Simple DIY Bead Ornaments

A tutorial for making these rustic DIY bead ornaments for your holiday tree this year.

Is it safe for me to start posting about Christmas??

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Ummmm……I think so!!!

This year, I’m looking to pare down the Christmas “stuff” and go more rustic and traditional. (Why do I feel like I always say…”pare down”?)

Last year, I tossed all my red and gold, and green ornaments in favor of a blue-themed holiday tree. At least that’s what seemed to match my living room best at the time.

However, we recently changed our rug in our living room to this one, and I think it’s neutral enough to go any direction I want. And I want that traditional red and green color palette back!

I don’t want to go crazy RED though – just a few hints here and there to make it festive. I think red is great when it’s balanced with neutral tones and lots of greenery. And these natural wood beaded ornaments are my first step towards that style this year.

wooden bead ornaments circular hung from greenery

These ornaments make a great kids craft too! My kids loved stringing the beads on the wire and then I would take over and close them up properly. The wire can be kind of sharp but as long as you’re keeping a close eye – it should be ok.

So – are you ready to start making some ornaments this year? Let’s go!

materials needed to make wood bead ornaments

Things You’ll Need

Bendable Wire – I used this copper wire

Wood Beads – 20mm

Jute Twine

Pliers

Wire cutters

How to Make DIY Bead Ornaments

These ornaments will only take you a few minutes to put together. Promise!

Step 1: Cut Some Wire

Ok, the first step here is to cut a string of wire. Use your wire cutter. I cut mine to about a length of 6 inches or so – let’s not get so technical here. These are rustic and imperfect ornaments. We are working with larger beads and they take up a bit of space on the wire. So – to get decent sized ornaments you want to start long.

You can always snip off any excess wire at the end.

Step 2: String your beads

Call your kids in! Start stringing those beads on the wires. You can certainly use different colored beads if you like that look. I really love the rustic look of all-natural wood – so I kept them plain.

Step 3: Shape the Wire into a Circle and Twist closed

Once you have enough beads on – shape your wire into a circle.

closing up wire to create circle ornaments

Bring the two ends together at the top. With your fingers or with the pliers, twist the wire closed.

You can also use your pliers to “smash” down (technical term) any sharp ends.

Twisting the wire will also tighten up the circle – the more you twist, the smaller/tighter the circle.

Here is the part where you can cut off any excess sloppy wire look from the top with your wire cutters.

up close view of several wood bead ornaments

Step 4: Add Jute Twine for Hanging

The last step is adding some jute twine for hanging. Feel free to use baker’s twine or other string too. I just really like the look of jute.

Thread some jute string through the ornament and tie a knot, creating a loop.

All done!

I can’t wait to see how these DIY bead ornaments look on our tree this year! Those larger beads will create quite the statement. It’s kind of a subtle nod to a bead garland. But much simpler.