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Written by Dara Spiotto
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Monday, 17 December 2007 |
GIVING THE GIFT OF BEADS
At a bead retreat weekend with friends long ago, Melissa Perry once said to me, “It's not so much the gift itself, but the PACKAGING that really blows me away. Sometimes I don’t even care what’s inside as long as the wrapping is gorgeous!” Melissa is a talented lampworker and I had the blessing of getting to know her years ago when she was in her opaque gerbera daisy phase. She’s got a bubbly personality and I adore her laugh. What she said about packaging has resonated inside me for years and years. There’s something about presentation, no matter if it’s a package, dinner table or flower garden.
Every year at holiday time I get wrapped up (pun intended!) by some new packaging. Last year it was felted bags. I would go to a thrift store and look for wool sweaters in  holiday colors, felt them, and then re-sew them into gift bags to put goodies in. They were a big hit.
The Dunce Cap Reinvented
This year, it's all about paper cones. No, not like a party hat turned upside down. I’m talking about beautiful paper folded so it's visible inside and out, rolled into a long cone with a slender end and a semi-wide opening, and then embellished. I began making them for my son’s birthday party as favors to give to the guests. And now it has invaded my holiday.
So what the hell has this got to do with beads?? Well, all my beady gifts this year are going into cones. With beaded handles, beaded tassels coming out of the ends, and then stuffed with bead strands, stones, cabs, and finished jewelry. I guess they’re like the equivalent of the adult holiday stocking. Small cones on the tree are light weight and fun to tuck a small present in. Absolutely perfect for beads or jewelry. And they’ll be inexpensive to make out of holiday paper, or jazz it up and use good hand made art paper. I have some rag paper that has seed beads imbedded in it, and that would be perfect.
 You know how some vintage beads come in their own original wrappers? Bead stores get original packaging all the time, and usually toss it. I have some wonderful vintage Swarovski crystal packaging that I couldn’t bear to throw away. I love to collect vintage Swarovski cardinal and mink crystals, two of the most sought after vintage colors, and the boxes seemed as important as the beads to me. They have all the markings of the day on it. I took out some of my blessed cardinal crystals and made a pair of earrings for some special friends, then used the original boxes to wrap them up as gifts. I used simple paper and made a bow with ribbon, and then tied a holiday charm onto the center of the bow.
 Out with the new,
In with the old!
I have an old triangle tray box that doesn’t have a date on it, but I would imagine by looking at it that it's got to fall into the vintage category. I keep it inside a triangular Swarovski ornament box that once housed something collectible and gorgeous. The date on the front says 2000, on its way to becoming a vintage item in time. My friend CarolAnne and I use those two boxes to give gifts to each other in, over and over. I hate to think of the amount of postage spent on mailing them back and forth across the country over the last 7 years. Those containers have almost always been full of beads, so to receive it is a blast.
Wrap it Up
One great way to package your bead gift to someone is to buy them a bead case, and then place an assortment of beads in there. You don’t have to fill it. Just put a few yummies in there and then let them fill the rest up. Or… buy one of those tiny table top trees and hang garlands of bead strands on it with some small bows. That would be a sweet way to present a gift to someone.
 No matter how you decide to wrap up your beady gifts this holiday, I’m sure the receiver will find the beads most important! Unless you’re Melissa. You can visit Melissa’s web site at www.whitneystreetstudio.com to take a gander at her beautiful lampwork beads. Maybe you’ll find one you want to give as a gift to cousin Betty this holiday! |
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