12 days of beading (on the second day…)
Today we have cute Candy Cane Ornaments Made with Czech Cathedral Beads. They are sometimes called lantern beads and there is still some confusion as to the difference, so I just call them cathedral/lanterns.
This is a fun activity for the family but create a more sophisticated look than the pipe-cleaner and plastic pony-bead alternative. The great thing about cathedral beads is they look like they have their own bead caps on and have a really vintage feel. We wanted to show these pretty beads off to you as much as we wanted to show you the beading idea:)
What you need for each:
- a 35mm length of 18 Gauge Artistic or Craft Wire in your choice of color (we used silver plate) for large cane, 25cm length for small
- 27x 8mm Cathedral/Lantern beads for large cane, 27x 5mm for small
- some organza or satin ribbon for attaching
Click on the links above to go to the site and add to your basket.
What to do:
- Take one end of a length of wire and twist it into a loop with your round nose pliers. Using rubber jaw pliers or your fingers, keep twisting until you get a nice little spiral at the end. Hammer if you wish, but not necessary.
- Thread your chosen beads on (kids’ job!).
- Repeat the spiral at the bottom, twisting the opposite direction to the first one. Make sure it is pulled tight into the beads so that they are all snug together (this makes the cane more straight).
- Et voila!!
These cute little canes can be used as decoration on the tree, present-toppers and table setting decorations. The little ones are perfect for tucking into a book to make it an even more special gift. You can of course substitute other beads, but we like the way that almost cylindrical shape of these beads creates the ‘cane’.
What will we have for you tomorrow?? Hmmm….
Hollie XO (I love signing my name at this time of year!!)
(originally published November 22, 2012)