Hey Momcrieff Readers! I have a real treat for you today! I was part of a bead challenge. There are eight of us, and we were all told which beads to buy and told to be creative with our final product. So, not only will you see what I did, but, you will have a chance to see what my fellow creative blog friends did!
These are the beads that our challenge was based on.
Aren’t they pretty! We found them at Hobby Lobby.
Here are my dragonfly planter decorations.
I had to ask my son to help me. He learned to make these when he was a little boy. Hmmmm, he just graduated from high school a couple of weeks ago. Good thing he remembered and he was able to help me make these cute little dragonflies!
I showed you the beads to use, and then you also need the silver, thin florist wire and some wire cutters.
You can find these at any place that sells floral supplies.
Step 1.
Cut a piece of wire 60 inches long. There will be extra. However, you will be glad there is because sometimes the ends get mangled and you can just clip them off.
Step 2.
Pick a big bead in the color of your choice and string it to the middle.
Step 3.
Pick two medium sized beads and then poke the wire into the beads from the outside in.
Pull the wire as tight as you comfortably can. If there is a little slack, that’s ok. This doesn’t have to be perfect.
Repeat two more times. So you have a row with one, and then three rows with a pair of beads.
Step 4.
Find the beads with the largest holes. This is important because you are going to have to thread 4 wires through that hole. You are looking for the clear crystals. It was fairly apparent which ones had the larger holes.
After you have threaded the two beads from the outside in, choose a number of smaller beads to make the wings with. We used between 12-14, depending on the bead. String the 12 beads on EACH side.
Then thread the wire through the same hole you just threaded it through previously. It takes a little fiddling and you can do it! If the end is kinked, just clip it off. You have extra.
Fear not. If this seems confusing, I will be providing a cheat sheet diagram a little lower in the post. It’ll show exactly how to thread the beads! It sound much harder than it is!
Repeat step 4 for the second wing.
Step 5.
Now you are going to make the head. Do a row of two, then comes the row with the eyes. We did contrasting larger beads to represent the eyes. Then you do another row of two (or three smaller ones).
This one was hard to do, because the colored beads didn’t have the larger holes. Again, make sure you are using the clear crystal beads that have the larger holes!
I used this copper coil to make the planter stake. I just wrapped part of it around a broom stick (truly!) to get the cork screw look and then just used my hands to make a loop at the top. Copper coil is easy to work with and this box was priced at about $5.00.
To cut it, all I did was use my wire cutters to crimp it, then I just bent the copper back and forth until it broke. Easier than you think it would be!
You get a nice clean end/break like the picture below shows.
Then I just tied some of the florist wire around the middle of the dragonflies and tied them to the top of the copper coil stake. I staggered the length of the wire to each dragonfly.
I love my beaded dragonflies!
A big shoutout to my oldest son for helping me out (again)!
And, here is the diagram. It should help you make sense of the directions the wires need to go for each step. I tried some fancy programs then ended up using a piece of paper and a sharpie to draw my circles and wire. Hey, whatever works, right??
And now, please take a look at my blog friend’s projects. They all have clickable links right under the picture that will take you right to the specific blog post.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy all the other projects as much as I did!
#creatingwithbeads
Patti At Garden Matter
CD at CDs Country Living
Meredith at Palette Muse
Jemma At Home with Jemma
Carole at Garden Up Green
Karen @ To Work with my Hands
Google+
These are perfection! I love them and the details combined with the copper wire and colorful beads just makes them light up a garden!
Lovely to meet you too!
Jemma
Your dragonflies are absolutely ADORABLE, Susan, and would make the perfect whimsical touch to any garden! You are one lucky Mum to have a son (especially a teen) who was willing to help out! This would be a great summer project for the kiddos for sure! Love that you included a diagram in your tutorial! Now even someone non-crafty like me can make some dragonflies!
Oh I love these dragon flies…I am going to give this a try. Thanks for the idea. If I can’t do them can I borrow your son? lol
Susan, these little dragonflies are so pretty, and add such a fun touch of whimsy to your garden. I love how you varied the colors between them, and thanks for the diagram! I bet my kids would love to try these…
Super cute Susan. Love the dragonflies and the copper holder!
These adorable dragonflies are perfect for the garden! Your tutorial is great and I can’t wait to snag a few of my kiddos and whip up some of these. They would make fun gifts for their friends too!
Thank you for joining us, Susan – it’s been a super fun challenge!
I love these dragon flies – I’m in awe of the detail and what a wonderful outdoor addition. Adding them with the copper was a great idea. Thanks for joining us Susan.