Beaded Snowmen

* Beaded Snowmen *

also previously referred to as the

particular ornament 

"specifically requested ... by my 11-year-old,

which would be difficult and time-consuming

to make for his 14 classmates"

Above photo is the beaded ornament

I made several years ago;

here is this year's Beaded Snowmen ornament:

 

 Here are the supplies you'll need for

each ornament:

three 5/8" wooden beads,

six buttons (3 red, 3 white)

tiny wreath ornament,

pink powder blush and a cotton swab,

acrylic paint in white and black,

Tulip Dimensional Paint in orange,

and an 18" length of craft wire.

An 1/8" dowel and a paint roller

to make painting the beads easier,

and a paintbrush and stylus

for touch-up painting and dip dots.

In order to paint these beads more

efficiently, I threaded them

onto a 1/8" dowel

and used a paint roller dipped in

white acrylic paint.

After I rolled several coats of paint

onto each bead, I used a paintbrush dipped

in white paint for the touch-ups

(the paint roller didn't reach the area of 

the bead nearest the holes)

Use the cotton swab to apply pink powder

blush to the cheeks of each

snowman bead.

Tape the dowels securely to the table

to make painting the details easier.

Dip the stylus into black paint

and dot the eyes and the mouths on

each of the snowman beads.

Use the Tulip Slick Dimensional Paint

in orange to apply the carrot noses.

To see step-by-step photos

of blushing the cheeks,

dotting the eyes and mouths, and

creating the dimensional noses,

click here.

Fold the 18" length of craft wire

in half around a paintbrush handle to create

a loop (do not twist to close ... yet)

Put the loop over the bottom

of the mini wreath ornament and twist the

ends to secure the wreath.

This will be your hanger.

Thread your beads and buttons

in the following order:

snowman bead, two buttons, snowman bead ...

alternating until you have an ornament

with three (or more) snowman beads

and a red and a white button

on the bottom.

Twist the ends of the wire to secure

the buttons and beads;

use the paintbrush handle to curl

each end of the wire into

a spiral curly cue.

Hang ... and Enjoy!!!

(NOTE: I used a small dot of

hot glue to attach each red button to

the snowman bead so the

heads wouldn't spin around).

On my old ornament, I painted a face

on both sides of the bead so

the extra glue wasn't necessary.

Peace and Beaded Snowmen!!!