Saturday, September 30, 2017

DIY Wood Bead Tutorial

Wooden Beads.


You've seen them everywhere!

Do I want to pay $20 plus shipping and handling? Um... no. Not to mention the fact that the ones I have seen are only about 16-18 inches long. I can do better than that.... so can you.

I went to my craft store and found wood beads in the unpainted wood section. I bought 2 bags. They were about $4 each but you know me... I had a coupon for 50% off and I used it. (I also made my daughter do it for me. That means I paid $4 for all my beads.)

I had the jute/twine at home. I use it for lots of things in the house and out in the garden. You can find it at you local craft store for $3-$4. It always a good thing to have on hand but again, buy it with a coupon!

There were over 30 beads in each of my bags. This is gonna be way longer than 16 inches! I grabbed my twine and used some clear tape. Tape the end of the twine so it slides through the beads easily without unraveling or catching.


When all the beads were strung I cut my twine so that each end had about an extra 6 inches.

Now, for the tassels. I cut two 6 inch pieces of twine and set them aside.

Using the  ball of twine, I wrapped it around my hand about 8 times and cut it from the ball.



I fed the twine on one end of my beads through the top of my wrapped hand, slide the hand out and tie if off tight. Pull the end of the knot down into the tassel or clip it and tuck it under. Using one of the 6 inch pieces cut previously, wrap and tie off one inch from the top of the wrapped twine. Cut your looped ends to open them up into a tassel.




Repeat for the other end. You can make these look neater by hot glueing the ends of the wrap down or just leave them and make the ends part of the tassel like I did.


I trimmed my ends to make them the roughly the same length. I was not happy with the scrawny tassel so I grabbed a safety pen and picked the strands apart. Once all the strands were unraveled I took both ends in hand and gave them another haircut.



My strand is 46" long, boasts 67 beads and I am estimating it cost me less than $6 when all was said and done. That's decorating on a budget!



I love them and decided to make another strand with larger beads for the living room. 



Now it's your turn. 
Thanks for visiting with me today! Happy Fall! 
Jolena

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26 comments:

  1. What a great make, I loved them. A wonderful tutorial, I can see some in my future.

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  2. Great tutorial. I love all the natural colors and white. the mugs are too cute. Happy Monday!

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    1. Thank you for the kind words and for the visit!

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  3. Fun! Your ability to see something and think of a way to do it for less and to make it even more beautiful is a gift.

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    1. Thank you, sweet friend. Your words are treasured.

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  4. Your bead swags look amazing, and what a great idea! I've been searching for these swags everywhere, but had not thought to look in the unfinished wood section of the craft stores....visualize smacking the forehead! My poor substitute has been a yarn pompom swag made with off-white yarn. I'm kind of addicted to making pompoms, and the swag is cute, but I really want wood beads. I'll be off to the craft store soon. Thanks so much for sharing this idea! I'm now following your blog, as well as IG and Pinterest!

    Hugs,
    Carol

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    1. I would love to see a picture of it when you get it done, Carol! Had to laugh at the yarn pom-pom thing... I did the same thing! Thanks for following and for visiting with today!

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  5. Those are so cute! Never thought to use twine. They turned out great.

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  6. Yes, I have seen them everywhere and I would love to make these. Thanks for the tutorial and for sharing with us at Celebrate Your Story.

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    1. Hi Sandra! Thanks for stopping by. I would love to see a picture if you decide to make a strand of these yourself!

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  7. I love the look of these. You did a great tutorial. I am going to put it on my list of projects.

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    1. Yay! Thank you, Debra. Please be sure to come back and show me a picture. I love seeing other people's versions.

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  8. I've always loved these beads, too! What a great, inexpensive DIY project:) Your vignettes are beautiful! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm. xo Kathleen|Our Hopeful Home

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    1. Thank you, Kathleen! I love seeing all the things that caught your eye from the week before. Thanks for the party.

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  9. Wooden beads is a trend this year and suits in many styles. Thank you for linking up at Sweet Inspiration Link Party

    www.artdecorationcrafting.gr

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  10. Oh , Jolena, I love this look! What a cute idea! pinned them to the Party Board, too! Thank you so much for sharing them with us at the What to do Weekends party!
    Have a wonderful weekend and please keep coming back!
    Theresa @ Shoestring Elegance

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    1. Thank you, Theresa! I am so happy to know it got pinned. Thanks for the party!

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  11. I've always loved these natural wooden beads Jolena and I'm destined now to make a set. Thank you for sharing the tutorial at Create, Bake. Grow & Gather this week. I'm delighted to be featuring this project at the party tonight and pinning too!

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    1. Yay! Thank you Kerryanne! Can't wait to see how your beads turn out. Thanks for the party each week, it is a blessing to have an opportunity to share my projects there with your readers.

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  12. Looks easy enough, thank you for such a good tutorial. I can’t wait to make them!

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    1. Give it a go, Debbie. I would love to see a picture when you get yours made. Thanks for spending time with me.

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  13. Jolena, this is on my list too! Just have to remember to buy the beads. :)

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    1. I am usually a little slow on the getting things done, Stacey. I tend to procrastinate until the object of my affection is no longer in style. :) Thanks for stopping by to visit with me.

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