It is almost time to celebrate the Holiday Season. Which means it is a great time to get out your  jewelry making supplies and start designing some  holiday jewelry! We have a great idea for an ornament that can also be worn as a brooch or a focal on a necklace. You can never have enough homemade ornaments. Getting into the spirit of things is easy when you love to craft and make your decorations yourself.

We would love to see your homemade ornaments. Join our Facebook group - VIB and post your pictures. VIB is a fun community of beaders that love to create jewelry and share their work. You are not obligated to post photos, but if you want to, we would love to see them.Our little community is full of jewelry designers that love to be inspired and love to inspire others. It is a great place to find some ideas for your home or tree this season.

Jingle Bells Ornament

National Lampoon's  Christmas Vacation, one of my favorite holiday movies, is going to be airing on cable soon, which to me means it's officially holiday season! Time to start thinking about homemade gifts! Here's a jig project for you that can be used as an ornament, a pendant, or even a brooch if you added a pin back. If you made the figure-8 shape without the beads dangled from the bottom, it could even be an eyeglasses holder when worn as a necklace. Or you can change up the beads and charms to suit any style or occasion. The possibilities are endless! 

Materials

12" of Gold  20-Gauge Soft Flex Craft Wire
36" of Gold  26-Gauge Soft Flex Craft Wire
8 Gold-Plated 24-Gauge  Head Pins
4 Antique Gold-Plated 20-Gauge  Head pins
3 Gold-Plated Pewter 5x6mm Oval  Jump Rings
1 Antique Gold-Plated Pewter 12x20mm Christmas Tree Charm
1 Antique Gold-Plated Pewter 9x25mm Candy Cane Charm
1 Antique Gold-Plated Pewter 10x23mm Frosty Charm
4 Antique Gold-Plated Pewter 7mm Talavara Star Bead Caps
4 Bright Gold 10mm Swarovski Elements Crystal Pearls
1 Red Picasso 10mm Czech Pressed-Glass Coin
6 Coral Picasso 5x4mm Czech Fire-Polished Glass Rondelles
6 Light Siam 4mm Swarovski Elements Crystal Bicones

Charms, bead caps, jump rings and 20-gauge head pins from Tierra Cast.
Crystal pearls and bicones, and glass beads from Artbeads.com.

Tools

WigJig Olympus-Lite WigJig
Premium Peg Set Olympus
Cutters
Nylon Hammer
Chasing Hammer
Anvil or Bench Block
Chain Nose Pliers
Round Nose Pliers
Nylon Jaw Pliers

Instructions

Finished size: 3 1/2" long x 1" wide

Step 1: Place the 25mm Premium Peg and the 16mm Premium Peg in the WigJig as shown below.

Step 2: Use the 20-gauge wire to wrap around the 25mm peg. Use chain nose pliers to bend the long end of the wire to a 90 degree angle.

Step 3: Use the short end of the wire to bend up and around the long end of the wire.

Step 4: Use the long end of the wire to string the 10mm glass coin.

Step 5: Use chain nose pliers to bend a 90 degree angle in the long end of the wire, just below the 16mm peg, adjusting the 16mm peg if necessary to make the wire fit after you've made the bend. Wrap the wire around the 16mm peg. 

Step 6: Remove the wire piece from the WigJig, turn it over, and place it back on the WigJig.

Step 7: Bend the wire end up and around the wire at the 90 degree bend.

Step 8: Remove the wire piece from the WigJig. Use nylon jaw pliers to hold the larger of the two wire loops. Coil the end of the wire as if you were making a wrapped loop. Repeat with the smaller of the two wire loops. Use the nylon hammer and anvil to hammer the wire loops to strengthen them.

Step 9: Use the chasing hammer and anvil to hammer the wire loops to flatten them. Use the jump rings to attach the charms to the larger of the two wire loops, as shown below.

Step 10: Use one 20-gauge head pin to string 1 pearl and 1 bead cap. Form a simple loop and do not cut the excess wire. Repeat three times for a total of four pearl dangles.

Step 11: Use wrapped loops to attach the pearl dangles to the wire loop as shown below.

Step 12: Use 3" of 26-gauge wire to form a wrapped loop around 1 fire-polished rondelle. Use the other end of the wire to form a simple loop. Repeat five times for a total of six rondelle dangles.

Step 13: Use wrapped loops to attach the rondelle dangles to the wire loop as shown below:

Step 14: Use one 24-gauge head pin to string 1 crystal bicone; form a simple loop. Repeat seven times for a total of eight crystal dangles.

Step 15: Use wrapped loops to attach the crystal dangles to the wire loop as shown below.

When hanging, the beads and charms of the finished piece blend together to form a festive jumble of bright sparkling dangles. Enjoy!

Keep an eye out for more holiday inspired designs. We will be featuring Halloween jewelry, Christmas jewelry, fall decorations and necklaces and much more as the years ends. We will try to make sure our free beading project ideas are up in time for you to get your supplies and finish your designs in time for the holidays!

Enjoy this video showing how to create napkin rings for your big holiday feast:

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!

Jamie Hogsett is a bead lover, jewelry designer, beading instructor, freelance editor, and the co-author of Show Your Colors. She is the author of Stringing Style and co-author of the Create Jewelry series: Pearls, Crystals, Stones, and Glass. Jamie's work has been published numerous times in Stringing and Beadwork magazines as well as in Beadwork Creates Beaded Rings, Beadwork Creates Beaded Bags, Beadwork Creates Beaded Earrings and other books and magazines from Interweave Press.