Beaded Candy Cane Ornament
Easy Bead Ornament
Lets start with the easy stuff shall we? I was flipping through magazines when I saw a blue and green beaded candycane ornament hanging on a Christmas Tree in a photo. I'm not sure which magazine it was, but I am leaning towards Better Homes and Gardens. This is a good project for kids. Although if they are little you may need to help make loops in the wire.
Inexpensive Beads
I bought inexpensive beads to make these candy canes. I found these craft beads at the new Smiths store. It looks just like the big Fred Meyer Stores in Oregon, I think maybe Kroeger bought them out. I'm pretty sure these beads were $1.49 a tube. (even cheaper because they were 25% off when I bought them). They came in a variety of colors. I really like the bright pink ones, but most of the ornaments on our tree are blue, so I went with these.
make a loop
I used white artistic wire to make mine. I picked it up pretty cheap at the local craft store. (Robert's). I used just a little shy of two feet. It was a bit much but I'd rather trim some off than come up to short. It needs to be a little more than twice the length of your candy cane because you are going to double it over and give it a twist. There are a lot of variables here. Size does matter. Well, the size of the beads matter. The bigger the beads the longer the strands need to be. Also, you can make an itty bitty candy cane ornament, or one for a larger tree. Once twisted, the length of my beads comes to just about 8 inches. Once I made the hook the ornament measured just a little over 5 inches high.
Step one: Make a Loop in the end of the wire.
String your beads
Beaded Candy Cane Ornament, Step Two: String one color of beads to the desired length. I started with the Blue beads. Bend the wire back on itself and string the second color of beads, but leave a little bit of slack. You don't want the beads to be too tight. You want the length of both colors to be the same. Initially I counted the beads as I added them. I figured I could add the same number of the second color. However, my beads are not uniform, so I had to string a couple of extra of the second color. Trim the wire. leave enough wire to make a loop (and make the loop) I left a little bit of slack on both sides. Not much, just about a quarter inch.
Twist the beads
Beaded Candy Cane Ornament Step 3: Twist the Beads together. I held mine at the bend and gave it a few good twists.
Finish it off!
Beaded Candy Cane Ornament, Step 4: Finish off your ornament by gently hooking one of the ends around so that it resembles a candy cane shape. I hooked around the end where the wire was folded back on itself so that my loops were on the bottom of the ornament. I think it would look ok regardless of which end you loop!
At this point you can either hang the candy cane directly on a tree branch, or you can attach a hanger. I will probably just loop some fishing line around the top of the hook.
I bought the beads and the wire for about $4. I am confident that I have enough beads to make several ornaments. That makes this a fairly inexpensive ornament to make. Simple ornaments also make great embellishments for wrapped gifts. Just buy some beads that match the color of your wrapping paper and you'll be good to go. I like to add small ornaments to the outside of the boxes of cookies I give away each year. The cookies go pretty quickly, but then they have a small ornament to add to their tree.
The Great Candy Cane Post of 2008
I'm lumping all of these in to one post because they are all so simple to make. When I said that I was going to start with the easy stuff, I wasn't kidding. I have very fond memories of making beaded candy cane ornaments with my brother and sister when I was very young. We had so much fun, we just couldn't make enough of them. I'm not sure how many we made. Over the years some have fallen apart. Some have gotten lost, but I know we made a ton because I am pretty sure my mom still has some left on her tree thirty years later. One of the best things about the holiday season is the potential for new happy memories. If your kids are little I encourage you to buy a bag of pipe cleaners and some red and white beads. Make some hot chocolate, with marshmallows and a mini candy cane and let your kids go to town. It will be ten dollars well spent. Keep an eye on the younger guys though. Beads provide an opportunity for choking. Also, they are just the right size for going up noses! I believe the suggested age for beads is 7 years old. My kids are a little bit older and can entertain themselves for hours with a bag of pipe cleaners, a pair of scissors and a mixed bag of beads. It is a bonus if I let them get out the glue. So l'll start with the super easy stuff.
