The bracelet is strung on a stretch chord, (knot is glued and hidden in bail for extra security) and is conveniently divided in three sections of 5 beads (for those who like to break up the prayers said every day, one set for morning, noon, and night).

Size is approximately 6 1/2" in diameter. If you need a larger size Email Me and I can add a few extra beads!

Purchase the prayer bracelet HERE and get a free prayer card and violet drawstring pouch for easy storing (and finding) for next year!

​I'll also need to pause shipping a few times this November and December, (check my Facebook pages here and here for the most up to date shipping holds as they occur) since I'll need to be traveling for family reasons, (my father is not well), and I'll be at two local Christmas Markets. 

Also, being a solopreneur, I'm not able to adjust inventory properly while much of my items are at a market.  Some of the stock numbers of what I have listed online is less than actual stock for that reason. So, if something is low or sold out, just let me know and I'll see what I can find.  I also make most of my items in relatively small batches, partly for lack of large storage space, and I always want to use fresh supplies, so that's why I don't have huge quantities on hand.  But I can always make more with just a bit of lead time. So please be patient with me as I get to fulfilling your order.

Looking forward to another great and prayerful Advent season! Great to see you all back! 

Here's a direct link to my SHOP page with both my Christmas novena supplies and artwork store fronts, that use the same shopping cart for your convenience. 
​
If you're new to this devotion, take a peek here for what it's all about and beloved by so many!

Blessed pre-Advent!
​

Hard to believe Advent, and this beloved St. Andrew Christmas Novena, are over!

​I hope that praying this novena helped you prepare more deeply to adore the Christ Child in that "blessed hour and moment!" No need to stop abruptly, by the way! Keep praying it as long as you feel inspired to!  It's a beautiful prayer anytime you are in adoration, or during Mass, as He is about to be made present in the Eucharist. Where ever Jesus is present in the Eucharist, it's Christmas!

See you next Advent, God willing!

In the meantime, to stay connected, follow me on my For the Love of Beauty Facebook page for more ways to pray with art throughout the year and/or subscribe below for email updates.

Sharing some photos highlights from the market: two kind souls brought over market candied almonds, and Gluhwein -in a commemorative mug! Super big mug fan here! Impressive to see (our young) Fr. Nicholas transform after Mass and play old St. Nicholas, spray-painting his beard that he's been growing for the occasion! But the 4-month-old dog wearing lederhosen stole my heart with nuzzles and licks after a long day! Big thanks to the organizers at St. Rita’s in Alexandria, VA for making year 2 a hit!

If you’ve ever felt like Advent was too short, especially when Christmas falls on a Monday and we essentially only have three weeks, consider resurrecting the practice of St. Martin’s Lent.

Perhaps you can add some days of fast or abstinence on the traditional penitential days of Monday/Wednesday/Friday beginning on the 12th of November until Christmas, as a way of ‘making room’ for Jesus in the inn of your soul.  You can also start preparing for what spiritual practices, readings, or novenas you will employ during the formal Advent season, that begins on the nearest Sunday to the Feast of St. Andrew (the 30th of November).  Even just mentally creating a mindset of preparing to enter into the time of intense preparation, would be a well spent proactive endeavor in preparing the way for an intentional Advent season.

So, for those of you who love Advent as much as me, while it’s not yet time for lighting the Advent candles or decorating the Jesse Tree, it would be a great time to find them ;-) and have them ready! Start to create a space for where they will go, find that spiritual book you can read slowly for 40 days.  I’m re-reading Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Frances de Sales and am finding it a great Advent type meditation, a real tilling of the soil and removing obstacles to recollection.  The Reed of God by Caryll Houselander is always a favorite that I re-read sections of each Advent.  I also just found this great new Catholic book on the Jesse Tree by Eric and Suzan Sammons, The Jesse Tree an Advent Devotion, that's a great prayer companion for making a Jesse Tree.  It has all the relevant Scriptures passes printed out for each ornament/day as well as additional reflections and handy calendar charts depending on when Advent starts.

And of course, my all-time favorite novena, the St. Andrew Christmas Novena.  It just wouldn’t feel like Advent without it!  If you’d like the prayer cards for your group or parish in time for the start date of November 30th, or prayers beads for yourself or as a gift to introduce someone to this extraordinary novena, all subscribers (new and past) will receive a 15% discount code in their email to use beginning 18 November.  So, take some time to look around in my shop and see what might interest you.  Subscribe at the bottom of this website to get on the list if you haven’t already and watch for an email on the 16th with the code.
 
I am still adding new items to the Shop so check back often or subscribe to get notified of new items and sales.  I do not mass produce my work, so sometimes quantities run out and it may take some time to get more in.  If there is something you need that is not available, just send me a message as soon as you can so I can see how I can accommodate you.

Blessed early-bird Advent or St. Martin’s Lent! 

​Let us know in the comments what your favorite Advent practices or books are that you've found fruitful and willing to share!
​
Also, thankfully remembering our Veterans who offered their service, so that we may have these very freedoms to live out our Faith.

