So it’s September already, and I’ve decided that Christmas in July didn’t happen, and August was a blur….. time to start making holiday stuff and I’m already behind! i was thinking this year Id make a candy/cookie/sweets themed tree this year. Seems I have to start somewhere, so the idea is usually first, and the how-to later.

Lets get started with a super easy one.

Supplies needed:

wooden beads

12″ dowels

16 gauge wire

mixed plastic faceted beads

hot glue/glue gun

white/wood glue

I started by separating the beads by color. One of those zen OCD tasks that completely relaxes me, until the dogs bump my table and I find myself crawling around on the carpet picking them all up.

Cut the 12″ dowels in half and glue a wooden bead with  the wood glue on the bottom of each.

Next cut a 3″ piece of wire and twist a small eye on the end, then I wrapped the wire around the top of the dowel to make a hanging loop.

Tip: You could also use ribbon or colored wire but I prefer mine to disappear in the tree.

Using the hot glue gun, begin adding the beads about half-way up the stick and cover completely over the wire and the top of the dowel. Be careful when using the hot glue, you can get burnt in a second. Make sure to slide them around randomly so they’re not straight rows. I stacked extra beads toward the top to give it more of a taper look like the candy has.

Tip: after you have made several of these, use your blow dryer to vaporize the “spider” strings the glue gun leaves behind.

So the first bag of beads yielded 7 finished ornaments, looks like its back to the store for more beads. I have to laugh, hubby thought they were real!

So enjoy your day crafting!

Debbie