Beaded Bells

The Project: Start Here First

Back in the 1980’s, my grandmother gave me a set of 12 Christmas bells. They were beaded bells she made, like the beaded ornaments, necklaces and other novelties that all artsy-crafty women her age were making. This rage heralded the bead craft we see today, albeit somewhat less cool to me, a then-20-year-old.

This year, 2009, my grandmother would have been 100 years old. Since she’s no longer with us (she died three years ago) and we no longer have her bells (they’ve been lost in a mishap), I’ve decided to make a new set of beaded bells in her memory.

Actually, I’ve decided to make a few sets. Like five—one for me, and one for each of my four kids.

Because I’m not very focused and require an ominous deadline to achieve anything remotely productive, I’ve set a goal for myself for Christmas 2010. When I came up with this brilliant idea, my husband reminded me that five sets of 12 is 60 bells. That’s more than one bell a week for the next 52 weeks.

Ohhh…

Yeah. I’m not too good at math.

And, yes, with only a few weeks left of 2009, I realize I’m not too good at planning either. To truly mark my grandmother’s centennial year, I should have started this project last December (kind of like we should’ve had that family reunion we always talk about). But this is typical of me. The adages “A day late and a dollar short” and “Better late than never” were first muttered with me in mind.

Oh well. It’s the thought that counts, right?

To follow this endeavor in chronological order, click here and then move forward on the calendar from post to post.