I'll get to it...eventually. Between preparing for the competition, traveling for weddings, and trying to buy a house life is a little hectic right now.
So...going through photos on my phone today I realized that I never shared the beaded gifts I made for the ladies of the Family Gathering.
In the decorated mini gable boxes, which I blogged about before, ladies found a little package that looked like this:
In no particular order, here are the various projects I gifted during the weekend. (I realized today that I missed a pair of earrings. DOH!)
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| For my sister-in-law: decreasing brick stitch gathered into a diamond-arced leaf |
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| For Nana: a self-drafted lariat necklace to match one I made previously. The circular motif you see is taken from the book A Beaded Romance, by Kelly Weise |
Lariat necklaces with a formed loop like this one are great for those that like jewelry but have fingers that no longer enjoy working with tiny clasps. (Yes, I'm one of those people.)
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| For my sister-in-law: I designed these based on what she wore the last time husband and I visited in Utah. Is that creepy? hmm.... |
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| For my sister-in-law: This is the only member of the family I haven't met, but in photos I've seen she's wearing these colors. This is only of my own, simple designs. |
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| Top Left: for Grandma Top Right: for my mother-in-law Bottom: for my sister |
For Grandma: I designed these earrings using brick stitch (yep, the same as the first dark pair of earrings!!) based on her skin tone and affinity for gold jewelry.
For my mother-in-law: These are an extracted circular design from Kelly Weise.
For my sister: I've had these brown/mustard beads for over a year and the Family Gathering gave me an excuse to FINALLY make this bracelet for my her.
Simple Handmade Gift Wrapping
I'm a big fan of using fabric scraps as wrappings for gifts. I'm known for wrapping up jewelry in quilt batting (as I did here), fleece strips (see: Christmas 2014), and tying up packages with leftover bias binding or yarn that matches the crocheted gift inside. Yes, part of this is because my hippie self likes using what I have over purchasing ribbons and things, but also because I have to travel for every gifting holiday, and yarn doesn't get squished. ;)
When it comes to beaded jewelry, if you don't wrap it in voluminous fabric it will probably get smushed. Trust me. I learned this the hard way.
Using fleece or batting, poke the earring wires through the material. I like to fold it over to protect the wire on both sides.
Then, fold one third over on top of the jewelry.
Fold the fabric at the bottom up towards the top to add even more padding on top of the beads.
Then, fold the extra square to the left behind the thick, center square. By folding it behind, you protect the beads from all sides. Hooray, no broken beads!
Lastly, tie a ribbon around it. Preferably a pretty one. And give to the lucky recipient!! <3
I found this ribbon at Hobby Lobby on the cheap, like 20 cents for the roll. I have mixed feelings about Hobby Lobby...but that's a different post. :p
