Grandmas and Christmas Colors

Hey, I know it's nowhere near Christmas-time yet, but I am in the mood to share something festive and sweet.

Around the winter holidays, I start to reminisce about family - and especially grandmas. See, in my family, grandmas are all about Christmas - pageants, skits, dressing up in adorable holiday-themed costumes, and of course.....singing. Oh, the singing! I have about a million cassette tapes with holiday songs sung by various family members as children and adults. Listening to them brings up precious memories and feelings of sweet nostalgia. And maybe a tiny bid of sheepish embarrassment at being taped singing completely off-key. But it makes the grandmas so happy.

So whenever I start working in holiday color schemes while making beads, I always have my grandmas and great-grandmas on my mind.

This year, I got to start the Christmas color schemes early. My Grandma Betty (my mom's mom) asked me last month if I would make her a holiday-themed beaded charm for her to give to her long-time friend for her birthday in late November. Of course I said yes!

Grandma and her best friend Verna met when they were just 7 or 8 years old. They went to school together in a place called Manti, Utah. They lost touch after being friends for a long time, and Grandma says she ran into Verna again when they were in their 60's. Now they are best friends again - what a small world!

So Grandma wanted something special for her good friend - something unique and meaningful. Verna's birthday is later this month, and Grandma says she puts up a tiny Christmas tree for the holidays around that time. So a handmade charm would be perfect for Verna.

I smiled the whole time I made beads for this charm, because I can just see the grandmas of the family in these colors - cheerful red, snow white and fresh green. The fact that the charm is to be given as a gift to a dear friend of Grandma's just makes it sweeter.

So Verna - happy birthday! I hope this charm makes you smile. I am happy that my wonderful Grandma Betty has such a good friend.