• Recycled Clothing Ornaments

Recycled Clothing Ornaments

These clever ornaments are made from favorite clothing and accessories. From Grandpa's tie to Aunt Jane's vintage apron, make an ornament with a story.

MATERIALS

• Plastic foam forms in desired shapes
• Fabric pieces
• Lace fabric
• Tulle
• Ribbon
• Jewelry pieces such as chains, pendants, lockets, clip-on earrings, etc.
• 4–8mm assorted beads
• Bead caps
• Sequins
• Sequin pins
• Eye pins
• Jump rings
• 18-gauge craft wire
• Nylon-coated flexible beading wire
• Foam brush
• Round-nose pliers
• Wire nippers
• Decoupage medium
• Fabric glue
• Hot-glue gun and glue sticks

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Use fabric glue or decoupage medium to cover foam shape with fabric. If desired, wrap lace fabric around ornament and gather it at top with a rubber band. Hide the gathered spot by trimming off excess and gluing a large bead cap over gathered area.
2. Hot-glue ribbon along edges.
3. String desired beads and sequins on a sequin pin; dip end of pin into fabric glue; push pin into foam. Repeat as desired to add sequins and beads to ornament.
4. Continue to embellish ornament with ribbons, tulle and jewelry pieces as desired.
5. Add glue to straight end of an eye pin; push pin into center top of ornament. Note: If lace was gathered at top of ornament as in step 1, push pin through center top of bead cap.

6. Hanger Option A: Use a jump ring to attach desired length of chain to eye-pin loop. Form a small loop at one end of a 3-inch length of craft wire; form wire into a spiral hanger (Fig. 1). Open bottom loop and attach to top link of chain; close loop.
7. Hanger Option B: String 6 1/2 inches of beads on beading wire. Insert one end of wire through loop at top of eye pin; knot wire ends together. Trim excess wire. Form a spiral hanger in the same manner as in step 6; open bottom loop and attach to top of beaded hanger; close loop.

Sources: Craft wire from Beadalon; Mod Podge decoupage medium from Plaid Enterprises Inc.; plastic foam forms from Floracraft Corp.

Copyright © December 2008 Simply Beads magazine, All rights reserved