crafts
Holiday Decor: How to Make a Beaded Christmas Tree Ornament
mom • crafts • crafts • holidays
Beaded Christmas tree ornaments are a great way to use up leftover beads from old craft projects, to show off vintage beads you may have collected, or a great way to salvage a broken beaded necklace or bracelet. They are simple to make and they look stunning on a Christmas tree. They are lightweight so they can be placed on the very end of branches to sparkle, shine, and dress up any Christmas tree.
We have done this craft a couple times, most recently as an activity at my daughter's Yo Gabba Gabba birthday party. We took a bunch of orange, blue, pink, and yellow beads and strung them together. Next, we tied an orange pom-pon to the top to represent the hat of one of the characters on the show.
My wife thought, "Why don't we try this as Christmas ornaments?" I said, "This would be a great idea for a craft article!" So, here's what we did together:
Beaded Christmas Tree Ornament
Supplies:
- Assortment of beads
- 12 gauge wire (gold, silver, green, or any color which would coordinate with your tree)
- Scissors (strong enough to cut wire) or wire cutters
- Ornament string
Instructions
1. Cut a 12-inch length of wire (or longer if you want a longer ornament). Cut the wire an inch or two longer than you want the ornament for ease of working. Create a loop with the wire at the top (by wrapping the wire around a pencil) to hold the beads on.
2. Determine the order you want your beads to hang on the ornament. Arrange the beads in order.
3. String the beads onto the wire in order. If you don’t like the order of the beads or how they look next to one another, restring them and rearrange the order of the beads.
4. Loop the wire at the bottom (by wrapping the wire around a pencil again) once all of the beads are on the wire. This will help hold the beads on the wire. Create a small circular wire (similar to a keychain) to attach to the bottom if you want a bead to hang from the bottom of the ornament.
5. Tie the ornament string to the top wire loop.
These ornaments can be done in a variety of lengths and colors to coordinate with any Christmas tree décor. They are very showy and they look very expensive (and you can say they are, wink wink!) They are sure to become one of your favorite Christmas tree ornaments. We're going to make a couple more to fill out the tree.
What fun crafts will you be creating with your family to place on the Christmas tree this year?
Thumbnail photo courtesy of Flickr.
Chris is having a challenge this year teaching his two year old to only look at the tree, not touch the ornaments. It doesn't help that they are so shiny and sparkly. You can view more crafts for kids at his birthday party idea blog.
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