If you enjoy dressing up in style for the holiday season, and fancy yourself a creative artisan, you might be interested in making your own Christmas earrings. Christmas earrings can add that extra flare to your outfit, capturing the attention of those around you and earning you a few turned heads. Whether you prefer earrings symbolizing those living legends of Christmas like Santa Claus or Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, or tend to go for the more general, like Christmas trees or Candy canes, there is a pair of Christmas earrings to match up with any style.

Decorative wreaths were used in ancient Rome to signify victory, and many believe it was from the Romans that the tradition of hanging wreaths upon one's door originated. The origins of the Advent Wreath, however, date back to pre-Christian Germanic people, who gathered evergreen wreaths and lit fires during the cold December nights as a sign of renewal and hope of the coming Spring. These traditions evolved over the years, and were adopted by both Protestants and Catholics during the 1500s to celebrate the advent of Christ.http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/trivia/wreaths.htm Today, Christmas wreaths are a popular decoration during the holidays, whether being used to hang on one's door, as a Christmas ornament, or as Christmas jewelry. This guide will provide step-by-step information on how to make Christmas wreath earrings.

• 2 sterling silver or 14k. gold hoop earrings (the kind you can put beads on)
• An assortment of green beads, both types and sizes. For a rounder wreath, use circular green beads. For a more authentic wreath, use chip beads. Consider alternating the two. You may also want to use different shades of green beads. If possible purchase Swarovski crystal beads, as these look really nice.
• 2 tiny bells, to be threaded onto the hoop (use a standard gold bell, or one that has been painted red)
• 4 red beads, either flat oval shapes or wavy squares (make sure all 4 beads are exactly the same)
• Several tiny gold seed beads, to be positioned throughout

1. Design your wreath earrings, positioning the green beads in a circular shape on the counter. Make sure you put two of the red beads on either side of the bell. This will be your ribbon, and centerpiece for the earring.
2. Take one of your hoop earrings, and begin putting on half of the green beads.
3. Add a red bead, the bell, and the other red bead.
4. Add the rest of the green beads.
5. You should leave enough room at the top to open the hoop earring, put it in your ear, and close it without losing any beads. If you need to take some of the green beads off, do so at this time.
6. Repeat the above with your second hoop earring.
7. Now you are ready to go show off your holiday style.

1. Use different colored beads, other than green, for your wreath. If you decide to do this, however, make sure you are still using a color scheme for the holidays, one that will still allow people to recognize that your earrings are wreaths. You can substitute gold for your green beads, or red, making the bow a variation of the same colors.
2. Find some wreath stencils and purchase two 8 by 11 sheets of green felt. Purchase two shades of green, one dark and one light. Using a black permanent marker, trace two identical wreath stencils into the dark green felt. Make sure the stencil size is not too small or large for the shape of an earring. Cut the two wreaths out, including the hole in the center. These will be your earrings. Use craft glue or a hot glue gun to attach a tiny red pompon at the bottom center of each wreath. Then, cut out tiny leaves to glue onto either side of the red pompon. Glue on a flat pronged back to the upper center of each wreath.