I finished a long-time project this past week – my French Beaded Christmas Wreath! If you have been reading for a while, then you probably remember that this was a one-a-day project that I made all the pieces for in 2019. I made one piece each day for a whole year, and at the end I had enough pieces for a whole wreath.
This is quite possibly one of my most favorite projects to date. I just love how it turned out. The finished wreath is 19 inches wide and weighs just a couple ounces shy of 9 pounds. It contains Poinsettia, Amaryllis, pine cone sprays, holly, baby Eucalyptus, berry branches, fir branches, and a gigantic bow.
At one point I posted some update pictures on social media and a rude person made a snotty comment that it should be RED if it’s for Christmas. Well, I decorate my entire house in blue, silver, white, and gold for Christmas. I don’t think God cares what color my Poinsettias are. I just feel like red is overdone at Christmas, so I personally prefer blue. 🙂
It’s been so frustrating not being able to work. My hands have been having issues. It’s painful, and it’s just not healing very well. There are videos that I been wanting to record, but couldn’t because my hands are messed up, and projects I want and need to work on, but my hands hurt too badly so I can only do a little bit at a time. It’s a visible condition and it would be gross on screen. No one wants to see that.
I’m working on finishing up the book that will teach the full wreath, so I’ll update once that is available.
New Technique Tutorials
I’ve also published a few new technique tutorials this week, trying to catch up on some work while I can.
First up is the Y-Frame (YF), which previously I’ve only taught in my Rose Pattern. Y-Frame is a little-known or used combination of the Basic Frame and Spoke Frame techniques, which makes petals with multiple basic rows. 
Second is the Filigree Technique. This is another odd one, which isn’t well-known and is rarely used because it’s mostly decorative. This technique appeared in a French Beading Facebook group a few years ago. Someone posted a picture of a flower that someone else had made with it. But we couldn’t figure out the original artist, and weren’t sure if they were the one who developed the technique.
I taught this one in my first book “Christmas Collection”, but figured it was time to make it available on my website as well. 
And third is the Spoke Frame (SF) technique. This one is sometimes called the “Basket Weave”. It’s very similar to the Y-Frame in that there are multiple basic wires, however the “stem” wire will stick out of the center of the bottom or top of the piece. 
Beginner Course Kits
In the next couple weeks I will be putting together more Kit + Book bundles for my Beginner Course. This will be the last set for a while, as I need to spend time on other projects and they do take a lot of time to make. There are also other kits that I’d like to offer, but I don’t have time to make them because I’ve had to prioritize the Beginner Course kits due to demand. I was not expecting that many people would want them, so I am very grateful for those who have purchased them and sent me pictures of the flowers they’ve made from them.
Now that the course videos have been completely published on YouTube, I’m starting to see a lot of the flowers that people are making. And I’ve been so very impressed with how well almost all of the beginners are doing. If you have been making those flowers, please do send me pictures!
Happy Beading!
Lauren Harpster