Christmas on the Julian Calendar

Christmas tree at home, MI

Best wishes of a Blessed and Peaceful Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Creative New Year.

"Embroidered" satin ornaments by Maria

I was on my hands and knees late Monday a week ago photographing my 9 easels for the International One of a Kind Exhibit at JOGS in Tucson. Once I finished the easels, the Christmas tree in the corner of the room caught my eye. It was unique and magical...

It dawned on me the tree decorations were mostly homemade. My mother Martha (1927-2001) made plastic canvas snowflakes with each of her 4 granddaughters and I made all the satin sequins ornaments. She decorated this artificial tree with every one of my "embroidered" balls, mixed in solid colored ones and added silver garland. Now Nina, my step-mother, makes an annual trip up the stairs with the tree all-decorated and puts it into the icon corner. Afterwards she takes it downstairs.

The designs on the satin balls were inspired by Ukrainian embroidery patterns. I had an artistic license and used sequins to render the designs in traditional or contemporary color motifs. The outer circumference of the balls were fairly thin and allowed sequins on tiny head pins to be easily pushed in one at a time. The same was true for the box of satin thread bell and rondelle-shaped ornaments. It was best to steer clear of the thicker plastic near the hanger or bottom. The ornaments were created during my late high school/early college days. Each one was then tied on a ribbed curly ribbon. I'm amazed at the quality of that ribbon! And the satin balls have held up so well 40 years later! May the tradition continue for many more.

"Embroidered" with sequins & pins

Веселих Свят та Щасливого Нового Року!

"Embellishing Your World" show

Maria and Naomi Smith with a printout of the opening slide

It was great sharing my "Embellishing Your World: Beading & Surface Designs" with fellow beadmates on Nov 10th at the Toronto Bead Society. This was an inspirational seminar with beadwork examples and stories from around the world.

What was special that evening was that Naomi, a fellow TBS member, brought her collection of First Nations Beadwork. I featured photographs of her collection in the first five slides of my PowerPoint. We combined the best of two worlds for the benefit of our members. I projected images and pointed out interesting details about the unique artifacts of the Mohawk and Tuscarora Nations. Naomi brought the genuine articles so people could then see them up close. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for TBS members.

For my half of the display, I brought my collection of beaded "Pysanky" eggs. Several were beaded by Vira Pavlova Witkovska plus other bead artists from Ukraine. The beaded "Lilacs" were made by Oksana, a young student of an after-school Craft Program in Kolomyya. They're so life-like it's hard to believe they're just beads on twisted wires! Amazing... Love it!

Maria's collection of beaded 'pysanky' eggs, ornaments and bead wire "Lilacs"

I'll be presenting "Embellishing Your World..." to the new West Toronto Beading Guild on Mar 8, 2011 at their regular monthy meeting. We're going to combine it with a hands-on beading workshop on learning how to do the versatile Diagonal Weave. I'm looking forward to inspiring the new beaders!

If you'd like an inspirational program by a passionate speaker, just let me know.... I'll be happy to share this and other beadwork presentations.

Miss December - 3-D Snowflakes

TBS Calendar, December 2011 - Snowflakes by Maria Rypan

The new 2011 Toronto Bead Society Calendar is out and I'm Miss December! Really, my 3-D Snowflakes grace that month's spread.

There are many ways you can make your very own snowflakes like those pictured. You could take a workshop Fri, Oct 22nd at the Creativ Festival in Toronto and get tips and tricks from the master, that's me.

You could get a Rypan Designs kit and choose your favorite from a multitude of bugle sizes and two Swarovski crystal finishes. If you have a bead stash, just get the pattern. The insert clearly illustrates how to space out shorter v.s. longer bugles. Check the Student's Gallery to be inspired by my samplemaker Jo-Ann's multi-colored snowflakes. Each one is different to match her colleagues personalities. They make great gifts!

You could also find the instructions in Beaded Ornaments for the Holidays and Beyond from Bead & Button and BeadStyle Magazines. Waukesha: Kalmbach Publishing, 2009: 90-91.

The proceeds from the sales of this calendar are going to The Native Women's Resource Centre to support youth programs and craft classes for women of all ages. Would you like a calendar full of eye candy and inspiration for 2011?

Little Christmas Tree

Here's our little tree full of handmade ornaments. It was decorated by my husband as I baked cookies from my favorite recipes. I enjoy giving mini paper-plated cookies as gifts. The fun is to bake a variety of flavors, shapes, and textures. Best of all, there's no trace after I split them amongst family and friends. I didn't say there weren't any calories. Yum....

As time goes on, I'm going to show off the different beaded ornaments from my gorgeous little tree. We Ukrainians have a long Christmas season between the Dec 25th (Gregorian) and Jan 7th (Julian) calendars.

Off to Detroit to start the with "Sviat Vechir", a traditional Christmas Eve celebration on Dec 24th. Merry Christmas!