Nativity Bead

Every so often, I have to remake a bead when I run out of my current supply. I'll try to post pics of my remakes so you can see how a bead is made. The last few days, I've been remaking the Nativity bead. People often ask me how I how I make this one especially. I guess it looks more complicated than the rest. It really isn't compared to the Mary bead!

So, here's my play-by-play:I first make the figures our of white clay. Then I wrap black clay around each figure.

I fill in the spaces with more black clay to make it into a rectangular shape
I added a star, white border, then filled it in with more black clay.

After rolling and stretching the bead, I sliced the canes into mini nativities.
Of course, I couldn't have done it without help...
I'm just taking a cue from Santa and enlisting the help of a little elf in my workshop.
Ok, two elves.
Analee woke up early from her nap so I tried to keep her occupied while I worked by letting her play with one of her Christmas toys (pretty sure I'm going to be put on the naughty list for that one!) . As you can see, she finds much more joy in playing with Mommy's toys.