Who can resist a bit of bling around the holidays?
I am not a flashy person, but when I saw Martha Stewart’s latest Christmas creation I stopped dead in my tracks. I actually turned off my vacuum and turned all of my attention to the TV where a tree bedazzled with dozens of shiny beaded ornaments and garland stood like a beacon of beaded glory.
There’s no way I have the time, talent or budget to recreate Martha’s beaded masterpieces; however, I did some research online and found a few cheaper and affordable alternatives that can be made by people like me who lack crafting skills.
Here are some simple ideas my 6-year-old daughter and I put to use last weekend in order to make our home a bit more sparkly this holiday season:
Dangling beaded ornament: Simple string shiny beads onto a headpin. Use pliers to make a loop at the top, and then tie a bow and hang on the tree.
Beaded glass ball ornament: For this simple ornament, just unscrew the top of a glass ball, and then drop in a few beads. You don’t have to fill the entire ball; instead consider using glitter and strips of pretty wrapping paper to help fill-out the ornament.
Beaded snowflakes: String clear, white, and silver beads of various sizes onto a wire star form.
Beaded candy canes: String red and white beads onto chenille stems. Then, bend the stems at the top to make a candy cane shape.
Once you have your shiny, new beaded ornaments on the tree, then whip up a beaded garland to complete the blinged out look. To make the garland just string beads onto a long piece of craft wire. If you are working on a budget you might want to alternate inexpensive plastic beads with more costly glass ones. Pony beads are a great choice for this project, as are wooden beads that you can make shine with a bit of flocking powder or glitter.
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