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Beaded Ornaments

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Hey, friends!  Yesterday, I guest posted over at Happily Mother After about these beaded ornaments.
I hope you were able to check them out there, but if you have Internet Explorer as your browser like I do, you may have had some trouble.  So, here’s the tutorial just in case you couldn’t get to it.
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Today, I’m going to share with you a holiday project that can be done with or without a partner in crime.  I made the first few as a “big girl craft,” then let the little man help with one.
Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!
BEADED ORNAMENTS {or pendants or pins}
I was inspired to try these by my bloggy budy Kate over at Cheap Crafty Mama.  Later this month, I’m having a birthday celebration complete with a massive ornament giveaway, which Kate is participating in.  She wrote up a post about the beaded cross she’s putting up for grabs and I loved it so much I wanted to try and make a few myself!  I made a few crosses, including a small one I turned into a pendant, and we also tried a star.  Here’s how we did it:
Materials: assorted beads in various sizes, shapes and colors {this is a great way to use up spare beads!}
thin wire {24-26 gauge}
thick wire {12 gauge, I think}
needlenose pliers
wire cutters
STEP 1: Gather your beads.  We used approximately 50-55 for the star and large cross.
STEP 2: Bend thick wire into your desired shape.  It doesn’t have to be perfect; the beads will cover it.  Kate has a great pic for how to bend the wire for a cross.

STEP 3: String beads onto your thin wire.  Try to vary the colors, shapes, and sizes for a fun effect.  This is the part Little Crafter helped with.  I just gave him the wire and a pile of beads and he went to town.  He did a great job!

STEP 4: Begin wrapping beaded wire around your shape.  Keep the beads on the top side.

 STEP 5: Once all your beads are on, do a bit of wire wrapping over top to finish up.
STEP 6: Attach ribbon or cord to make it an ornament or wall hanging.  Or, add a magnet, a pin back…whatever you like.  You can make a miniature version and turn it into a pendant with a jump ring. 
Here’s a look at the full size cross.
This is the mini necklace version…and a size comparison.  I used mostly seed beads for the pendant, while the larger ornaments had more 4-6mm beads.
It was pretty simple, and I love the fun effect of all the colors.  I think the ornaments will look great on the tree when they catch the light.  I’m also glad to have a good way to use up spare beads that haven’t gotten used in other projects.  If you try something similar, I’d love to see how yours turn out!
And, if you’re looking for another fun project to do with your spare beads, check out my post at My Favorite Finds today where I’m sharing about this necklace.
Have a wonderful holiday season filled with blessings, joy, and of course, crafting!

Comments

  1. Thanks again for sharing your tutorial at HMA yesterday, Amy. I’m sorry that you were having trouble with IE and my blog. I will continue looking into it as some have problems viewing it and others do not. :/

    Reply

  2. I just love how fun this looks, especially if it was right by a white light on the tree. I will have to try this with my kids now that they know beads aren’t sprinkles:)

    Reply

  13. Wow, these are so cute, too bad I just found them after Christmas is over. But, I belong to a senior craft class and I want to show them how to do these for 2015.
    Thanks.

    Reply

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