Beaded Snowflake Ornament #6

Sample 1

Sample 2

The frames for these beaded snowflake ornaments are made out of pipe cleaners. I like this method because it makes a fairly secure little frame for the kids to work with. Also, the center beads end up being evenly spaced. For some reason it just never works out that way for me when I just twist the wires together. These two ornaments were made a couple of years ago. I think that they have held up very well.

Supplies

For each frame you will need:

3 6 inch pieces of pipe cleaner

2 star flake beads* (18mm)

8 round beads(5-6mm)

an extra piece of pipe cleaner.**

* I am calling these Star Flake beads because that is what they are referred to as in my angel kit. I have heard these called paddle beads, starburst beads and sunburst beads. Call them what you will, they can be found with kid’s crafts beads in JoAnns. I’ve looked in Michael’s and they have redone their bead section. I have seen a few small packages of them in the bead section but it does not look like an economical way to buy them. I purchased mine at Robert’s crafts. I think I have also seen them at WalMart.

** In the photo I have a small peice of pipe cleaner. I have found that when I am making a lot of snowflake frames that it is less wasteful to use a full length of pipe cleaner. I just keep using it until I run out and then grab another one.

Lets get started

Take the extra piece of pipe cleaner and slide on one of the round beads. To secure the bead you can either make a small loop in the end of the pipe cleaner or you can just bend the end of the pipe cleaner over the bead. I prefer the second method because it saves me a few extra seconds.

moving along

Once you make sure that your round bead isn’t going to go anywhere, you need to slide two starflake beads and another round bead on to the other end of the pipe cleaner. move them down towards the secure bead, but not all the way.

Slide one StarFlake bead down

Take one starflake bead and slide it down so that it sits snugly up against the first round bead. Give them a little tug to make sure that they wont come off.

This was a tricky photo to take

To do this next bit I stand the pipe cleaner upright so that the snug beads are on the bottom.

Assemble the frame

You want to take the remaining pieces of pipe cleaner and lay them down across the star flake bead so that they are nestled in to the grooves of the star flake bead. You want to check and make sure they are pretty much even so that all of your spokes are about the same length. I smooshed mine down in there a bit to make taking the photo easier.

Slide the other two beads down

This was another photo that was difficult to capture clearly. You want to slide the other star flake bead down so that you sandwich the pipe cleaners between the two star flake beads. Starflake beads nestle down in to each other, so the paddles from the top star flake bead will sit on top of the pipe cleaners. Slide down the remaining round bead and make sure everything is good and tight.

Trim off the excess pipe cleaner

Trim off the excess pipe cleaner, but leave enough to bend over the bead so that it is secure. I grab the little piece of pipe cleaner with a pair of round pliers. I take the end like I am going to make a small loop in the wire. When I roll my wrist out it pulls the pipe cleaner up through the beads and snugs it up even more. Then I just bend it over the side of the bead.

Voila

This is what a completed frame should look like. Obviously there are easier ways to make a tinsel frame for making snowflake ornaments. I use this pattern for making kits that kids can assemble because it makes a sturdy little frame. I think the less time spent repairing a frame, the better when it comes to class parties. I usually add on the 6 round beads at this point as I feel it makes the frame a bit sturdier. It also helps to space out the spokes on the frame a bit more evenly.

For the kits, each child will have an assortment of beads to make their snowflake. I buy as many different craft beads as I can because I like to make sure that the kids can be creative. Besides, snowflakes are supposed to be different. If you plan to attend the party, you can always do a station and have the beads in bowls so that the kids can choose them. I don’t generally attend the parties so I make sure each child has plenty of beads in the bag. The important part (and it is time consuming) is to actually count out the beads so that there are multiples of 6. If you put in 7 or 8, you are wasting beads. Same goes for if you put in 4 or 5. in the latter example you are wasting even more beads.  I always make sure that there are 6 round beads in every bag that match the ones in the frame. They are the perfect size for finishing off the snowflake ornament. They also look nice up against the star flake beads.

A few things to remember. I also put a ribbon or an ornament hanger in the bag so that the kids have something they can fold the pipe cleaner over.

These may be no brainers to you and I, but it is good to have the teacher or helper review a few things before the kids get started.

1: Your spokes can only be as long as your shortest piece of pipe cleaner.

2: You want to add a dab of glue when you slide on the last bead so that it is secure. (if you don’t want to use glue you can bend over a tiny piece of the pipe cleaner, but gluing on the the last bead makes for a  prettier ornament)

3: Just in case you have not started with the shortest spoke, you do not want to glue on ANY beads until you have all of the spokes completed.

4: Chances are good that not all of the spokes are the same length.

5: Once all of your beads have been glued on, you want to trim off the extra pipe cleaners, BUT you want to leave about half an inch on the longest spoke. That will be folded over the ornament hanger. Now, if they accidentally trim off all the pipe cleaners you can probably still wrap a piece of fishing line between the last two beads.

It is also very important that you choose beads that will easily slide on to the pipe cleaners. This project is not recommended for young children as beads provide an opportunity for choking. I assemble these kits for my children’s third grade class.

Have fun!

My daughter’s class loved doing this project.