Throw Me Something Mista!

It's Mardi Gras time in the South and boy do we know how to "Mardi Gras"!  We celebrate with parades full of great bands and awesome floats! Anyone who lives in the South or has traveled here this time of the year knows how much fun the parades are. People lining the streets yelling "Throw me something Mista"! The parades are famous for all the stuffed animals, footballs, candy and BEADS!! Lots and lots of beads!! So we catch them, scream for some more,  catch them...Got the drift?? Then when the parades are over we find ourselves with bags and bags of beads we don't know what to do with.  One option is to donate them to your local Goodwill or find a place that will accept them.
But if your looking for crafty ways to use your beads keep reading because in this post I will show you several things you can do or make with your beads.

If you love plants here are a few things you can do with your beads. Use them to plant your Bamboo plants or Ivy's or any water growing plant. Growing them in a vase or clear glass with Mardi Gras beads not only help ground the plants but create a beautiful display in your room. You use colors that coordinate with your room or you can create a pop of color with your beads. Another thing I like to do is use them at the top of my potted plants to create color. It also stops your soil from eroding when you water your plants. The best part is if you want to change your plants location you can simply change your beads and it cost's nothing!!

                                     

I made this with my beads several years back and still get lots of compliments. As you can see I just layered my beads in a large glass container I picked up at my local Ross. I then inserted a plant I had and added some more beads around it. Easy, fun and cheap!

                                     

Another thing you can do is wreaths, all different kinds with different shapes and forms. Just use your imagination and have fun! My daughter-in law Leigh Ann made this one.

She got her supplies from Hobby Lobby for around $20.00, it took here most of the day but she has 2 young children so she got interrupted a lot! Her supplies included a round 18" Styrofoam form, floral pins and a ready made bow. She used the small beads for the first layer in purple, green and gold. As she went along she pined her beads with the floral pins trying to get 3 rows together. The she repeated with the decorative beads adding her bow to finish it off. As you can see the result is a beautiful wreath that was cheap and fun to make.

I made my wreath from a pool noodle I picked up at the end of the summer from Dollar General. I taped the noodle together with duct tape then used my glue gun to glue the beads. First I used green and gold beads for the bottom layer then added another layer of beads that I had braided twisted. I did start off braiding them, I used the extra small ponytail rubber bands that I found at Wal-Mart in the hair accessories department after I did a few I realized that it was just as easy to twist them so I put a rubber band on each end and twisted till I got the desire I was looking for. Then I glued them going end to end. At first I started out with a front and back but in the long run I just worked on it and waited to see when I was done which side was better looking!

This last wreath was so easy! I once again used a pool noodle but this time I wrapped it first with some foil wrap that I had on hand then I just went from there! I used the large beads this time and made 3 rows followed by some decorative beads in 4 rows alternating in colors. Again finishing it off with a simple bow that I chose to put on the side.

The most important thing in any craft is it just enjoy! If you don't like it just start over!

I hope you enjoyed this post and got some good ideas for all your beads!

As always I hope you found some ideas to help you be Crafty!