by Joanna Ochocinska
Christmas is fast approaching and with it comes the covert Christmas tree rivalry. Of course, we all know that this is not what Christmas is about; but who hasn’t secretly turned green with envy on seeing their friend’s stunning Christmas tree at least once in their life? If you’re looking for a way to make your tree special this year, beaded decorations are a perfect solution. Your tree is guaranteed to be the object of everyone’s envy if you decorate it with these unique hand-made beaded stars.
It’s not a very complicated project so you could get your older kids involved. We will be using a slightly modified netting technique which is based on the idea of creating a web of intersecting threads with beads in between. The same method can be used to create various pieces of jewellery such as: netted bracelet, netted earrings, netted choker and netted necklace.
1. Seed beads (colour A and B)
2. Bugle beads (colour A)
3. Thread
4. A needle
5. Scissors
6. A piece of wire
1. Cut a length of thread you're comfortable working with and thread the needle.
2. Slide 7 seed beads of colour B down to a few centimetres from the thread end.
3. Push the needle up through the first seed bead and pull to make a loop.
4. Put one seed bead of colour A onto the needle and go through the 5th bead B.
5. Slide one bugle bead and one seed bead B onto the thread and move back through the bugle bead.
6. Push the needle through the neighbouring seed bead from the centre of the star.
7. Repeat steps 5-6 until you've made a full circle.
8. Bring the needle up through the closest bugle bead and the seed bead at the top.
9. String a sequence of two seed beads A, one seed bead B and two seed beads A and push the needle through bead B at the tip of the neighbouring bugle bead.
10. Repeat step 9 until you've made a full circle.
11. Slip one bugle bead, one seed bead B and one more bugle bead onto the needle and go through bead B at the tip of the neighbouring bugle bead.
12. Repeat step 11 to decorate the whole circle.
13. Tie a knot at the base of the closest bead.
14. Push the needle through several beads to bury the knot and cut the thread as close to the beads as possible.
15. Repeat step 14 for the thread end in the centre.
16. Slide a piece of wire through bead B at the tip.
17. Tie the ends of the wire around the bead.
18. Form a loop and make a knot at the top.
These beaded stars are very subtle so in order to make them stand out it's best to use brightly coloured, sparkly or metallic beads. The best thing about them is that you can quickly turn them into earrings by adding an earring hook at the top. That solves the other common Christmas dilemma: what to wear to an office Christmas party!
Related pages
Make a Wire Snowflake | Make a Snowflake Out of Beads | Make a Pasta Christmas Tree
How To Make Diamond-shaped Earrings Out Of Beads
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How to Create a Bracelet with a Sliding Clasp
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How To Make A Dream Catcher For A Child
Step-by-step instructions for how to make a Dream Catcher.
Create a Fun Flower-Pot out of a Plastic Cup
A fun flower-pot project great with or without children.
How To Make A Plastic Bottle Bird House
A simple bird house using a plastic bottle that costs next to nothing to make.
