When I was young I spent a lot of time with my maternal grandparents...it was always an adventure! My "Nana", Mary Magdalene Kenny, was a high spirited full blooded Irish woman; her husband, my grandfather, was a mild mannered full blooded Northern Italian. I got my love of cooking and baking from my Nana (more on her later!), but when I wasn't in the kitchen with her, I was either at my grandfather's bookstore, rifling through boxes with him in their attic, or painting trees at night with a honey and beer concoction designed to attract moths. My grandfather, Aurelio Gatti, was an avid butterfly and moth collector, and even traveled to Trinidad and Tobago to add to his collection. I recently made a bracelet using freshwater button pearls. When it was finished and I was holding it in my hand, it reminded me of a caterpillar, which then reminded me of my grandfather and his beautiful butterflies. Such pleasant memories came flooding back that I decided to create my own collection in his honor...the Caterpillar Collection. I've added a couple of these bracelets to my Etsy.com Shop...take a look!

Aurelio "Arthur" Gatti and two of his butterflies