Beaded Snowflake #7

These are the very first two snowflakes I made two years ago. I learned how to make snowflakes following directions on this website. Kayray has great directions. This bead snowflake ornament is made with two rounds.

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.

Beaded Snowflake Ornament #4

Similar, but Different

Snowflake #4 is another 2 round snowflake so this one goes together pretty quickly. This is my favorite one so far. I got a pretty good deal on some Swarovski Crystal Beads at Michael’s this week. I should have bought more. This one really sparkles on the tree. I have an entire tree devoted to blue and white ornaments. My hope is to someday have all of the snowflakes that are on the tree made out of crystal beads. They really catch the light!

For this ornament I used

6 8mm faceted crystal rounds (Swarovski)

6 6mm faceted crystal rounds (Swarovski)

24 4mm crystal bicone beads (Swarovski)

24 bugle beads

32 gauge wire

I used about  three feet of wire.

The biggest difference in this pattern is that I am only using 6 beads in round one. I just noticed that I  made an error in this snowflake. On one of the spokes I did not double back through the bicone. It is visible on the ornament, but I don’t think it is that noticeable on the tree so I will leave it the way that it is.

Round one + one spoke of round 2

Round one:  String all 6 of the 8mm crystal rounds on to the wire. Leave about a 4 inch tail. Run the wire through the beads a second time and pull them snugly together in a circle. Take the tail and wrap it tightly around the wires between two beads several times. Once it is secure, trim off the excess.  I like using these beads for the center because the space in the middle also forms a little snowflake!

Round 2, the first spoke

You can work this in whatever direction is easiest for you to do so.

Round 2:

Spoke: Thread on 1 bugle bead, 1 bicone, 1 bugle bead, 1 bicone, 1 6mm round and then 1 more bicone for a total of 6 beads. Take the wire and double back through both the 6mm round and the next bicone bead. Gently pull to snug up the beads.  Add 1 bugle bead, 1 bicone bead and 1 more bugle bead for a total of 3 more beads. (this will be repeated for each new spoke)

This is where it is a little different. In the first three snowflake ornaments there were 12 beads in the center.  12 beads allowed you to weave in and out of every other bead. In this ornament you only have 6 beads. If you weave in and out of every other bead you will only have three spokes.  When you started this ornament, the wire was sticking out between bead 6 and bead 1.

I am working in a counter clockwise direction.

Take the wire and thread it through bead 6, BACK TOWARDS bead 1.

Position the wire for the next spoke

Then thread it through Bead 2. The wire will come out between bead 2 and bead 3.

Spoke 2

At this point you are going to repeat the pattern for the spoke.  Once you have the beads on for the spoke you are going to bring the wire back down between bead 1 and bead 2. You will thread it back through bead 2. To position the bead for the next spoke you will need to thread the bead through bead #3.

You will continue this pattern around the ornament until you have 6 spokes. Just remember that as you make the spoke you are anchoring the wire to round one, directly  under the spoke you are making. To start the next spoke, you need to pass through the next bead, make the spoke and then pass the wire through the same bead again.  I’ve got my fingers crossed that this makes sense. I will make this one again and take more photos. I will use less expensive beads so that I can draw actual numbers so that it is easier to understand.

The finished snowflake

This is what you are aiming for. To finish off the snowflake weave the wire up the next spoke so that it is sticking out of the last bicone bead. Make a loop and thread the wire back through the bicone bead. Tightly wrap the wire between the last two beads several times. When it is secure, trim off the excess.

Beaded Snowflake Ornament #3

This ornament is very similar to Beaded Snowflake Ornament #2. After I made #2, I noticed that the bicone beads sat very close to one another. I decided to make another ornament that would allow me to save a few beads, after all the Swarovski beads are fairly expensive. This snowflake is made with three rounds.

Beaded Snowflake Ornament #3

As you can see, this snowflake is very similar to Beaded Snowflake #2. I’ve added a round. Also, for the center round, all of the beads are the same. It is still done by the same method though. I used 4mm swarovski bicones, bugle beads and 32 gauge wire to make this snowflake ornament.

Round one:String 12 4mm bicone beads on to the wire. Leave about a 3 in ch tail. Thread the wire through the beads again, draw them snugly together to form a circle.  Take the tail and wrap it tightly around the wires between two beads. Once it is good and secure trim off the excess.

Round 2

Round 2: Where ever your wire is, we will say it is between bead 1 and bead 12. You can work this in either clockwise or the counter clockwise direction. Which ever way you go, the first bead will be #1. Take the wire and string on 1 bugle bead, 1 bicone bead and 1 bugle bead for a total of three beads. Thread the wire through bead number 2 and out the other side. Repeat this pattern, weaving in to the even numbered beads until you have worked your way around and you have 6 spokes. you wire should come out in the same place that you started, between bead #12 and #1.

You need to position the wire for round three. Weave the wire up through the first bugle bead and bicone bead that you added in round 2.

Round 3 will finish off the snowflake

Round 3: String on 1 bugle bead, 1 bicone bead, 1 bugle bead and then 2 more bicone beads for a total of 5 beads. I am going to call the last two bicone beads that you added, bead A and Bead B. Bead A is the first one that you added to the wire. Take the wire and double back through bead A. This is done the same way that it was done in Snowflake #2 Then add on 1 bugle bead, 1 bicone bead, and one more bugle bead. Thread the wire through the bicone bead on the next spoke from round 2. Repeat this pattern until you have worked all the way around the ornament.

Finishing off: Technically you can finish off the wire as soon as you bring it back through the last bicone bead. I like to keep things snug and secure, so I weave the wire up to the last bead on the next spoke. I make a loop large enough to go over a tree branch, thread the wire back through the bead and then tightly wrap the wire between the last two beads. If you want you can make a smaller loop so that you can use a pretty beaded ornament hanger to hang the ornament. Once you have finished off your ornament, go back over the out spokes and neaten them out so that they resemble flower petals.

I will be adding one more snowflake this afternoon and then I need to get busy making snowflake kits for my son’s class. I’ll take photos of those as I go along. If I get them knocked out early enough I will also post those later tonight. They are a bit more child friendly as they are made with pipe cleaners. Tomorrow’s post will be about the difference between making a star and a snowflake, using a pattern I reverse engineered.