We hope you spent this week rocking around the Christmas tree! We had a merry time making handmade holiday ornaments and crafts. How about you? Did you get your shopping finished? Did you enjoy a nice cup of hot cider? If you want to settle in for a bit, we have some festive jewelry making videos. Why not take a free beading course online? These instructive craft shows will teach you how to make some wonderful Christmas ornaments in minutes. Let's kick back and watch some holiday magic!
Kristen showed us how to turn a metal stamping blank into a lovely beaded ornament. This candy cane looks amazing! James taught us how to make handmade snowflake ornaments with Soft Flex Craft Wire and a WigJig jig board. Sara made an elegant wreath using Craft Wire and beads from our bead mixes. Nealay showed us how to make some surprisingly easy and sophisticated Christmas earrings. You are going to love these jolly videos - especially if you are in the holiday spirit!
Weekly Video Recap: DIY Christmas Crafts - Handmade Christmas Ornaments And Earrings
Shop our metal stamping tools. We have high quality blanks and supplies that will make it easy to personalize and adorn your favorite jewelry. Add a special touch to your next gratitude necklace. Give a gift that really honors your loved ones with their names stamped on it. If you like to make your own signature bead stringing designs with a pendant that is one of a kind - you are going to love these tools!
Wire Wrapped Candy Cane Ornament
Kristen filmed a festive episode of Free Spirit Beading this week. This time, she took us on a tour of the new metal stamping tools on the Soft Flex Company shelves and showed us how to use them. She wanted to make a handmade Christmas craft for her home. She decided to use a candy cane shaped blank and make it magical!
Free Spirit Beading airs on Mondays at 12:00pm PST. Free Spirit Beading is a live beaded jewelry making series on YouTube. Kristen is a free spirited designer, author, artist – she loves to create. She does not worry about perfection. She believes that art is a journey and part of that journey is making mistakes and living with them. If you miss an episode, you can find it in our YouTube library.
From Kristen:
Let's dress up a candy cane ornament blank by wire wrapping around it with red 24 gauge Soft Flex Craft Wire and red and white beads. This beaded candy is so much more festive and fun! Hang from your Christmas tree or use as a gift topper. This DIY candy cane ornament is sure to be a hit at your next ornament swap party! Handmade ornaments are great holiday gifts.
Supplies:
Candy Cane Ornament Blank
Soft Flex Craft Wire - Red 24ga
Soft Flex Craft Wire - Red 20ga
Red Beads
White Beads
Wire Whacker
Bead Nipper (Cutters)
Nylon Jaw Pliers
Round Nose Pliers
Chain Nose Pliers
LoopRite Looping Pliers
Multi-Function Hammer with Nylon Head
If you enjoy sharing DIY Christmas crafts, this is a great video to check out. Kristen makes a wonderful decoration for the tree or house with very little supplies. If you have the tools, you just need a blank, some beads, and some Soft Flex Craft Wire. Decorations like this are so fun. You can add your own personality to whatever you create!
You do not need to be a wire wrapping pro to finish a craft like this. For the most part, Kristen just uses her hands to manipulate the wire around the candy cane. Tools are ideal for work hardening the wire so it holds its shape. Tools are also good for precision - loops or bends that you want to look professional. Handmade ornaments like this do not need a lot of precision, though. 'Messy wrap' looks wonderful on homemade crafts. It looks organic and loving. Don't be afraid to be a free spirited beader!
Isn't this wonderful! This will make your home a little merrier this season. Check out our metal stamping tools if you would like to see what kind of designs you can make. This candy cane would be so cute with your family members names stamped into it!
Snowflake Ornament Using Soft Flex Craft Wire On A WigJig
James Browning is
Soft Flex Company's wizardly Craft Wire guru. He is an incredible teacher His videos are easy to follow and clear. Even if you have never used Soft Flex Craft Wire, you can create the designs he makes with ease. This week, James showed us how to make some snowflake ornaments. These cute little designs can be personalized with beads and different colors of Craft Wire. They look amazing and are really easy to make!
WigJig jig boards make a craft like this super simple. The jig board allows you to place pegs on it and then create a design. This means that you have a template and if you wanted to repeat a design once or a hundred times, it will always finish the same way. This is a great way to make garlands for Christmas or interlocking necklace pieces.
