Handmade Wreath Ornament with a Tutorial

I have joined a handmade ornament swap on one of my groups so I went looking for ideas!!  I found an ornament similar to this one that fit my criteria - lightweight, fairly flat for easy mailing and used supplies I had on hand.  I dug out wire, beads and pliers and got started.  I decided to use E-beads because I have lots of them in a variety of colours.  After adding the first row of beads on the outside of the armature - it looked a bit "light"so I added a row on the inside. Better! but it needed a bit of accent colour so I added some different coloured beads to simulate "holly berries".  That was much better.  I added a charm and a bow and declared it done!! Not sure if it will be the one I use but I decided to document the process in case I want to replicate it in the future and no longer have the original!!

Handmade Wire & Bead Wreath Ornament Tutorial

You will need:  (I used)

Wire for the armature    (I used 26 gauge - 4-5 wraps around the jar (36"-40")

Wire for beading    (I used 28 gauge - about 48")

Beads     (Ebeads - 80 of the main colour, 16 or so of accent colour)

A charm       (metal snowflake charm)

A length of chain      (4 links)

A bow      (6" or so to construct a bow)

Thread      (24" or so to sew the bow onto the ornament)

Pliers     (snips and rounded beading pliers) 

Use what you have and adjust where you need to to accommodate the difference in supplies. 

 1.  Make the armature for your ornament.

  I wrapped 26 gauge wire around a jar of UTEE embossing powder 4 or 5 times.  

 Twist the wires to each other and then wrapped them around the loops of wire to secure them to each other.

 2.  Prepare your beads.

I strung my 80 green Ebeads onto a 48" length of 28 gauge wire and made a cluster of loops

at the end to ensure the beads would not fall off and to make it easier to pull through the armature.

 3.  Start adding beads to outside of armature. 

Wrap the end of the 28 gauge wire to the armature where the ends are, a couple of times to secure.

Bring one bead up to above the armature, hold it in place with the hole horizontal, fold the bead wire to the back and pull through the opening in the armature.  Tighten.  

 Repeat 39 more times leaving some room between the beads.  Wrap bead wire around armature to secure.

 3.  Now start adding beads to the inside of the armature by placing the bead horizontally below the armature, holding it in place and bringing the wire up and between the first two beads above the armature.

Bring wire down the back side and up through the opening in the armature.  

 Repeat 39 more times.  Wrap bead wire around the armature to secure.  

 4.  Add contrasting beads onto bead wire.

 Add these beads in between the ones already on the armature using the same technique as above. Start with a couple of wraps, add a bead below, a few more wraps and then add a bead above.  Keep adding beads alternatively until you have added beads randomly all the way around.  Secure your bead wire with a couple wraps around the armature when you are finished.  

 5.  Prepare a charm.  I used a metal snowflake charm and added four links of chain to it to make it hang in the right place on the inside of the ornament.  

6.  Attach charm to ornament.  I used one of the armature wires to create a loop for my charm to hang from.  If your beads are too close together at the top just nudge them gently to the sides.  They will adjust and make some room for you to hang the charm.  

Alternatively, you could use thread to hang your charm by just tying it to the armature hanging at the right height.  

7.  Add the bow.  I constructed a bow from ribbon and then sewed it to the top of the armature using embroidery thread.  

Alternatively, you could tie the ribbon to the wires that are sticking up and make a bow.  

I twisted all the wires together and snipped them even about 1.25 inches above the top of the ornament and used rounded beading pliers to make a loop hanger.  

Alternatively, you could add a jump ring using the wires to secure it and then snip them.  

Once you are finished, shape your ornament to get it nice and round. 

Very happy with my wreath ornament!!   I hope you will find this tutorial useful.  

If you use this tutorial, I would love for you to leave me a comment on this post 

and a link to your project if you have it online somewhere.  

Thanks for joining me!

Therese