Monday, March 28, 2011

Beaded Xmas Tree Loops

These little decorations were inspired by the ones I saw on Spoilt Rotten Beads.
I've made these Xmas tree ornaments for My Totally Handmade Christmas Tree Decorations Pledge! :D

Photobucket
Grab my badge in the right side bar & display it on your blog if you wanna join my pledge! :)
These were quite simple and quick to make (it was only the part with the crimp beads that were quite fiddly to do, so be patient there, hehe).  So I've made a tutorial on how to make these ornaments, in case you wanted to make 'em for your pledge as well. ;)

First, this is what you'll need:
an assortment of coloured 6mm bicone facet beads
clear 4mm bicone facet beads
silver-lined size 11 seed beads
crimp beads
loop rings
bells (or your dangly of choice)
memory wire (I used the size that was a few millimeters over 4cm across)
silver string
tools: scissors, pliers & memory wire cutters

First, cut a loop so that it overlaps a little, like this:
Then string on your beads however you like.  I chose this sequence and just repeated it on either side until the ring was full:
String on until the loop is almost full - you'll stop where the loop overlaps:
Now you'll probably have to cut the overlapping wire, just a tad, otherwise it's too long, like in my photo above.  Cut it so that the wire ends no longer want to overlap the beading:
The only way I could think of to secure the wire was to add crimp beads.  So add 2 crimp beads to one side of the wire:
Now slide the other end of the wire into the crimp beads as well:
This is the fiddly part because the beads slide around very easily and could fall off.  But just space the crimp beads on either side of the overlapping wires, so that there's a space between them where you're gonna add your dangly.  Then squish the crimp beads with your pliers so that they secure the wires:
Take a loop ring and add your dangly on it, then close the ring over the centre of the overlapping memory wires:
Finally, take a piece of silver string (I used about 20cm of string) and tie it around the loop ring so that you can hang it on your tree.
And there's your tree ornament! :D
I made some in different colours:
I really enjoyed making these, because they're so simple and relatively quick too. :)

Remember to send me a link of your ornaments if you decided to try 'em out too!

LINKY PARTIES linked to:
The Little Birdie Blog                               Sugar Bee Crafts
Vintage Wanna Bee                                  This & That
Today's Creative Blog                              I'm Topsy Turvy
Rook No. 17                                           Somewhat Simple




5 comments:

Monica said...

Pretty, pretty, pretty! You should be sellingthese on Etsy, you know.

xxx Monca
Ps: Off to vote now...

Maria@Crafty Cre8tions said...

These are awesome!!!
Maria

Jenn Erickson said...

Monique, they're lovely! I love the shine of the multifaceted beads!

Thank you for linking up to "A Little Birdie Told Me..." at Rook No. 17!

Jenn

iram said...

these are so nice live them

Lynne said...

These really are elegant! And so shiny on the tree under the lights. Just beautiful. Thank you for sharing!