Supplies:
Soft Flex Craft Wire - 20ga
Soft Flex Craft Wire - Silver Plated 20ga
Soft Flex Craft Wire - 18ga
Soft Flex Craft Wire - Silver Plated 18ga
WigJig Olympus Lite
WigJig Olympus Lite Small Super Pegs
Round Nose Pliers
Nylon Jaw Pliers
Bead Nipper (Cutters)
Beads
WigJig jig boards are wonderful. They are constructed out of the same material used in aircraft windows. This makes them super strong and durable. Other jig boards on the market are made with a flimsier plastic and the holes can widen and make it difficult to work on. WigJig boards are clear. Which means that you can place you jig board over a design and replicate it. You cannot do that with a metal jig board.
Don't miss Conversations in Wire. James uploads a new episode every other Thursday. During the premiere, you can chat with us, live, as it airs. James loves to answer questions about the videos and we all have fun watching him create something new and lovely. If you would like to start wire wrapping, this is a great way to learn about the tools and techniques James uses. We even have a Craft Wire Starter Kit to launch your favorite new hobby!
So much fun! If you make some snowflake ornaments for Christmas this year, please post them on our Facebook group – VIB. James would love to see your work!
Holiday Crafts and Ornaments with Sara Oehler - Beaded Wire Wreath Ornaments for Christmas
Sara has some fun personalized Christmas ornament ideas for you! If you enjoy holiday crafts and sharing your creative time with loved ones around you - this is an easy way to get everybody involved. This week, she made a delightful holiday wreath using Soft Flex Craft Wire and a gorgeous bead strand. This is a simple and fun Christmas project for you or your children - even if they are fully grown (they will always be our babies)!
Make sure you check out Sara's seasonal YouTube shows. She is filming her last live one next Friday morning, at 10:00am PST. If you missed any live shows, you can watch them all on our YouTube page. Her videos are a great way to find inspiration if you need decoration or jewelry ideas. Make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel.
You are going to love this gorgeous wreath. Add a bit of elegance to your holiday decor. This craft is easy and really quick. You do not need to have a lot of tools to complete the wreath. Add them to your Christmas tree or adorn a gift with them. You can add ribbons or your own personal touch to your wreath.
Supplies:
Soft Flex Craft Wire - 18ga
Soft Flex Craft Wire - Silver Plated 18ga
Chain Nose Pliers
Round Nose Pliers
Nylon Jaw Pliers
Flush Cutters
Beads
The lights on the Christmas tree will make this little treasure glow! Make a wonderful Christmas craft that your family will adore for decades. This would make a great holiday heirloom!
Christmas Tree Earrings with SilverSilk Capture Chain
Nealay loves to make Christmas jewelry. These Christmas tree earrings look amazing. You are going to make people jealous with your holiday spirit! He created these stunning earrings with items from his Travels to Toyland jewelry kit. This juicy jewelry design kit is full of yummy design elements. You can find some Tierracast charms. A spool of antique brass color Soft Flex Beading Wire in medium diameter. A bead mix from Jesse James Beads. And so much more.
From Nealay:
Let's decorate a tree! Well, with beads that is. Learn a simple wire wrapping trick to make cute holiday earrings in seconds. You'll learn how E6000 industrial glue can help add a "charming" touch to SilverSilk end caps while using 26-gauge and 22-gauge Soft Flex Craft Wire to add decorative Jesse James Beads inside the SilverSilk Capture Chain for this demo.
Supplies:
Travels to Toyland Design Kit
Soft Flex Craft Wire - Vintage Brass 26ga
Soft Flex Craft Wire - Vintage Brass 22ga
SilverSilk Capture Chain (included in Toyland Kit)
Nylon Jaw Pliers
Beads (Jesse James Bead Mix is included in Toyland Kit)
Glue (Nealay uses E6000)
Nealay has a talent for creating sumptuous jewelry. Who would imagine earrings could look this fun and sophisticated at the same time? Make sure you add some SilverSilk products to your beading supplies. They add some wonderful sparkle to your designs.
Give a pair of these earrings to your Bestie and share a Christmas moment. These lovely earrings will make them jolly!
You can find Nealay on Facebook and YouTube. If you are a fan, make sure you join his active group on Facebook - The SilverSilk Silkies. He is very accessible and loves to answer questions. He is a great jewelry teacher and source of inspiration.
Join our
Facebook group – VIB. 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 loves Jazz Age writers and crunchy french fries. His favorite gemstones are Lapis and Pietersite. His favorite hobby is day dreaming. And his favorite mustache is Freddie Mercury's. As you can see, he has a healthy (or possibly unhealthy) sense of humor. You can write to him at Thomas@SoftFlexCompany.com