It is the season of giving. A time to gift others and grant wishes. But don't forget to take some time to treat yourself. We have some cheery holiday ideas for you. We will show you how to make some enchanting Christmas tree earrings. Bedeck your neck with a colorful collection of ornaments. And dangle some holiday globes off your favorite Christmas elf's ears.

We love this time of year. It is a time for fun jewelry, ugly sweaters and tender family time. We hope you have fun with these projects and make them your own. Blue and white beads would make great  Hanukkah variations on a lot of our project ideas. Elegant earthy tones and fiery red would be great for decadent New Years fashion.   

Don't miss our upcoming holiday fashion ideas. We have more ornaments and jewelry coming your way. Follow our blog. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more tips. Visit our Facebook page if you want to catch our live shows and sales. Join our Facebook group – VIB, if you want to be part of a friendly community of jewelry designers and all around creative people. We would love to see your holiday creations. Post pictures on our VIB group!

Christmas Tree Wire Earrings

Designer Kristen Fagan

Materials
20ga Green Soft Flex Craft Wire
4-6mm Round Beads - 2 pcs

Tools
Nylon Jaw Pliers
Round Nose Pliers
Nylon Tipped Hammer (if making your own ear wires)
Cutters
Spiral Maker

Instructions

Step 1: Cut a 12" length of 20g Soft Flex Craft Wire. Straighten the wire out with your Nylon Jaw Pliers and then feed it through one of the holes in the Spiral Maker. Make a soft bend in the wire about 2" from the end on the side without the peg. I say "soft bend" because you will straighten the wire back out later.

Step 2: On the side of the Spiral Maker with the peg you are going to slowly wrap your wire around the peg outwards. I found it helpful to wrap 1/4 of the way at a time with my right hand and guide the wire in shape with my left hand. You want the spiral to be flat and not overlap any of the previous rings. Stop wrapping when you have about 2" of a wire tail left.

Step 3: Softly straighten out the wire tail that you bent on the beginning and then pull the spiral off the spiral maker. It will be a tight coil. Now, just take your fingers and softly pull the spiral apart until you have a tree shape shown above.

Step 4: Use your round nose pliers and make a wire wrapped loop at the top of the tree. Then go to the bottom of the tree and create a loop for your bead dangle.

Step 5: To make the bead dangle, cut 3" of 20g Soft Flex Craft Wire. Use your round nose pliers to create a loop on one end. Attached the looped end to the bottom tree loop you formed. String a small bead and wrap the wire up around the bead and finish it with one or two wraps at the loop.

Step 6: To make matching colored ear wires, please see this  Ear Wire Tutorial on making your own ear wires using the LoopRite Pliers. You can save a ton of money by making your own ear wires for your handmade gifts this holiday season. Our craft wire is not only non-tarnishing but is also hypo-allergenic, making it a great fit for earrings.

Ball Ornament Earrings

Designer Kristen Fagan

Materials
8mm or 10mm Round Beads - 2 pcs
4mm Austrian Crystal Round or Square Spacer Beads - 2 pcs
Head Pins - 2 pcs
Ear Wires - 1 pair

Tools
Chain Nose Pliers
Round Nose Pliers
Cutters

Instructions

Step 1: String one bead and one spacer onto each head pin.

Step 2: Using a pair of chain nose pliers, create a right angle leaving 2mm of space between the top of the bead and the bend in the wire.

Step 3: Using a pair of round nose pliers, bend the wire into a loop. Cut off the excess wire.  Click here to see how to make a dangle.

Step 4: Use your chain nose pliers to twist open the loop, attach your ornament ball dangle to an ear wire and then twist close the loop. Follow steps 1-5 for the second earring.

Jingle Bell Necklace

Designer Kristen Fagan

Materials
Satin Silver Soft Touch Beading Wire, .019 Diameter - 8"
6mm Stardust Jingle Bell Beads - 90 pcs
Gold Plated Curb Chain - 18"
2x2mm Gold Filled Crimp Tubes - 2 pcs
5mm Gold Filled Open Jump Rings - 4 pcs
Gold Plated Lobster Clasp - 1 pc

Tools
Magical or Regular Crimping Pliers
Chain Nose Pliers
Cutters

Instructions

Step 1: Begin by separating your jingle bell beads into colors. Cut 8" strand of beading wire from your spool. I chose to use Soft Touch, our premium wire, in this design because of the soft thread like drape you get with it.

Step 2: String a 2x2mm crimp tube on one side of your wire. Loop your wire back through the crimp tube leaving a small loop and crimp. Cut off excess wire. For step by step instructions on how to crimp with the magical crimping pliers,  click here.

Step 3: String 6 silver, 6 gold, 6 green, 6 purple, 6 silver, 6 blue, 6 pink, 6 gold, 6 pink, 6 blue, 6 silver, 6 purple, 6 green, 6 gold and 6 silver jingle bell beads. String a 2x2mm crimp tube. Loop your wire back through the crimp tube leaving a small loop and crimp. Cut off excess wire.

Step 4: Measure your chain to your desired length and cut into two lengths. I cut two 9" of chain. Using your chain nose pliers, open two gold jump rings and attach each chain length to your crimp loops on each end of your jingle bell strand.

Step 5: Lastly, add a jump ring to each end of the chain and attach your lobster clasp.

Step 6: With my leftover jingle bell beads and chain, I created another smaller version of this necklace. The smaller version can be worn shorter or pair them together for a double jingle jangle design!

Join the fun in our VIB Facebook Group today! Stay in the know. Stay up to date. From our bead shows to our video shows and sales, you can stay in touch with us. The community is full of artistic and helpful beaders and crafty people. Inspire and be inspired. Share your pictures and get the beading bug from others!

Visit the  Soft Flex Company YouTube Channel!

Blog contributor Thomas Soles is the Trade Show Coordinator for Soft Flex Company. His favorite stones are Lapis and Pietersite. His favorite hobby is day dreaming. And his favorite mustache is Tom Selleck's. As you can see, he has a healthy (or possibly unhealthy) sense of humor. You can write to him at Thomas@SoftFlexCompany.com