I am sorry to do this to you, but it really is time to start thinking about Christmas! The holiday season has a tendency to creep up on us. One moment it is way in the future and in the next moment you find yourself scrabbling to be ready! We all create because we love the actual making, so now is a good time to begin braiding a few decorations or ornaments at your leisure. What better reason to immerse yourself in sparkles and spangles and braid, braid, braid? It is also a good time to stock up on the seasonal colours while you still have a wide choice. Jewellery makers and crafters tend to be a very organised bunch of people, so don’t expect to find good stocks of the festive colours available in December.
It is lovely to use the traditional colours, but I also wanted to make up the decorations in less traditional colours. There seem to be three good reasons for this. First of all, the Czech beads I used come in a wonderful range of single and multi-tone colours and it would have been a crime not to use them! Secondly, a wider selection of colours makes them appropriate for a more general holiday celebration. Thirdly, there is no need to pack them away after the big event. Take them off the tree and hang them up against a mirror or window for all-year sparkle.
The tutorial is suitable for all abilities and the ornament can be made either with or without the chain dangles. They are fairly quick and lots of fun to make. Here is the link to the Festive Sparkles tutorial.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
