EASY CHRISTMAS DELIGHTS Looking for quick and easy ways to add beads to your home décor or for gifts this year? Look no further! Get inspired by these 12 beady ideas to give your holidays the festive touch you’ve been seeking.

CHARMING HOLIDAY BANGLE

1 Attach holiday-themed charms and crystals to jump rings, and slide them onto a wire bangle to make this quick and stylish holiday bracelet. Materials from TierraCast.

ORNAMENT EARRINGS

BEADED WREATH ORNAMENTS

1 On one end of a bracelet-sized circle of memory wire, make a plain loop large enough for the ribbon to go through. String an assortment of beads. Trim the wire 1⁄2 in. (1.3 cm) from the last bead, and make another loop on this end. 2 Cut a 9-in. (23 cm) and a 12-in. (30 cm) piece of ribbon. Slide the ends of the 12-in. (30 cm) ribbon through the loops on the ends of the wire. Center the ribbon, and tie a square knot to pull the ends together. Using the 9-in. (23 cm)

On a head pin, string an 8–10 mm pearl and a 5 mm crystal rondelle, and make a plain loop. Attach an ear wire.

MATERIALS earrings 1 ⁄2 – 5 ⁄8 in. (1.3–1.6 cm)

piece of ribbon, slide it under the connection, center it, and tie a knot at the end of the ribbon ends. With the tails from the first ribbon, tie a bow, and trim the ends at an angle to the desired length.

MATERIALS beaded wreath 2¾ in. (7 cm)

• 13–19 assorted beads (www.jessejamesbeads.com) • 1 circle bracelet-sized memory wire • 21 in. (53 cm) ribbon • roundnose pliers • heavy-duty wire cutters • scissors

RUBY RADIANCE EARRINGS Stack spacers and faceted beads for pretty dangle earrings. Kits with instructions available at www.JewelryandBeadingStore.com.

• 2 8–10 mm pearls • 2 5 mm Swarovski crystal rondelles • 2 head pins • 1 pair of ear wires • 2 pairs of chainnose, flatnose, and/or bentnose pliers • roundnose pliers • wire cutters December 2016 1 © 2016 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form © 2016 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in without permission from the publisher. www.BeadAndButton.com any form without permission from the publisher.

BUTTONED UP SNOWMAN

1 Make a U-shaped bend at the center of a 6-in. (15 cm) piece of 20-gauge wire, making the bend as wide as the hole spacing of the buttons (approximately 4 mm). 2 Slide two small white buttons onto the wire, two medium white buttons, and two small white buttons to form the body. With the ribbon, make two wraps around the wire above the buttons, and tie a square knot. Trim the ribbon tails if needed. 3 Slide a small white button, a medium white button, and a small white button onto the wire to form the head. 4 Slide a large black button and four small black buttons onto the wire to form the hat. 5 Cross the two wires to form an X above the top button. Using chainnose pliers, make a small bend in each wire so the ends form a right angle. Wrap the horizontal wire around the vertical wire. Trim the excess wrapping wire. Make a wrapped loop with the vertical wire.

SANTA BUTTON BALL

1 Using head pins (for sewing) with red glass heads, cover a 3-in. (7.6 cm) Styrofoam ball with an assortment of red buttons. Overlap them as needed to cover the foam base. 2 Wrap the 10-in. (25 cm) black ribbon around the center of the ball tightly, overlapping the ends. Hold the ribbon in place temporarily with pins, leaving about 1½-in. (3.8 cm) untacked where the ends overlap. 3 Place the buckle on top of the buttons between the ends of the ribbon. Weave one end of the ribbon under and back over one side of the buckle. Trim this end so there is about 1 in. (2.5 cm) of ribbon extending past the edge of the buckle. Fold under the end ¼ in. (6 mm) of ribbon, and tack it down near the fold using two black buttons and silver pins. Weave the other end of the ribbon under and back over the other side of the buckle, and tighten. Trim and tack down as before. Remove the temporary tacks holding the ribbon in place.

6 On the medium white button on the head, use the black marker to make two eyes on the edge. On the bottom small white button on the head, use the orange marker to make a nose on the edge between the eyes (figure).

