Happy Mardi Gras!

Mardi Gras is a wild and wonderful celebration of extravagance with participants around the world. One of the most famous celebrations happens in New Orleans, and the colorful beads thrown from floats are often the highlight of this celebration.

Although the Mardi Gras celebration has been in New Orleans since 1837, the tradition of throwing beads didn’t exist until the 1920s. This was when the Rex parade began throwing inexpensive, handmade glass bead necklaces into the crowds. From this simple act the tradition was born.

Traditional Mardi Gras colors are purple, green and gold, with each color holding a special meaning. The purple means justice, the green exemplifies faith and the gold represents power. With the changing times and growing popularity of this holiday, Mardi Gras beads now come in every color imaginable.

You can get ready for the celebration with this fun earring and bracelet set. With a bright palette and fun charms, you’ll be the life of the party when you wear the perfect accessories. Learn how to make Mardi Gras Earrings and a Mardi Gras Bracelet you will be proud to show off with our free instructions available in the Learning Center.

Want to win your own collection of Mardi Gras jewelry supplies? Enter our one-day Mardi Gras contest for your chance to win! Since Mardi Gras is all about excessiveness and lavish celebration, our prize package includes rich sterling silver and gold vermeil charms, as well as some limited edition bead strands. All of these components are presented in a beautiful purple organza bag, tied off with green and gold satin ribbon. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below telling us how to intend to celebrate Mardi Gras. Hurry! This contest will end tonight at 11:59PM PST. We will randomly choose one winner and announce the winner tomorrow.

This prize package is valued at approximately $50 and contest is open to US and Canada residents only excluding Quebec. One entry per person; must be 18 or older to enter. Odds of winning depend on number of entries. Void where prohibited by law. Winner will be contacted via e-mail. No purchase necessary.

-Marissa

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Comments

    • Tammy
    • February 21, 2012

    With lots of good food,good music beautiful beads to play with!

    • julia cook
    • February 21, 2012

    i’ve never been to mardi gras, but i’ve always wanted to go. having a jewelry set of mardi gras colors would be second best

    • Jeanie Neville
    • February 21, 2012

    I’m celebrating mardi gras by cooking a vegan meal, then doing a belly dancing routine!

    • Susan W.
    • February 21, 2012

    I’ll be spending the evening at home, either beading or playing Scrabble with my husband.

    • Kristin Hughes
    • February 21, 2012

    Fat Tuesday = Qudoba!!

    • Laura B
    • February 21, 2012

    i’m studying for the bar exam right now, so i’m saving all celebrations until it’s over, in one week from tomorrow.
    One week after that is the Jewish holiday of Purim which is like a combination of Mardi Gras, Christmas, and Halloween: we dress up in costume, have masquerade parties, drink copious amounts of alcohol, give gifts of food to friends and gifts of food and/or money to the poor, and have great big banquets. We are actually obligated to do all of the above in addition to hearing the story of Purim read aloud twice. It’s a busy 25 hours that will rock my socks off. Which, if I win, will have awesome beads on them (or the beads will be around my neck, wrists, dangling form my ears, etc. . .).

    • Dana
    • February 21, 2012

    I’ll be spending the evening with my fiance, beading and getting ideas together for baby’s room ๐Ÿ™‚ If she weren’t due May 4th we’d have been enjoying the festivities, visiting our nola family <3

    • Patricia Quinn
    • February 21, 2012

    Always wanted to go to New Orleans…but I can celebrate Mardi Gras wherever I am. Good food prepared by my absolutely awesome husband, great music, costumes and a lots of fun! Also a lots of plans and thinking over my first jewelry sale event during upcoming festival! So excited! Of course have to make a lots of pieces for sale, but for me making jewelry is fun and pleasure! Happy Mardi Gras everyone!

    • Carmen
    • February 21, 2012

    I’ll be Skyping my boyfriend who lives in New Orleans! ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Carmen P.
    • February 21, 2012

    At home. Quiet dinner and beading of course!

    • Bobbi Zieglar
    • February 21, 2012

    Quiet evening at home beading.

    • Linda
    • February 21, 2012

    Eating something a little spicy and looking after my grandson.

    • Tammy Roush
    • February 21, 2012

    I’ve never been to Mardi Gras, but would love to attend some day. I’m spending my day baking and making jewelry. Love the beads and charms, lots of ideas ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Jan Valdivia
    • February 21, 2012

    Beading at home. Would love to make a Mardi GRAS necklace.

    • Jennifer S
    • February 21, 2012

    Enjoying the relief of being able to leave a miserable job and looking forward to the next chapter of my life which I hope includes lots of beading.

    • Dvora G
    • February 21, 2012

    I will spend it going to the gym and grading papers. It is the end of a grading period at my school.

    • Becky Kennedy
    • February 21, 2012

    I will be spending a quiet evening at home beading.

