Patriotic Glass Bead Ornaments ~ An Assembly and Embellishment Tutorial

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Patriotic Glass Bead Ornaments ~ An Assembly and Embellishment Tutorial

Let's make a festive set of glass bead ornaments to commemorate 250 years of American independence! It takes just a few thoughtfully combined beads in red, silver and blue to create stunning and sparkly patriotic beauties. Take beads to the next level by adding a few stars and stripes using Dresden foil stars and borders. Finished ornaments range in size from 2-1/2" to 4-1/4" long.

Supplies:

20 Gauge Beading Wire

Assorted Large Glass Beads

8mm and 10mm round beads

Spacer Beads

Bead Caps

Dresden Stars and Borders (like DF2088, DFW852 and DFW45)

Scissors

Clear Drying Craft Glue like Alleen's

For Hangers: Christmas Hooks, Ornament Hooks or 1/8" Velvet ribbon

Rosary Pliers (needle nose pliers with a wire cutter)

Step 1: Prepare Wire. Depending on the size of beads, cut a 5" to 8" length of wire. Use the rosary pliers to form a loop at one end.

Step 2: Add Beads. Slide beads and caps onto the wire. Caps at the top and bottom of large beads allow for a more aligned result.

Step 3: Add Remaining Beads + a Spacer Bead. Slide on remaining beads ending with a spacer.

Step 4: Trim Excess Wire. Using the rosary pliers, trim away excess wire leaving about 3/8" and form a loop as before.

Step 5: Straighten Ornament. Gently adjust and straighten ornament as needed.

Step 6: Hangers. There are a few options to hang your ornaments:

-- Use a 9 inch length of velvet, thread through hole, bring ends together, tie a knot and trim ends as needed.

-- Use the rosary pliers to open the looped end of a hook, place it in the loop formed in Step 1, and close it to secure.

-- Use a classic ornament hook.

To Embellish or Not?

Below are three examples of how to build different ornaments.

Left, beads with no additional embellishment: let the beads speak for themselves. It only takes a few beads to create something gorgeous.

Center, beads with Dresden star embellishments. A stack of stars adds extra elegance.

Right, beads with Dresden trim stripes. A small stripe of Dresden border gives beads a firecracker feel.

Tips and Notes:

-- Always use spacer beads at the tips of the wires where the last loop is formed. The thin walls of the blown glass beads are not suitable as end beads alone.

-- Bead caps help stabilize designs: Large beads generally have large holes so using bead caps helps restrict the side-to-side movement larger beads will exhibit on the wire. Caps help beads to line up more uniformly.

-- If you love beaded ornaments, check out more projects HERE.

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