Bead and wire decorations add fall color

Published 12:24 pm Friday, August 17, 2007

Summertime is wonderful, and those warm afternoons and evenings spent on the deck with a craft project in hand and our dog, Bowie, asleep on our feet, are moments to cherish.

But, much as we enjoy these idyllic summer moments, one of the best things about the season is the knowledge that autumn is on the way.

With the exception of a few years spent in a hellishly hot part of the country, one season has never bothered us more than another, but there’s always been something special about fall.

The rich colors, the chill in the air and the smell of wood smoke all combine to make it our favorite time of year.

When we saw the beads featured in this week’s Craft Corner project, we immediately thought of autumn and wondered how to work them into the column.

We came up with the idea of making bead and wire oak leaf-shaped ornaments that can stand alone as tree decorations or be worked into floral and wreath arrangements.

To make our ornaments, you’ll need wire, beads, wire cutters and pliers.

Let’s begin with the wire. We used heavy, medium and fine wire to make our samples – heavy for the base and stability, medium for beading and fine for beading and ornamentation.

You can find craft/beading wire in a wide variety of colors at most craft and hobby stores, priced at about $3 and up, depending on the size of the spool. We chose deep bronze, copper and gold tones for our project.

The beads used in our samples are predominantly wooden (in earthy colors), with a few precious stones and baubles in coordinating colors added for interest.

When you’ve selected your wire and beads, you’re ready for step one: forming the base shape of your ornament.

Now,we are the first to admit that our oak leaves aren’t exactly true-to-nature. We did them freehand and don’t mind that they are on the abstract side.

If you are a stickler for accuracy, you can use a pattern when making your base shape. Patterns for leaves of all kinds abound in craft magazines this time of year, and you can also find them in the home decorating section in McCall’s, Simplicity and Vogue pattern books (look for place mats, napkins and seasonal decorations).

Leaf-shaped cookie cutters make good pattern guides as well, and they are readily available in the cake decorating and seasonal sections at craft stores, particularly in the late summer and fall.

Using heavy wire (a weight that is easy to bend but also holds its shape), make your base shape, ending off by twisting the ends together to form a stem. Use pliers to form sharp curves and to bend the ends of the wire so that the rough ends are gone. Leave a little bit of a loop in the stem end if you plan to hang your leaf.

Next, using the medium wire, begin at the stem base and wrap it around the base shape – adding your predominant beads as you go – until the base is covered. Don’t worry about the wire being uniform and the beads evenly spaced, as a random pattern can make the piece more interesting.

Finish with the medium wire by wrapping it around the stem and tucking the rough end into the wrapping.

Finally, use the fine wire to add sparkly beads or precious stones randomly between the predominant beads. Begin at the stem and finish as with the medium wire.

If you choose, purchase a pre-formed metal base – such as the flower and heart shown in our photo illustration. These forms can be found in most craft stores and range in price from 59 cents to $2 for most shapes and sizes.

Autumn lovers can hang their leaf ornaments on trees and bushes outside, or work them into wall hangings or wreaths inside.

The ornaments can also be used to decorate the holiday tree when Christmas rolls around, but if you plan to use them in this fashion, keep the weight of the ornament in mind. Pre-formed bases and precious stones can add extra weight, which can make your leaves too heavy for less substantial tree limbs.

Contact Jonetta Coffin at jrociffin@aol.com