MATERIALS buttoned up snowman 1½ in. (3.8 cm)

• 1 large black button, approximately 5⁄8 in. (1.6 cm) diameter, two- or four-hole • 3 medium white buttons, approximately 9⁄16 in. (1.4 cm) diameter, two- or four-hole • small buttons, approximately 7⁄16 in. (1.1 cm) diameter, two- or four-hole -- 6 white -- 4 black • 6 in. (15 cm) 20-gauge wire • 3 in. (7.6 cm) ribbon, ¼ in. (6 mm) wide (green) • 2 pairs of chainnose, flatnose, and/or bentnose pliers • roundnose pliers • wire cutters • scissors • permanent markers (black and orange)

4 Cut a 9-in. (23 cm) piece of gold ribbon, and tie a knot with the ends to form a hanging loop. Tack the knot to the top of the ball using silver pins. With the remaining gold ribbon, tie a bow, and tack it on top of the knot of the hanging loop. Trim the tails to the desired length.

MATERIALS santa button ball 31 ⁄4 in. (8.3 cm)

• 1 3-in. (7.6 cm) Styrofoam ball • 1 1-in. (2.5 cm) buckle (8588238, gold; www.joann.com) • 175–200 red buttons (assorted sizes) • 4 black buttons, ½ in. (1.3 cm) • 10 in. (25 cm) ribbon, 7⁄8 in. (2.2 cm) wide (black) • 21 in. (53 cm) ribbon (gold) • 175–200 extra-fine red glass head pins (for sewing, 1017771; www.hobbylobby.com) • 10–12 size 20 dressmaker pins (304865, nickel; www.hobbylobby.com) • scissors

December 2016 2

ORNAMENT HANGER On 3-in. (7.6 cm) of 20-gauge wire, make a 5–6 mm loop, leaving a slight opening. String a 3 mm bead, four 6–8 mm assorted beads, and a 3 mm bead. Bend the wire above the beads to make a 10–11 mm hook for hanging.

MATERIALS ornament hangers 2 in. (5 cm) • 4 6–8 mm assorted beads

per hanger • 2 3 mm beads • 3 in (7.6 cm) 20-gauge wire per hanger • roundnose pliers • wire cutters

BUTTON WREATH

1 On one end of a bracelet-sized circle of memory wire, make a plain loop large enough for the ribbon to go through. String an assortment of buttons. Trim the wire 1⁄2 in. (1.3 cm) from the last button, and make another loop on this end. 2 Cut a 9-in. (23 cm) and a 12-in. (30 cm) piece of ribbon. Slide the ends of the 12-in. (30 cm) ribbon through the loops on the ends of the wire. Center the ribbon, and tie a square knot to pull the two wire ends together. Slide the 9-in. (23 cm) piece of ribbon under the connection, center it, and tie a knot at the end of the ribbon ends. With the tails from the first ribbon, tie a bow, and trim the ends at an angle to the desired length.

MATERIALS button wreath 2¾ in. (7 cm)

• 72–80 buttons in assorted sizes (shades of green) • 1 circle bracelet-sized memory wire • 21 in. (53 cm) ribbon • roundnose pliers • heavy-duty wire cutters • scissors

CRYSTAL ICICLE

1 On 4-in. (10 cm) of 20-gauge wire, make a small plain loop on one end. String an assortment of 4–12 mm crystals, pearls, and spacers, adding the beads from smallest to largest for the desired length, ending with a small bead. 2 Make a spiral at the opposite end of the loop to hold the beads in place. 3 On a head pin, string a 4 mm crystal, and make a plain loop. Open the loop, and attach it to the loop on the bottom of the ornament.

MATERIALS crystal icicle 33 ⁄8 in. (8.6 cm) • 7–10 assorted 4–12 mm Swarovski

crystal rounds, bicones, and pearls • 3–5 4–5 mm spacer beads • 4 in. (10 cm) 20-gauge wire • roundnose pliers • wire cutters • scissors

December 2016 3

3 On one needle pick up two 110s and an A. Sew

MATERIALS matte green ombré tree 11 ⁄2 –11 ⁄8 in. (3.8–2.9 cm)

• 2.5 x 5 mm SuperDuo beads -- 9 color A (pearl coat olive) -- 14 color B (gold shine dark olive) -- 11 color C (metallic suede light green) -- 1 g 110 seed beads (Toho 557, permanent finish galvanized starlight) • 1 60 seed bead (Toho 37, silver-lined olivine) • Fireline, 6 lb. test, or nylon beading thread, size D • beading needles, #11 teal ombré tree colors

