Last year I fell in like with a
sweet bell garland at World Market. It was made from twisted wire and had beads and bells intertwined that tinkled so sweetly my heart really really wanted it. It was however not a necessity nor was it cheap enough for me to justify the spending so I walked away from it many times (it's now on
sale), thinking of it ever since. On one of the many days I attempted to assemble order to the scary room, I came across a pack of small bells which made me think of the garland which had me tearing up the newly(ish) assorted piles in search of my spool of wire. Once I found the wire and recovered from the messier mess I just made, I put the materials aside to make a garland for the holidays.
Flash forward a week or two after my mad dash I find I have a $10 coupon for World Market and head out in search of holiday gifts. As I wander the store I discover the garland hanging out with the ornaments and swoop in to pick it up.
After bringing it home and winding it around the dining room light I decide I really need to make one so I pull out my materials thinking I'll find the time to make if before Christmas. I even manage to rifle through the metal drawers in search of beads to add.
Christmas came and went and I found myself with some time just before New Year's. I grabbed the wire, beads, scissors, and bells and plopped them down on the table to get to it. The bells are your average jingle bell, only smaller, and while cute in size they lack the happy tinkle of my store bought garland. Nonetheless I cut two lengths of wire bout two yards in length and twist a loop into one end and get to stringing.
Aim smaller if you can, the twisting of the wire causes your ends to tangle up which is a big old pain in the arse to untangle. Loop your end then thread five or so beads onto each strand. Add a bell to one of the strands and give the whole party a little twist or two before adding another round of beads.
I took a break to look at the store garland and wished I had some prettier beads but decided to try just twisting wire then adding a bell before twisting the wire again. I did this three times before I got frustrated with my ends getting all twisty so I added more beads, ten on each strand this time and turned the whole motley crew into pattern f sorts.
By the time I pooped out of twisting and beading, I had enough of a garland to go over the bed and so I cut the leftover length leaving enough to twist into a loop and called it a day.
I really like the way it looks all by itself across the bed. I think I will make some more using come other beads floating about my bead drawer. I may even ge one or two up in my shop. Happy stringing!
