Beautiful Snowflake Ornament

Skill Level: Intermediate

Technique: Forming loops, wire and glue assembly

Bling it up next winter with abeautiful Swarovski® snowflake created with just headpins and crystals! Make it a family project - kids would love to help make their own snowflake ornaments! - or use fine materials to give as gifts or sell as stocking stuffers. You'll use a little glue in this pattern to keep the arms of the snowflake in place, but you can experiment with other ways to lock them in place, too!

Materials

• Nine  22-gauge eye pins, 1-1/2" long
• One  22-gauge head pin, 1-1/2" long (or another eye pin)
• 28  2mm round beads
• 9  4mm bicones
• 9  2mm bicones
• 1  6mm spacer

Tools

• Flat nose pliers
• Round nose pliers
• Chain nose pliers
• Wire cutters
• Superglue or E6000 (be sure to read the glue instructions)
• Pencil or jump ring maker for shaping

Instructions

1. Place the following beads on a single eyepin in this order: four 2mm beads, one 4mm bicone, and one 2mm bicone. Then trim 1/2" away from the last bead and make a small loop with round nose pliers. Squeeze the little loop you just made with flat nose pliers to secure.
   
   
   
   
   Repeat these steps until you have eight eyepins with beads.
   
   
   
2. Take your headpin and slide on one 4mm bicone and a spacer bead.
   
   
   Next, slide all the looped eyepins on the headpin, so that the 4 similar beads of each eyepin are facing inward. Fan out in a snowflake arrangement, as shown. Now take your last 2mm bead and slide it on the headpin, where it will hold the eyepins in place.
   
   
3. Move the 2mm bicone back slightly, out of the way, and squeeze a drop of Super Glue under the bicone. Squeeze a drop of Super Glue on the bead end, then slide the bicone back in place, holding the eyepins. Super Glue it will dry quickly, so work fast!
   Note: Be sure to read the directions on your glue, in case it needs time to set.
   
   
4. Take your flat nose pliers and bend the headpin at a 90° angle immediately after the glued bicone. Then make a simple loop or wrapped loop at the end of this bent wire. This loop will attach to the ornament hook.
   
   
   
   
5. Take the last headpin and shape it over a pencil, jump ring maker, or round nose plier jaws. Firmly shape it into an ornament hook.
   Hint: Beat the hook with a rawhide or nylon hammer to harden the hook.
   Open the eyepin loop to attach it to the snowflake.
   
   
   
   
   

   There you go, a beautiful handmade ornament: a great gift to give, or to make a family project to hang on your tree. I hope you enjoy this very much!

   
   
   

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