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Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Beading Help Web's 12 Days of Christmas: Ornament Thursday!!

Hooray! It's Ornament Thursday! My gift today is an exclusive project that you can make just in time for Christmas.

I don't think I've had this much fun doing a challenge in a long time. I love thinking outside the jewelry box, and coming up with ways I can use my jewelry-making skills to decorate things other than my ears, neck and wrists, LOL! Thanks once again to Katie Hacker and the rest of the Ornament Thursday group who worked so hard on this project. :-)

This week, I've taken my Holiday Tree Earring project, blown it up a bit, and added some decorations for the tree. Here are the step-by-step instructions to make your own Holiday Tree Ornament, using craft wire and orphan beads.

Holiday Tree Ornament


Materials:
18g green or silver colored craft wire
Headpins
Orphan beads


I thought it would be fun to make a tree using green craft wire, but you might want to try silver if you are hanging this ornament on a tree! I also used orphan beads (onsie-twosie beads left over from other projects) because my own tree decorations are very eclectic (more about that in a minute), but you can stick with a theme or color scheme if you’d like.

Level: Beginner

I work directly from the spool of wire to reduce wire waste. Starting at the bottom of the tree works best to ensure you have a nice swirl for the base.

Make a tiny loop at the end of the wire. Using a flat nosed pliers, make a swirl, with three revolutions around the loop. This is your tree base.

Use a round object (the barrel of a pen, a wooden dowel, large section of a round nosed or stepped pliers) to make a loop about 1cm from the top of the swirl.

Bring the wire back around and toward the swirl. Extend the wire 1cm from the swirl on the other side from the loop you just made. Bend slightly down, and make a matching loop on this side. Bring the wire back around the jaw of the pliers, and you have made the bottom tier of your tree.

About 3mm from the end of the first loop, grasp the wire again, and make another loop for the start of the second tier. Repeat on the other side to complete the second tier.


Make a third tier about 3mm in from the end of the second tier, repeating on both sides to complete.


When you have finished the third tier, bring the wire to the center of the top of the tree, and make a small wrapped loop to hang the ornament.


Use headpins and beads to make dangles. Hang the dangles from the tree "limbs" to decorate.
Make a hanger for your ornament, and you are ready to hang from the tree, an ornament display or in the window!



A little about our family Christmas tree. I don't think I can even begin to count the number of ornaments we have on our tree, but it's so much fun to put them up every year. We have no theme: a handmade Sputnik (very crafty - a styrofoam ball and toothpicks covered in glitter that my parents made 50 years ago), crystal store-bought snowflakes, one of the first ornaments I picked for myself (a partridge), the copper stamped ornaments I made just this year, ornaments my children have made, and ornaments their grandparents and other relatives have given them. Sure it's a little messy, but I love it, and every year I look to make sure that Sputnik and Garfy (handpainted rendition of my cat who has gone to the Rainbow Bridge) are safe on the branches.

Thanks again to everyone who made this project so much fun (I have had a blast looking at and sharing everyone else's ornaments too!)...check out ornaments from:

Christmas cookie - Jennifer Heynen www.jenniferjangles.blogspot.com
Christmas tree finger labyrinth - Hali Chambers www.labyrinthgal.blogspot.com
Ring in the New Year - Kriss Cramer http://www.art-interrupted.blogspot.com/
Quilty pieced snowman - Linda Augsburg http://cs.makeitminemag.com/mimcs/blogs/makeitmine/
Simply striking sparkling spheres - Margot Potter http://margotpotter.blogspot.com/
Beaded memory wire - Elaine Luther http://www.CreativeTextureTools.com/news
Wire & beaded tree - Lynn Kvigne http://beading.consumerhelpweb.com/blog/
Beaded sun catcher - Debba Haupert http://www.girlfriendologytoo.blogspot.com/
Jolly and yummy ceramic candy - Melanie Brooks Lukacs http://earthenwood-beads.blogspot.com/
Polymer snowflake embedded in resin - Melissa Lee http://www.strandsofbeads.blogspot.com/
Beaded candy canes - Candie Cooper http://candiecooper.typepad.com/savvycrafter/
Polymer clay gift tag/ornament - Heather Powers http://www.polymerclay.craftgossip.com
Twisted blues - Lampwork Diva aka Cindy Gimbrone http://lampworkdiva.blogspot.com
Holiday spiral tree & party pixie - Art Bead Scene http://www.artbeadscene.com
Wire bird's nest - Rebecca Peck http://vintagegirlmodernworld.wordpress.com/
Plush gingerbread doggie - Jenny Harada http://pomly.livejournal.com/
Swell ornament - Alexa Westerfield http://swelldesigner.blogspot.com/
Holiday paper crafting - Brandy Lung Gill http://accesstoexcess.blogspot.com/
Shaving cream & chipboard ornament - Michelle McGee http://fromichelle.blogspot.com/
Easy needle-felted orb - Katie Hacker http://www.katiehacker.com/index.htm
Lisa Liffy’s Lovely Ornament http://lisaliddy.wordpress.com/



posted by Beading Help Web Editorial Team at 11:38 AM |

12 Comments:

  • Wow! Great idea and beautifully executed.

    Thanks so much for joining us!

    Cheers,
    Margot

    By Blogger Margot Potter, at 7:11 AM  

  • Very cute idea - I will try this!

    Happy holidays!

    By Blogger Melissa, at 7:59 AM  

  • Thanks for sharing it AND for including the step-by-step photos. That makes it much easier!

    By Blogger Linda at Make It Mine Mag, at 8:07 AM  

  • Thanks ladies for your comments!

    By Blogger Beading Help Web Editorial Team, at 8:37 AM  

  • This is adorable. Thanks for the directions and pictures! Merry Christmas!

    By Blogger Kriss, at 8:52 AM  

  • Nice! Love that emerald green wire, it just glows. And I love projects that use up those orphan beads. Thanks for sharing!

    By Blogger *melanie* earthenwood studio, at 8:52 AM  

  • Your ornament turned out flawless! I just might have to try this...even if mine will turn out wonky!

    Merry Christmas!

    By Blogger Brandi, at 8:53 AM  

  • This tree is so cute! I can see lots of different applications for this. One year, I made similar (littler) versions for the front of my Christmas cards.

    By Blogger Katie Hacker, at 8:55 AM  

  • I love the idea of using these as holiday card embellishments...may have to plan that for next year!!

    By Blogger Beading Help Web Editorial Team, at 10:36 AM  

  • I am getting inspired to get back into more decorating next season! And I feel like tossing out all the current tree ornaments and starting over with handmade ones!

    Thanks for such great inspiration.

    By Blogger Lisa, at 10:38 AM  

  • Oooooh, I LOVE this!!! The flow and curves and the beads--GORGEOUS! :-) H.

    By Blogger Labyrinth Gal, at 11:46 AM  

  • Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =)THANX FOR MAKING SUCH A COOL BLOG


    Let me share with you a great resource,

    Christmas Web guide

    They really know what they are doing. If you are in need of New Christmas Ideas Or Just Want To know how to make Your Christmas memorable Just Go And Check out this

    By Blogger Christmas, at 6:46 AM  

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