October 22, 2014

It's Not Always About the Jewelry (Sometimes It's About a Giveaway!)

Sometimes, it's not about jewelry. Shocking, I know! As much as I love creating a pair of earrings or a necklace, sometimes it is fun to venture into other areas of decoration! I love to put out a few holiday decorations. Making the house look festive can help put me in a holiday state of mind, even when I'm not feeling it. Each year I design a new ornament for family and friends. I can not wait to get started on this years design! I have a little fine tuning to do but so far I am pretty pleased with how they are turning out. I only have a few beads made and will be making more as well as adding a few sparkly gemstones and a few seed beads for a loop at the top…. one side has words the other has a few winter elements...


Please leave a comment with at least one of your favorite holiday traditions and share this post on Facebook or other social media to be entered to win a similar set of these beads! You can share more than once to be entered multiple times. I will pick a winner on Monday, November 3rd, 2014!

23 comments:

Niky Sayers said...

Every year we put the christmas decorations up on dec 1st so they are up for my oldest daughters birthday and we take my youngest daughter out to buy a new fairy decoration for the tree, she says that when she leaves home she is going to take them all with her so she can put them all on her own tree!

CathyO said...

One of our favorite things is having my granddaughter, Lily, add a sock to the Christmas tree.
The first Christmas she could walk, she walked up to the undecorated tree and put her sock on it. We left it there all season and loved the idea of continuing to do it each year.

As Lily gets older, I look forward to making cookies with her. Remembering my times with my grandmother since I am now the grandmother.

Unknown said...

Lovely work as always Gaea! Count me in please?! Huggs oxx

Alice said...

I love these ornaments!
Every year our family goes to our church for a beautiful candlelight service where the nativity story is told and hymns are sung.
Also I have started giving hand painted ornaments to our three children for when they have their own tree.

Unknown said...

Growing up my Mom would take my brother and I, each December, to pick out a new ornament for our Christmas tree. I love that her tree is filled with each of those carefully hand picked ornaments. She even sent a few to each of us years back to add to our own tree. My brother and I have swapped ornaments as gifts too.

Unknown said...

Oh 1 family Tradition! Ok we always had an Advent calender and opened them up everyday all the days leading up till Christmas! When Adam was 8 he and I walked in the woods we had and I always looked for a small tree for his room. Walking thru the cold windy days and the leaves crunching was so memorable. When I was a young girl we ice skated on the roads that froze and iced in from of the homes on or Street..loved that so much. Watching movies like "Jack Frost" with Michael Keaton has been a fave of mine and "Its a Wonderful life and the old "Miracle on 34th Street"! Christmas is such a magic time of the year and the real true meaning of the Holiday!

Anonymous said...

Every year my kids (currently aged almost 5 through 9.5) help me decorate the Christmas tree. Sure, I have to re-locate the odd piece the 4 year old has precariously perched on a drooping branch (we always have a real tree), but it's so much more fun as a family! And it suits our eclectic collection of ornaments, which I have been acquiring since I moved out of home some 22 years ago!
I would be honoured to add such an ornament as yours above to my collection!

Maneki said...

Lovely trees! I especially like the one on the left with its traditional colour scheme and message.


Cheating at opening the chocolate advent calendar almost became tradition when I got only enough to dare cheat -- and figured out how to get the chocolates out without leaving a trace of it on the calendar... (Of cause it meant not having any chocolates left for the last week or so, but when you're a chocoholic with 24 pieces of chocolate in front you, you don't stop to think of the consequences.)

Don't know if we have some big tradition, I don't even watch Kalle Anka. Of cause the christmas tree stays up until Knut, I love to watch Lucia on telly, my sis and I always make sure to take a few days before christmas to make christmas candy -- including knäck even if it's a mess -- and whe always eat christmas ham and have a small julbord on christmas eve. Watching Night before christmas has also become somewhat of a modern tradition for me and my sis.

Shai Williams said...

We don't really do Christmas here but every year I do host a cookie exchange. Just love the chance to chat with everyone and enjoy those calories.

Shai Williams said...

I shared on FB,

https://www.facebook.com/sShaiha/posts/10204935790023995

Shai Williams said...

I shared via Pinterest

Shai Williams said...

I shared on Twitter

https://twitter.com/Shaiha_/status/525332349836591104

Melanie LeGrand said...

After 19 years of marriage and being blessed with our son who is now 2 and 1/2, we find ourselves creating new traditions. Last year I found the cutest advent calendar with adorable little secret boxes full of manger scene figurines including flying angels! I look forward to getting it out again and watching Nathaniel's capacity to learn about the Christmas story and see the joy of Christmas in his eyes! But also, for every year of our marriage, we have added one meaningful ornament to our tree. How wonderful it would be to add yours! Thank you for the chance the win. I love your beads, not only the adorable style, but all the color combinations you put together!!!

Unknown said...

For many years during the holidays, my family would go to tea at the Pfister. Recently, we've starting doing our own tea at home. We have such fun preparing pastries and tea sandwiches, finding clotted cream and lemon curd, choosing a variety of teas and teapots and then sitting in front of the fire enjoying them and each other.

Unknown said...

Thank you for this giveaway of your beautiful beads. I shared on Facebook.

Unknown said...

We always go out for Christmas Eve dinner for steak and potatoes at Outback Steakhouse then we go home and each open 1 present. Love your beads!

Lori Anderson said...

On Christmas eve, we all open a present. It's always an ornament for the tree. I started this so the boys would have special memories to start their own tree when they left home.

Anonymous said...

My husband and I may spend the days before or after the holiday with his family or mine, but on the day itself, it's just us. No stress. No pressure. No deadlines or timetable. No trying to please and accommodate others. Just us.

Mary Lu said...

One of our favorite traditions for Christmas comes from my husbands family. I can't say if it comes from Czechoslovakia or if my mother in law (who was the most wonderdul cook), came up with it herself), on Christmas Eve the family sits down for a wonderful shrimp & potato stew along with fresh baked rolls. There is always dessert-usually cheese cake and spiced cookies. And then we hear jingle bells and Santa arrives. . . .

Melanie LeGrand said...

Just pinned one of your holiday ornaments! Not sure how to link it to here . . . LOVE your beads! Thanks for the opportunity to maybe win a little treasure for the holidays!!

Unknown said...

I've just put this on my Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/janet.mcdonald.54

Unknown said...

Those, soon to be ornaments, are so cool. One of the traditions is that my granddaughter puts baby Jesus into his cradle every Christmas Eve. She's been doing this since she was little and she's now 16. Another is that my Mom's good old ceramic Christmas tree comes out after Thanksgiving. I love that tacky old thing to death.

Gaea said...

Thanks for sharing all of your lovely holiday traditions! I am fascinated by the many lovely ways to celebrate the holidays! I picked a name at random and the winner is…

Ann Schroeder! Please email me (gaea at gaea dot cc) with your information and I will send out your gift!

Much joy, love, and peace to all!