Holiday Gift-Giving Jewelry Factory Tips

Every year I promise myself I’ll be better, and every year I do the same thing: I put off gift-making until just a couple weeks before the holidays. My studio turns into a nutmeg and peppermint storm as I whirl into a tailspin, the perfect caricature of an grumpy elf on too much caffeinated maple syrup.


I emerge with a handful of neatly-wrapped gifts, set them under the tree, and promptly collapse on the couch until someone dribbles spoonfuls of Hot Toddy and a few Russian tea cakes into my gaping mouth, turning me back into a happy elf.

I’ll say, though, each year I get a little better at staving off the mayhem. For instance, this year I’ll employ another resident elf (Emma) to help me on the production line. It’ll be fun! We can sing “Santa’s Elves” and eat copious amounts of red and green M&Ms…


Having a helper is one good idea for getting lots of jewelry made all at once, but I have a few other ideas, too:

Choose a standard design
Instead of reinventing the wheel for each and every gift you make, choose one or two basic designs. A simple one-stranded bracelet or chain and crystal earrings, for instance.


Make changes in the design
Once you choose a design, you can personalize it by making small changes. For instance, if I chose my Sassy Sisters Bracelet for my gifting project, I could easily change the found objects and seed beads to make the bracelets look very different from one another. That way, when Suzy, Molly, and Mary open up their gifts all at the same time, they might not even notice I made them production-line style.


You could also just change the metal color in a project. See how my Bling Bracelet looks drastically different in gold...


vs. silver?


(Do you like this blingy bangle? I'm teaching this class and others at the J.O.G.S. show in Tucson on February 2...come take the class! Oh, this post is full of uncharacteristic shameless promotion today!)

Set up a production line
You don’t want to be impersonal about holiday gift-giving, but you have to be practical since time is of the essence at this time of year. So, if you’ve got warm bodies around to help you make jewelry, use them! Kids, husbands, friends, neighbors, co-workers. I know that when I get my elf factory going this week, I’ll have Emma turning colored copper wire into coils while I rivet found objects. This will cut my production time at least in half, and she’ll get some of her gifts finished, too. That means more time for both of us to cozy up under the tree.


What other tips for cutting down on jewelry-production stress at this time of year do you have? How do you avoid becoming an angry elf?