Paper Bead Star Ornament

This star ornament is made with 5 large paper beads and is assembled before it is glazed. It is fun to make and would be pretty on any Christmas tree!

Materials Needed Per Star

• 1 Sheet Good Quality Card Stock, 8.5" x 11"
• 5" piece of 20 gauge wire, gold or silver color
• 7" piece of 20 gauge wire, gold or silver color
• Provided Template. The template is specifically designed for this star.
• Paper Bead Glazing Supplies
• Can of Spray Glitter, optional
• Ornament hanger of choice

Tools Needed
• Paper Cutting Tools
• 5/64" Long, split pin paper bead roller
• Paper Bead Glazing Tools
• Wire Cutters
• Needle Nose Pliers

Finished Size: 3" diameter
Skill Level: Intermediate

Instructions
Step 1: Print out the provided template onto recycled paper to layer with your card stock. Cut out your pieces following the lines on the template. There will be 2 small scraps you can use for another project later on.

Step 2: You are going to layer 2 triangles together offset by about 3/16" at the wide end. This will make rolling them together easier. Let the glued together ends dry about 5 minutes before rolling. Make sure the print it on the back side of where they are overlapped and both are going in the same direction. Watch video to see what I mean.

Step 3: Roll your glued strips up starting at the wide end and making sure the print is on the outside. Only glue at the very end to secure it in place. There will be 2 ends to secure down. Adjust the beads so they are a large tear drop shape with a pointed end at each end. Set the beads aside for now.

Step 4: Bend the 7" wire in half over the halfway point of your needle nose pliers and twist just under the pliers to form a loop. Only do 2 or 3 twists.

Step 5: Place one of the large beads onto your wire making sure the longer end of the tear drop is up against the loop.

Step 6: Place the center of the 5" piece of wire between the narrowest end of the needle nose pliers and bend them in half as you did for the 7" piece but instead of twisting them together, you keep going to bring both ends toward each other around the pliers to form a circle in the center of the wire. Watch video to see what I mean. You will end up with a wide V shape with a loop in the center. I am not sure how else to describe it.

Step 7: Place the circle of the 5" wire onto the 2 ends of the wire with the bead already on it. The 2 ends of this shorter wire are for the top 2 beads. Spread apart the bottom 2 ends of the 7" wire out to lock the shorter piece in place. These 2 ends are for the bottom of the star.

Step 8: Place each bead on each piece of wire and bend the wire where it comes out of each bead as tight to the bead as possible to lock in all of the beads.

Step 9: Work one bead at a time, cut the wire to 1/2" exposed from the end of the bead and with the narrow end of your needle nose pliers, start wrapping it back toward you ending up with the end of the wire hopefully locked into the hole of the bead. It should end up being wrapped around the end of the pliers twice. By wrapping it twice, it tightens the bead to the center of the star. Repeat this for all 4 large beads.

Step 10:Glaze your stars the way you want to. I actually dipped my stars twice in PC-Petrifier, then sprayed 2 coats of glitter spray on both sides, then dipped them 2 times into Liquid Laminate. I did allow them to dry between each dip and spray.

Step 11:Attach ornament hanger of choice when completely dry.

Design written on October 26, 2015. Copyright ©2015 By Julie A. Bolduc f201007