Donna modeling her hostess gift.
It's hard to believe that my bead group had its 8th annual bead retreat last weekend. As always, we brought more projects than we could ever finish, and we beaded like crazy. It helped that the weather was stormy and discouraged us from going out. However, when the power went off, we lighted candles and poured some wine and had a lovely evening. Above is our wonderful hostess Donna, with the bracelets we made her. Donna loves to wear multiple bracelets at once, and so each of us made a bangle called XOXO from the book
Crystal Brilliance by Anna Elizabeth Draeger. There are several variations to the bangle, such as changing the bugle size or adding a different bead on top. We all started with the same number of beads for the foundation and simply made them using "Donna" colors. I think she was thrilled! Many thanks to my bead cruise friend, Caroline, for wearing this bangle on the cruise and providing the inspiration for our gift. By the way, if you choose to make one of these bracelets, just know that they are quite addictive - one member of our bead group has made over 75!
