Affirmation Adorned ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆
When friends bead
love into being.
Three years ago, I had a small heart-shaped beading kit sitting on my shelf - the kind with colorful beads, silver and gold accents, elastic string, and lettered beads. In a moment of inspiration, I brought it over to my dear friend Allison's home one evening, thinking we'd make ourselves some cute bracelets.
But as we sat together with the delightful materials spread before us, something deeper called to me. What if, instead of creating for ourselves, we created for each other? What if we each chose the word or words we felt the other most needed to carry?
That simple shift transformed an evening craft session into something sacred - a ritual that we've now returned to three times over these past three years, always at moments when it feels clear that we need this practice again.
Setting the Sacred Space
What's key in any creative experience is allowing the body to guide the way - gently prompting ourselves to drop into the body, drop into the heart, and free ourselves from the doubting and overthinking that the mind space does. This doesn't require elaborate somatic practices or anything that feels forced.
You get to decide what setting the vibe looks like for you. It might be lighting a candle and bringing in crystals and flowers. It could look like taking a walk together first, or spending some time outside noticing elements of nature before you bead. The point is to engage the senses and create a sense of presence.
For us, we love to begin by luxuriating in beauty. A candle (always a candle - the element of fire is so enticing and inspiring), perhaps some incense or essential oils for scent, crystals that catch the light (whether you believe in their energetic properties or simply love their beauty), flowers if we have them. When you light that candle, you cast the circle - you cast the moment. You create a sense of magicalness that brings out fun, enjoyment, and low-stakes play.
But these elements aren't required - all you truly need is a beading kit and the intention to create something meaningful together.
Then we bring out the oracle cards - those amazing messengers that kick off any experience with color, affirmation, meaning, and guidance. They get the wheels of the heart turning and open up the flow of possibility. We pull some cards and lay them out, letting their messages and imagery inspire the energy of our creating.
Beautiful Simplicity
The practice itself is wonderfully simple and can take anywhere from 20-40 minutes, depending on how long you spend settling into the experience and selecting your beads. Many of us made beaded bracelets as children - it's accessible to anyone, requiring no special skills beyond the ability to tie a knot (I recommend three knots for extra security, and I do love the number three).
We each take our time picking our beads, choosing colors that call to us, selecting the letters that will spell out our gift to the other. Over the years, we've gifted each other words like heal and prosper, ease and care, lush flow.
The sweetest moment comes at the end - it's a surprise, you see. You put the bracelet on your friend's wrist, knotting it gently, and then she gets to look down and discover the words you've chosen for her. There's something so tender about this reveal, about seeing the word or words that someone who loves you believes you need to carry.
The Magic of
Wearing Your
Intentions
As I share in my Creativity Wheel e-book, jewelry making offers something unique among the creative arts. While some visual arts, music, or movement can be ephemeral - living in your heart but not always tangible - jewelry making gives you a product, a talisman imbued with energy that you carry with you.
These affirmation bracelets become more than accessories. They're wearable prayers, constant reminders of how we're seen and loved by our friends. Allison and I have both felt the proof of these words - the ways they've manifested and been embodied in our lives, how they've shown up exactly when we needed them most.
Our design similarities were totally unintentional! A mystic surprise!
An
Invitation to Try
This practice doesn't require elaborate supplies. Beading kits are fairly easy to acquire these days - you can find them at major craft stores like Michaels, Dollar Tree, or easily online. I'd recommend getting a kit with compartments that come with different beads already gathered for you, as it brings a lot of ease to the experience. The key, of course, are the lettered beads. You might already have bags of beads you've had for a long time - you can use anything you have, just make sure letter beads are accessible for this particular practice.
The real ingredients are intention, presence, and the willingness to see and be seen by someone you love.
What words would you choose for your dearest friend? What do you imagine they might offer you? Sometimes the most profound gifts come in the simplest packages - a few colorful beads strung together with love, carrying the exact message your heart needs to hear.
Consider this your invitation to create wearable love, one bead at a time.