• 2.5 x 5 mm Twin beads* -- 9 color A (matte transparent seafoam) -- 14 color B (green-lined crystal) -- 11 color C (aqua-lined crystal) • 1 g 110 seed beads (Preciosa, silver) • 1 60 seed bead (Toho 37, silver- lined olivine)

through the open hole of the previous A, and pick up an A (b–c). On the other needle, pick up two 110s, and cross through the three As your other thread just went through (bb–cc). 4 On one needle pick up two 110s and a color B SuperDuo. Sew through the open hole of the previous A, pick up a B, sew through the next A, and pick up a B (c–d). On the other needle, pick up two 110s, and cross through the five SuperDuos your other thread just went through (cc–dd). 5 Work as in step 4, but add a total of four Bs and sew through the previous Bs instead of As (d–e and dd–ee). 6 Continue working in the same manner to add a row with five color C SuperDuos, a row with six Cs, and a row with seven Bs (e–f and ee–ff). 7 With one needle pick up two 110s, and sew through the open hole of the B your

OMBRÉ HOLIDAY TREE EARRINGS AND PENDANT Make quick and easy holiday trees to use as pendants, earrings, gift toppers, adornments for greeting cards, or to hang anyplace that needs a little bit of cheer.

1 Attach a needle to each end of 1 yd. (.9 m) of thread. With one needle, pick up eight 110 seed beads, and center them on the thread. Sew through the first bead again to form a ring, and then sew through the ring again, skipping beads 3, 5, and 7 so the ring forms a diamond shape (figure 1). 2 On one needle, pick up an 110 and a color A SuperDuo bead (figure 2, a–b). On the other needle, pick up an 110, and cross through the same A, going in the opposite direction of the first needle (aa–bb).

aa b

a bb c

cc d

dd

thread is exiting. Work across the row, adding six As but don’t sew through the last B (f–g). With the other needle, pick up two 110s, sew through the open hole of the adjacent B, and then sew through the next 11 SuperDuos (ff–gg). 8 With one needle, pick up two 110s, and sew through the open hole of the A your thread is exiting. Pick up an 110, and sew through the next A. Work one more stitch with an 110 (g–h). Pick up an 110, a 60 seed bead, and an 110. Sew back through the 60, pick up an 110, and sew through the next A (h–i). Work two more stitches with 110s (i–j). 9 With the other needle, pick up two 110s, and sew back through the bottom row of beads, including the tree trunk (gg–hh). End the threads. 10 To wear your tree as jewelry, open a 6 mm jump ring or the loop of an ear wire, and pass it through the top loop. w * This project uses only a small amount of each color bead to create an ombré effect, so a bead mix would be an ideal choice, which is what was used for the teal-colored tree. The colors shown came from the Iris Landscape mix by John Bead.

e

ee

2.5 x 5 mm SuperDuo bead, color A 2.5 x 5 mm SuperDuo bead, color color B

ff

f

2.5 x 5 mm SuperDuo bead, color color C

g

gg

110 seed bead

j

i

h

hh

60 seed bead

FIGURE 1

FIGURE 2

December 2016 4

WIRE ORNAMENTS Make cleverly shaped wire ornaments that are perfect for decorating your holiday tree or use them as adorable gift toppers. Template and ornament designed by Cheryl Najafi at www.everydaydishes.com.

1 Cut a 12-in. (30 cm) piece of 16-gauge silver-plated wire. Center the wire at the bottom of an ornament template. Using roundnose and/or chainnose pliers, follow the template to gently shape the wire according to the template. Make a wrapped loop to connect the wire ends, and trim and tuck the wire. 2 For a more rustic look, use 16-gauge silver-plated flat wire, and gently hammer the wire upon completion. Patinate with liver of sulfur if desired.

MATERIALS ornaments 21 ⁄2 x 31 ⁄2 in. (6.4 x 8.9 mm)

• 20 in. (51 cm) 16-gauge silver-plated wire • roundnose and/or chainnose pliers • wire cutters • liver of sulfur (optional)

BUTTON HOLIDAY CARD

1 Print the “Happy Holidays” design onto cardstock. 2 Fold the cardstock so the two long edges are together and the printed areas face outward. Cut the cardstock in half from the edge toward the crease between the two printed areas to form two cards. 3 Glue assorted buttons under each printed ornament cap.

MATERIALS button card 5½ x 4¼ in. (14 x 10.8 cm)

• 6 assorted buttons per card • 1 81⁄2 x 11-in. (21.6 x 28 cm) piece of cardstock • glue • scissors December 2016 5

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays

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