Pretty Maids All in a Row: In the Bag

Dream Team, please divert your eyes as this is a post about a surprise for you! Unless you are looking for cool DIY, in which case I will have to get out my memory eraser when you are done!

Image from Top 10 Kid.com From Men In Black

OK, Everyone else,

If you recall, the gifts I posted about before are not totally complete, they need something inside... One of those somethings are bracelets! 

I am not a supper bead-er, and I can't make those really cool woven bead things, but I can stack them attractively on a string. I figured since all of my girls have totally different neck lines on their bride's maid dresses, and since they all have totally different concepts reasonable earring sizes, bracelets made the most sense. 

While I was in California for work, I had some free time and I wandered into a bead shop. I don't know about you, but I would spend hours in bead shops and way too much money! There is just something so enjoyable about the texture and sound and sparkle.... Love it! Anyway, I managed to come out of Kendra's Beads with a small handful of treasures. 

A day or two ago, I decided it was time to get cracking and make these bad boys. I dumped out all of my supplies and quickly realized it had the potential to turn into a big mess. 

I am usually moderately organized at best, but I was pretty pleased with my bead sorting solution:

After sorting the beads, what followed was A TON of trial and error. I lover some symmetry, so once I had half a bracelet that I liked it was just a matter of replicating that on the other side. However it took me quite a lot of unstringing and re-stringing to get an acceptable length.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

At long last, I got a length and pattern that made me happy. Then I begged Mr. Aardvark to help me tie the last knots. 

(I tied the first ones on the first clasp and tucked the string into the beads, however I was at a loss as to how to finish them! Who better to save the day than my very own, former boy scout, knot expert!)

He was a trooper and tied all of them!

Next, I decided to give hand modeling a go and realized I was just super awkward.

Ok, maybe we would be better off just showing them laying out flat. They are all a little different and I really like them! I am kicking myself for not buying extra clasps because I have TONS of extra beads.

As a side note, the middle larger green beads are glow in the dark! I did not realize this until I got them home. I didn't even knot glass could glow in the dark but now I like them even more.

Are you gifting your ladies day-of jewelry?