No matter which room you visit inside my house, you’re sure to find the same thing – my collection of beaded fruits. It all started when I found a beaded pear and apple at Cataldo’s Nurseries during a visit to Massachusetts in 2003. I thought they were fun little decorations, and didn’t think much else of them. That is, until I found some more beaded fruits at Pier 1 Imports a few weeks later. Then I had five beaded fruits.

My collection didn’t start growing until I graduated college in 2005, when suddenly beaded fruits seemed to be in style. Soon oranges, mangoes, berries, pumpkins, gourds, and all sorts of fruit joined my collection. People would see them in the store and buy them for me. They began to appear in every corner of the house.

Now, I’ve lost count to how many beaded fruits I own.  We’ve begun separating them into seasons. Now the Christmas fruit is out, taking over the mantel, fireplace, kitchen hutch, desk, and kitchen table. But they look absolutely gorgeous among the Christmas greenery and colored lights. Click on the thumbnails to see the larger versions of about 2% of my collection:

For years, two fruits eluded me: the banana (photo 2) and pineapple (photo 3, which I eventually found on eBay). One year, on my birthday, Mom handed me a gift bag. In it were two bananas that she spent the night painstakingly beading by hand.  Even though my dad found a beaded banana later that year, the ones Mom made remain my favorite beaded fruits and one of my favorite birthday gifts ever.