I am so thrilled. I finally figured out how to make a smooth center for my tree idea. Have made so many of these and each time I was vaguely unhappy with the way the beads gathered around the center hole. Then last night when I started a new one the idea came to me to put an #11 between each of the #6s and suddenly the circle was firm and round. Such a small thing, but it is this kind of discovery that makes beading so interesting to me.

Beading also helped my husband get through his fears of Christmas shopping. This morning he said, "Do I have to get you a gift?" Gladly I could pull out the recent unopened order from Happy Mango Beads and lay it in a conspicuous place with a ribbon. Too late I got the email they were offering the recycled glass beads at 20% off. happymangobeads.com

Little does my husband know another order from Caravan Beads -

caravanbeads.net is on its way. Only they have the hex beads I like so much for this kind of work.

These were one of my best sellers this gifting season and I used many for my gifts so I only have partial vials of leftovers. I took this photo trying to get a bead magazine interested in the project but it was rejected. So I blog along.