Get Set For Christmas!

Christmas And The Holiday Season Seem To Creep Up On Us That Little Bit Faster Every Year. What Can We Make? What Sort Of Beaded Gifts Will Be Popular This Christmas? What Colours Do We Go For?

- Linda Bernhardt

WITH CHRISTMAS JUST AROUND THE CORNER, we have been on the lookout for what is popular this season and how to include beading in your Christmas celebrations!

Traditionally, red and green have been the dominant colours associated with Christmas and Christmas decorations, however nowadays the colour schemes people use are very vast and varied. If you are keen on the traditional red and green colour theme, you might like to vary things a little by mixing hues or using beads with various finishes in your decorations. Try making them with a mixture of polished and matte beads, or add silver, gold or white to the mix.

Another popular colour theme for decorations is silver, white and pale blue. For a little extra colour, try adding pale mauve or lilac (or any other pale pastel colour).

A rainbow coloured theme is another great choice. Not only will the array of colours look wonderful, if you are on a budget you can use what you have in your bead collection; there is no need to buy new beads to make your decorations!

For those who have children who would like to lend a hand with the Christmas decorations, there are some very simple brick stitch shaped items that you can make together. Look for patterns and instructions online if you need some help getting started. Christmas tree and angel-shaped decorations are very easy to make. Another idea for the younger children is to take some beads with larger holes and use pipe cleaners to thread the beads onto. They can then be twisted into coils or spring shapes. Alternatively, if you are feeling extra creative, you might like to help them with a snowflake. Make your snowflake pipe cleaner frame first by twisting three or four pipe cleaners together, then thread on some large holed beads and turn in the ends so the beads don’t come off.