Pipe Cleaner Candy Cane, Martha Stewart Style
It doesn't get any easier, or cheaper than this one. I have to admit. I've been putting beads on pipe cleaners for years, but it never occurred to me to make an ornament with just pipe cleaners before. Thank you Martha Stewart. You will notice in her photos that she has a cute green tinsel holly leaf attached to her candy cane. Some even have bows. I'm going to be brutally honest, my leaves just didn't look like hers. Also, getting out the glue gun just to attach a bell seemed like a lot of work and this is supposed to easy. Besides, I think it looks cute the just the way it is, and if I glued stuff to them I couldn't make the next ornament. All I did was twist two metallic pipe cleaners together. I cut my twisted pipe cleaners in the middle, and then shaped them in to two candy canes. These are very simple ornaments to make. They are pretty small and would be perfect for a small desk top tree.
Twice the fun of Martha
If you want something a bit different, take two of your candy cane ornaments and twist them together to make a heart ornament. Don't go looking for that on Martha's site, it isn't there. :p Lets add some beads...
The New, Classic, Beaded, Candy Cane Ornament
This is the original, Beaded candy Cane ornament that I made as a child. It might even be the very first thing I ever made with beads, unless you count macaroni as a bead. Take your pipe cleaner and add on those little tri beads. I like two red, two white, my brother liked one red, one white, and I've seen them done with three of one color and one of the other. Have fun! Just bend the bottom of the pipe cleaner a bit, string on your beads to the desired length, trim off the extra pipe cleaner but leave enough to bend over at the top. As always, if you are going to bend the pipe cleaner, which is pretty necessary in the Candy Cane making process, you'll want to leave just a smidge of leeway at the end. The slack will be taken up when you bend the pipe cleaner.
Another easy candycane ornament
Again, pipe cleaner and beads. These are just plastic craft beads out of the kid's aisle at JoAnns. I like this one, even though the beads are plastic they catch the light a little bit.
The Spendy, Beaded Candy Cane Ornament
This one isn't really for the kids, but it is a beaded candy cane ornament so I am sticking it in this post. Instead of using pipe cleaners, I have moved up to craft wire. I cut a piece of wire about 9 inches long and made a small loop in one end. I then threaded on red and white 6mm swarovski crystal bicone beads until I had about 6 inches in length. I left a little bit of extra wire, trimmed it and made another small loop.
Swarovski Beaded Candy Cane Ornament
Then I shaped it in to a candy cane. This Beaded ornament costs considerably more to make, but it is worth it. The crystal catches the lights on the tree beautifully. I wish I could have captured how much it sparkles. The Crystal beads were on sale today at Michaels. I got one pack of red and one pack of clear beads. Together the beads only cost me $6. I have craft wire so I didn't have to buy it. I think that this would be gorgeous if it was made out of larger, faceted round, swarovski crystal beads. I think the man of the house would have a heart attack though if I told him I spent $15 making a candy cane ornament so you are just going to have to trust me on this one. But I'm still holding out for a good sale....
The beads came with a disclaimer on the back, so I feel a need to share it here. I think it is good advice for all beads, but especially so when it comes to leaded crystal. "NOT A TOY. Not intended for children under 7 years. Certain items may contain trace amounts of lead. Intended for fashion and decorative uses only. Do not put items in mouth or ingest."
PomPom Candy cane Ornament
This PomPom Candy Cane Ornament was designed by Margaret Davaz. Directions can be found here. This was super, super easy. The only obstacle that I had was that I used too big of a needle and it wouldn't pass through the starburst beads. Once I switched to the smaller needle they went together in minutes. I used the sparkly pompoms for my ornament. The most expensive part of the ornament was the holly leaf. Initially I looked at holiday picks but I couldn't find any that I liked and I didn't want to spend an extra $1 per ornament. Instead, I bought a whole garland. It was $10, but I got it for 50% off and I had enough holly leaves to make dozens of ornaments if I wanted to.
Naked PomPom ornament
I like it without the holly leaves even more than I do with them. The wire that I used to make the ornament is very soft, so I had to reform them a couple of times. I am confident that once they are on the tree, and out of the hands of children that they will retain their shape. I have one more candy cane ornament, but it deserves its own post!
