Legend of the Christmas Spider (A German and Ukranian Legend) Once upon a time a gentle mother was busily cleaning the house for the most wonderful day of the year. Not a speck of dust was left. Even the spiders had left their cozy corner in the ceiling and had fled to the attic to avoid the housewife's busy cleaning. At last, it was Christmas Eve. The tree was decorated and waiting for the children to see it. The poor spiders were frantic, for they could not see the tree, nor the presents that waited for dawn. The oldest and wisest spider suggested that perhaps they could peep through the crack in the door to see this glorious sight. Silently, they crept out of their attic, down the stairs and across the floor to wait in the crack in the threshold. Suddenly, the door opened a wee bit and quickly the spiders scurried into the room. The tree was breathtaking and certainly more than their eyes were accustomed to seeing. So, they crept all over the tree, up and down, over every branch and twig and saw every one of the pretty things. At last they were satisfied with the Christmas tree's beauty. But alas! Everywhere they went they had left their webs. Now seeing what they had done, they became very afraid that they would be killed; so they prayed for mercy. Suddenly, an angel appeared and said, "I'll save you, but I will need some help. One of you must stay to save the rest." It was agreed who would stay, and then the angel touched the spider and turned it to ice, and the webs became shimmering silver and gold. Since that time, we have hung tinsel on our Christmas trees to remind us of the sacrifice of one to save many. According to the legend, it has become a custom to include the spider among the decorations on the tree.
Christmas Spider.... Materials Needed: * 12 mm faceted crystal bead * 10 mm faceted crystal bead * 32 small crystal bugle beads * 26 gauge wire * Metallic thread * Hot Glue Gun Instructions: Hot glue the 12 mm. and a 10 mm. faceted crystal bead together hole to hole. Cut 4 wires, approximately 3-4 inches long, and string each wire with 8 small crystal bugle beads. Leave about a 1/2 inch gap between the first 4 beads and the last 4 beads. Bend the ends of the wire so the beads won't fall off. Twist the 4 wires together at the 1/2 inch gap, forming 8 legs. Hot glue the twisted section of the legs to the underside of the crystal beads, right where the 2 crystal beads join together. Take approximately 10" of silver metallic thread and tie it around the middle of the spider , and tie the ends together to make a loop for hanging. Bend legs to look like a spider.
Christmas Spider #2 Materials: 4 gold pipe cleaners 1 small gold glass ornament (remove hanger) 1 - 1/2" - 3/4" wood bead 2 black beads (jewelery size) 1/4" gold ribbon gold cord glue gun * Glue wood bead to the stem of the glass ornament. * Fold the pipe cleaners in half, and wrap center around the neck of glass ornament one time. Glue at the bottom to secure. * Glue a length of gold cord to the top of the neck to make the hanger. * Tie a piece of the 1/4" gold ribbon to the neck of the spider, concealing your glue points. Tie in a bow. * Carefully glue a small black bead to each side of the spider's head. * Trim legs to desired length.
