Why Didn't I Think of That?

I was a little sad when I finished my last book stack - my Christmas one.

But, I was also anxious to start on my bead garlands and knew they would take awhile as painting those beads is tedious. Imagine my surprise when I clicked on Pinterest for color combination ideas and found a tutorial on an easy - and quick way to paint the little round gems. I thought I was genius when I slipped them onto skewers and added beads of hot glue so they wouldn't turn but, what I saw was a mind blower. So much easier than that! And so I thought I would give it a try.

The tutorial said to start with a small puddle of paint in a bowl and add just enough water to make the paint a bit thinner.

Then, just add the beads and roll them around until they are totally covered.

Lastly, drain on a paper towel. The tutorial said to blot the beads but that was for a washed effect. For Valentine's Day, I wanted solid colors so I skipped that step.

This method worked really well on the red and white colors but my pink paint must have been old and was a bit too thick even when watered down as far as it could go and still penetrate the beads. I probably should have at least flipped them over once in the drying time because I did get little puddles on the bottom that didn't look good when they were dry. Fortunately, I was able to wipe them off and touch them up and I was good to go.

Just one note if anyone is going to try this. Because my sunroom table was still full of book stack supplies, I did this on my dining room table. I put down a piece of waxed paper under the paper towel but, when I was all done and cleaning up, I discovered that the paint had gone through both layers on to my table. Today I will be working on the next set in the sunroom at the table that is full of craft "scars" already but I think I will still start with a piece of aluminum foil just to be safe.

I went with red, white and pink because these are probably the colors I will be using to decorate. I don't get very far from traditional colors in my holiday decorating.

I made the tassels very similar to my St. Pat's tassels - twine, colored twine and a few pieces of thin holiday ribbon. And then I glued on the wooden hearts. I'm not sure I will be using the beads with the book stack but if I do, I thought the wooden hearts would pull in the heart on the books.

So that is three down and seven to go. I have never really been interested in the bead garlands but now that I am doing them to stay busy, I am liking them more and more. I'll have more to share tomorrow. Stay safe and stay tuned.