Last month, Krafty Kath and I hosted our second Craft Tin craft party. This time we gathered together friends to create holiday ornaments. Just as last time, it was great fun to catch up, have some eats and drinks, and do a little crafting along the way.
For libations we made a delicious Cranberry & Rosemary White “Christmas” Sangria from Cooking Stoned and as part of the nosh we had Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites complete with fleur de sel from The Novice Chef.
Both times we’ve done this, we’ve learned a lot about how much goes into hosting a successful event. Even though it’s hard work, we look forward to continuing our pursuit to bring together craft-minded women for fun and relaxed social gatherings.
We made two ornaments over the course of the evening – a straw Himmeli ornament and a wood bead snowflake ornament. Below are instructions for the latter.
DIY Wood Bead Snowflake Ornament
Give yourself about 30 minutes to complete one ornament.
Materials and Supplies
- 24 gauge jewelry wire
- 12 mm natural wood beads (48 makes one ornament)
- Ribbon or string for loop
- Wire cutters
- Round nose pliers (optional)
- Instructions
Instructions
To help explain this project better, here are a couple of diagrams to show how to thread the wire. This is also available as a PDF download.
Step 1
Cut a strip of wire about two arms in length. Thread six (6) beads to the end of the wire, leaving about four (4) inches on the tail. Thread the wire back through the first bead and pull it taut completing a circle.
Step 2
Thread five (5) additional beads onto the wire.
Step 3
Thread the wire back through the second bead from the top (in the instructions diagram, this is bead #10).
It will take some maneuvering, but try to align the bead so that the holes are on the sides. This makes it easier to add ribbon or string for hanging.
Step 4
Thread two (2) additional beads. Then, thread the wire through the bottom bead of the arm (in the instructions diagram, this is bead #7).
As you work, make sure to keep the wire taut. Once you thread the wire back through bead #7, you will have a good opportunity to make sure the arm is tight and secure.
Step 5
Thread the wire through bead #2 and repeat steps 2 through 4 until you’ve created six (6) arms to complete the snowflake.
Step 6
Wind the wire around the inner circle a few times to secure it in place. With wire cutters trim off the excess wire.
Step 7
Attach a piece of ribbon or string for hanging.
Pat yourself on the back, you just made a wood bead snowflake ornament!