    • Heather Fig.
    • February 21, 2012

    This Canadian has yearned for a trip to New Orleans for EONS!! Some day…

  1. I might just have me a beer!

    • amber kendricks
    • February 21, 2012

    ill be celebrating here at home, ive wanted to go to Nola to celebrate the right way my whole life but i had a mild stroke on the 3rd so i wont be doing nothing unless its done here at home!!

    • Julia Jones
    • February 21, 2012

    Working in my studio and making mosaics. Could use more colorful beads! Peace, Julia <3

    • Glenda
    • February 21, 2012

    Celebrating the day with my beads and glitz and a King Cake for our office staff. Drinks and cajun food for dinner – all to end before the stroke of midnight!

    • Kristina J
    • February 21, 2012

    I will be celebrating with a New Orleans specialty po’boy that my New Orleanian transplant mom will cook. Winning this set would make Mardi Gras complete!

    • tati
    • February 21, 2012

    Well, we had King cake today at work! That’s about the extent of my celebration this year ๐Ÿ™

    • Mary
    • February 21, 2012

    Quiet night at home in Michigan

    • Robin
    • February 21, 2012

    Relaxing with a lapful of beads and findings, and turning them into earrings.

  2. I will celebrate by beading some pretty Mardi Gras
    inspired designs!

  3. Homework, studying for a test, and eating an apple paczki or two! (We have a decent number of Polish immigrants and their descendants in this area.)

    • crystal tilford
    • February 21, 2012

    eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    those beads rock!!!!!!!!!!! i want them!!!!!!!!!!

    • crystal tilford
    • February 21, 2012

    i will were my mask and beads all around campus today. since im not in to partying.

  4. making jewelry

    • Christina
    • February 21, 2012

    I will be celebrating by making jewelry on that day!!

    • Peg
    • February 21, 2012

    Quiet evening at home, unfortunately, there isn’t much of a celebration of Mardi Gras where I live.

  5. I’m celebrating by turning my dining room into my studio, and bringing up from my basement tons of beads that I haven’t visited in a while.

    • Trena Carter
    • February 21, 2012

    I am living it thru a few friends who live in New Orleans and a few that’s visiting.I love seeing all the beautiful colorful masks so I plan on doing some beadwork related to them

    • Christine
    • February 21, 2012

    Our daughter lived in NOLA, and loved it, for several years while in school, until Katrina. How I would love to use these “ingredients” to fashion a special piece of jewelry to help her be a little less homesick for the place she loved so much. We had several fun visits there, though not at Mardi Gras, with each one a new adventure. Louis Armstrong said it so well when he sang, “Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?” Yes, I certainly do. Tonight we will be celebrating with a special dinner cooked by our son, and enjoying our Paczki.

  6. I will be spending Mardi Gras with my brother and his fiancรฉ at Salty’s in Old Town Scottsdale. There will be beads, beer, and lots of fun! Just like it always is ๐Ÿ™‚ Happy Mardi Gras Everyone!!!!

    • Brenda Obil
    • February 21, 2012

    I’ll be going to work out, do laundry, post new patterns, and working a little on a bracelet I started today. I did have a paczki though and brought half a dozen home for the fam.

    • Jacob
    • February 21, 2012

    I will have a quiet evening listening to some music and maybe watching Mardi Gras videos

    • Shannon
    • February 21, 2012

    I will be celebrating with friends and family!

    • Sharon G.
    • February 21, 2012

    I worked and now am home to relax with my sick son. Tomorrow though is Ash Wednesday… I will work again, but also intend to attend Mass or a Service, and of course will fast and pray.
    I would love to win this package! ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Lisa Pilkington
    • February 21, 2012

    Celebrating Mardi Gras with u tube.

    • Sabrina
    • February 21, 2012

    I will be celebrating Mardi Gras vicariously through my best friend, who lives in New Orleans – wishing I was there!

  7. I wish I could say partying…but I’m quite content with a quiet evening of beading and watching television.

    • Lesley
    • February 21, 2012

    Working on a Saints Necklace and bracelet at home in Louisiana! I have a pot of Gumbo on the stove!

    • jj williams
    • February 21, 2012

    Happy fat Tuesday (or shrove Tues ). Many folks will begin their 40 days of fasting for lent starting tomorrow. I came up with a great idea; make a bracelet with hand made clay beads shaped like donuts, pretezels, cinn. buns & more! Yummy, hand painted too. Who says you can’t have your cake & eat it too? Finishing it tonite & sending it as a gift to my cousin who has a home based business baking cakes & cookies. I know she’ll get a kick out of it!

    • Kristianne
    • February 21, 2012

    Heyyyyyy fat Tuesday!!!!!!!!!!!!! downs a shot , takes off my bra and shakes my titties….give me some beads…..lmao

    • marlene
    • February 21, 2012

    Stay home and make JEWELRY!!!!

    • Cortney
    • February 21, 2012

    Sleeping since I am going on 8 hours of sleep in the past 2 days to get an order done! But dreaming of purple, gold, and green beads ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Courtney S-W
    • February 21, 2012

    Since we forgot to get punskis. I’ll just have me some last night spaghetti.

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