Here's how to enter!

The Rules for the GIVEAWAY are:

• Enter your first and last name and valid email in the form below.  This is necessary in order to contact the winner and coordinate shipping. 
• Giveaway will be open for entries from Dec 14 through to Dec 16 midnight HST.
• The announcement of the winner will be made via email on Dec 17th to all those who entered.  Make sure you check your spam folder!
• The winner will receive an email informing them of their win and must respond via email within 48 hours to claim their prize. 
• Giveaway open only for entrants with valid USA mailing addresses for shipping purposes.

 
**Optional, after entering the Giveaway via the form below, to increase your chances by one additional entry, state your favorite St. Andrew Christmas Novena prayer beads design from our shop in the comments either on this blog post or on the Giveaway post on the Facebook page.  The names and emails would need to match the official entry form submission below in order to be counted twice.   I would love to hear what your favorite prayer beads design is, especially as I start planning for next year's new designs.  

Good Luck! Do share with your friends!

Happy Liturgical New Year everyone and a blessed start to the Advent season! 

It's a great opportunity to start anew on many levels, so let me take this opportunity to introduce you to some new St. Andrew Christmas Novena prayer beads! 

I brought back an updated light violet design with a beautiful shimmery two tone luster 6mm Czech fire-polished bead that reflects both colors of Advent, violet and rose! It has a light weight to it as well for easy wearing all day, reminding you to looking out for the star that leads to the Christ-child.  It is conveniently divided into three sections for breaking up the 15 prayers throughout the day.

I needed to update my beloved deep violet Rosebud beads since the 6mm size appears to be discontinued.  I've been searching all year and all I could find was some rare stock of 8mm Rosebud beads that are also very beautiful and have even more detail. Since they have a little more substance to them, to balance it out, I replaced the star charm with the unique Madonna and Child solid sterling silver medal.   The imagery pairs beautifully with the rosebud being the symbol of Our Lady, honoring her feast day in Guadalupe giving Juan Diego the sign of roses.  These are also conveniently divided  in three sections.  Since this is my signature design, I'm trying hard to keep it in supply, but I cannot guarantee I will be able to keep offering them.  So if you are interested in either of these size rosebud beads, get them while you can.  

Both these new bracelets are so beautiful in person and both feel like they are my new favorites! They help me stay focus on different imagery contained in the St. Andrew Christmas Novena Prayer.  I hope they help you to pray this novena more deeply too.  Let me know what you think!
​

Did you know that our Christian family in the East begin today what they call a Christmas Lent?  It's similar to the Roman Catholic Church tradition of fasting for 40 days until Easter during Lent, and it's called a Nativity Fast.  The Roman tradition historically also has a similarly extended 'Advent' season that beings after the feast of St. Martin of Tours on November 11, which ushered in what was called St. Martin's Lent or St. Martin's Fast. 
 
I love resurrecting this idea of extending Advent, the time of preparation before Christmas, especially in the years where the 4th week gets dramatically shortened! I always find that December flies by and that I would have loved more time as a church family to prepare, especially internally. 
 
I was so very happy to learn that in the past, on both the east and west wings of our Christian tradition, Advent was essentially observed for a longer period, closer to 6 or 7 weeks instead of 4!  Since Advent is my favorite season of the year, I love that I can lean into this tradition and start my preparations for Christ's birth a little sooner.*
 
These might be just practical things like getting a head start on locating those Advent candles, Jesse tree ornaments, St. Andrew Christmas Novena beads..., but also interior planning, like deciding what spiritual reading materials I'll be using, or nailing down a morning of recollection or retreat day before the December calendar gets too filled up.  Also worth considering is what I could  'fast' from to really do some interior house cleaning, like the way we do in Lent, to make our lives less distracted and more free to focus on the things of heaven.  It's good to at least start thinking about these things so that once that first Sunday of Advent comes, we are as fully present as we can be to daily make room for the birth of Our Savior.
 
Preparing for Christmas with the St. Andrew Christmas Novena is my favorite Advent devotion for it's simplicity, purity, and depth.  For more information on it's meaning, read about it here.  If you'd like some aids for praying it, visit my SHOP for some prayer beads and prayer cards. 

Share what your favorite ways to prepare for Advent are, from books, to prayers and sacrifices, and how you might use the extra time if you had 40 days of Advent.

*By the way, I do not mean start decorating for Christmas earlier. Advent is a distinct season that has a more sober and watchful character, yet still full of expectant joy.  Christmas, traditionally celebrated for 40 days also (from Dec. 25th to Feb. 2nd, Candlemas), is the time for Christmas trees and decorations, feasting and celebrations.  There are still ways to decorate for Advent though, with creatively using violet and rose colored fabrics as table cloths, for example, and having a smaller 'Jesse' tree that gets adorned each day with ornaments that represent stories of salvation history that lead up to the promised Savior, grow St. Lucy's Wheat, and of course, the Advent wreath.