

...Surprise, surprise.  ;)

Oh, look, a pendant.  A very special pendant.
Read on to find out why.

I love my sister.  Over the years, she has been my confidante, my inspiration, my cheerleader, my editor--my earliest and closest friend.  Growing up, we had our share of shenanigans (we're sisters, after all), but I am blessed that we are still close friends.

Now, one of the things that my sister and I share is a love for writing, and a love for stories. And one of our favorite stories is found in an anime called Ronin Warriors (or Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, in the original Japanese).

Yes, it's a silly cartoon show from the 1980s--but the story is captivating, and the characters are quirky and lovable.  And the voice-acting in the English version is hilarious.

So, what does that have to do with the pendant above?

I'm so glad that you asked.

That pendant is the symbol of Rowen of Strata--my sister's favorite character from Ronin Warriors.  It's strung from a simple strand of tiny blue seed beads--the shade of blue associated with Rowen.

Where did I find that pendant?

Well, I made it.

Another shot of the pendant.

More specifically, I drew it on the computer using the actual symbol as a guide, and then had it 3D printed.  

In other words, it is both completely accurate and completely unique...  And it took forever to get it right, because I was very particular.

Once I received the pendant in the mail, I wire-wrapped it and found the perfect matching beads.  Now, there are five main characters in that series (the title Ronin Warriors), and I'm actually hoping to make necklaces with each of their symbols.  So far I have made three--Rowen of Strata, Sage of Halo (shown below), and Sai of Torrent.  The designs for Ryo of Wildfire and Kento of Hardrock have been drawn, but not yet printed.

On the left: Sage of Halo.
On the right: Rowen of Strata.

I was beyond thrilled to give a special gift to a special sister--and to utilize my newfound enjoyment of 3D modeling in making something sufficiently unique and geeky.