Having always had a fondness for Victorian Christmases, my friend Carlota was drawn to the delicately beaded ornament covers while at a Charles Dickens fair. Now, before going on about the ornaments, can I just comment how cool an idea that fair is?! So long as there were not any poor pickpocketing children. Hot cocoa and porridge for all! She began making them in 1996 or so and finds the approach to be a nice way to dress up classic or otherwise bland (or inexpensive) glass ball ornaments.
The cost itself is reasonable since it is the glass ball ornaments themselves, beading supplies, and beads. You can aim for expensive beads and ornaments, or select inexpensive supplies. Either way, the result will have a bold and charming effect on your Christmas tree.
Carlota made two (pictured) and the red/white is 9 grams in beads while the green/gold one is 14 grams in beads. The local craft store, Vibes and Scribes, sells the beads in little containers of 15 grams each for about €3. Note: Vibes ships everywhere, but doesn’t pay me a cent to mention them.
Oh, and they make great gifts! The simpler ornaments take as little as two hours to make! Imagine what an impact that will be if you buy a dozen ornaments on clearance then work away to create your own custom set of beaded ornament covers?
The Potomac Bead Company in Pennsylvania has a lovely YouTube tutorial and a wide selection of supplies in their online store. This will hopefully inspire you to try your hand at Victorian Beaded Ornament Covers.
This post is the first in a series of Christmas Crafts since now’s the time to start making gifts and decorations so you won’t be stressed in December.