Christmas Ornaments made from ordinary pipe cleaners and inexpensive acrylic beads are extremely pretty and not difficult to make. They look quite impressive yet are not difficult enough for small children to make. This is one Christmas craft idea to use again and again. Mature people will enjoy making this Christmas craft, too, which can be varied to make a number of varied sparkling Ornaments for your Christmas tree.
To make the bead and pipe cleaner Ornaments, you need standard pipe cleaners in desired colors and acrylic beads. Two types of beads are particularly effective when join together on pipe cleaners. One type are called sunburst beads, however are also known as paddlewheel beads, snowflake beads or starburst beads. These beads have six faceted paddles spaced equally around a center that contains the hole for stringing. When various of these sunburst beads are join together consecutively, they fit against each other in an interlacing design.
The other type of bead that is also effective for this Christmas craft is called the 3 bead or propeller bead. It has three rounded bumps arranged around the stringing hole. Like the sunburst beads, the 3 beads interlock when join together consecutively. For the most sparkly and attractive Christmas Ornaments, get 3 beads and/or sunburst beads in translucent colors of red, green, and clear. The 3 beads can also be found in metallic gold and silver which can be used in this Christmas craft as well.
Tube cleaners can be found in silver and gold tinsel as well as chenille of all colors. For the Christmas craft, the best colors to use are the metallics and Christmas colors. The beads cover the pipe cleaners, however the ends will need to be twisted together and made into hangers, so they show.
Anyone, even small children, can string these beads on pipe cleaners. Bend up the end of the pipe cleaner so the beads dont fall off. The pipe cleaner works like a needle, making a needle unnecessary. For best results, show the children how to alternate colors when stringing, or start a design of three colors. When the beads are join together on the pipe cleaners, they can be bent into varied Christmas shapes. For instance, string red and clear beads alternately, then bend down one end of the pipe cleaner for a candy cane shape. Or alternate red and green beads and form a circle for a wreath. Use red pipe cleaner to form a small bow to decorate the wreath. Form a hanger for the Christmas craft or simply slip the circle over a branch of the Xmas Tree.
If you experiment with clear beads and silver pipe cleaners, you can make some beautiful snowflake or star Ornaments. Snowflake designs can be twisted of silver pipe cleaner only, without the beads for a simple however pretty decoration.
Bead and pipe cleaner Ornaments are a Christmas craft you will find yourself using all the year. Parents and children will both appreciate this easy yet pretty Christmas craft.
Author Resource:-
Victor Torrealba is the developer of origami-kids.com, a great web site for learn how to make paper airplanes , Victor also has a amusing free game web site : zonaminada.net