Bonus June Craft! Beaded Flowers

HEYYYYY!! I am back, with another craft. I figured because we used beads in the last craft we might as well keep that momentum going and put all those extra, leftover beads to good use. I recently realized that I could fit little flowers into these cute salt and pepper shakers I bought, so that leads us to our craft..... (drum roll please) we are making beaded flowers!

I will be the first to say that I am not an expert at these. I have only made them around 3 times now, and I think mine can use some fine tuning, so once you all make them please leave tips in the comments.

We are going to start with materials. You are going to need the following:

• Beads

  • For bead purchasing I have a ton of suggestions. I have gotten a number of my beads second hand at thrift stores, estate sales, etc. Another great option are local bead stores. Their prices are usually very affordable and they have a ton of unique optons. Lastly, the tried and true Michaels. They have SO many beads, and they are almost always on sale!

• Pliers

  • You are just going to need standard jewelry pliers

  • I prefer flat pliers, but the rounded ones are good for shaping the wire

• Wire

  • I use 24 gauge (there are cheaper $3 options if you just want one color)

& that is all! The total (if you already own beads) comes out to roughly $10

Alrigggght, lets get to the tutorial.

Step 1: Cut your wire

• I cut roughly 12 inches to start my flower
  

Step 2: Bend the bottom of your wire so the beads don't fall off

• The vases I use are not clear, so personally I did not focus on making them look "clean" at the base. I just wanted them to be secure

Step 3: Add your beads!

• This is the fun part, you can add multiple types, multiple colors, etc. Play around with it!
  

Step 4: Bend your wire to make flowers

• I made a variety of different flowers. I think the easiest are 5 petal flowers. I take roughly 10 beads (depending on the size of the bead) string them together and then bend the wire into the shape of my desired petal. BE CAREFUL to not bend the wire too aggressively, it can (and will) break. Repeat this pattern for the amount of petals you want to make.

Step 6: Twirl your wire around the stem to secure it

• This is where I can use some advice, I am not the cleanest at doing this. If you know how to better finish off a flower PLEASE share your tips in the comments.

Step 5: Repeat steps and add additional beads, shapes, wire, leaves, etc.!

Helpful tips:

• If you run out of wire in the middle of beading, get to a stopping point, twirl your wire and secure it and start on a new strand of wire to attach to your base.

• Sometimes it feels better to make the stem, secure that, and then add each petal individually.

• Play around and find out what works best for you!

• Search pinterest for flower inspo pictures

• HAVE FUN WITH IT!

Pika.Paper on tiktok has a really great tutorial on how to make a simple flower, that is different from the one I am sharing on gabsarooatyahoo!

I am SO excited to see all the bouquets you all make. Remember to be kind to yourself, play around with it (no two flowers are identical) and enjoy it!! These make great gifts, cute decor, and just a fun activity. HAPPY CRAFTING YOU WONDERFUL CRAFTING QUEENS!