Years and years ago, I made a set of icicle ornaments with some vintage glass beads that I’d gotten on Etsy. But for whatever reason, I never posted the tutorial here on my website! So, I got them out of storage with the rest of my Christmas decor this year…took some fresh photos…and am FINALLY adding the project to my blog today.
When I made these ornaments, I’d really gotten into collecting vintage Christmas decorations. And I’d recently found a vintage mercury glass beaded garland for a tabletop tree of mine. This new-to-me old treasure prompted me to search for vintage mercury glass beads on Etsy, where I found several vendors with old silvery beads for sale.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
At the same time, I was just getting into making my own jewelry, too. As a result, I’d started assembling the tools and supplies needed for creating different pieces of jewelry. And that’s when I decided to marry my two new interests into a festive project for my website.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Except, of course, I never uploaded it here on my blog. Over the past 10-11 years, I’ve accumulated a few dozen Christmas projects and posts and this poor project stayed in limbo. So, it’s definitely high time it gets its chance to shine!
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Making the Glass Bead Ornaments
Creating these beaded ornaments is quite easy, actually- even if you’re a novice. The primary components include:
- Vintage mercury glass beads
- 22-gauge jewelry wire (20-gauge should work, as well)
- Small wire cutters
- Small jewelry pliers
First things first, I cut a length of wire (about 8″ or so) with my wire cutters to work with. I wanted my icicle ornaments to be 6″ long, or so. Using my small pliers (or round-nose pliers), I curled one end of the wire over to create a small loop.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
This will ultimately be the bottom of the icicle ornament, and the loop will prevent the ornaments from sliding off.
Next, I began to add the vintage mercury glass beads from my newly gathered collection. I didn’t have a particular design in mind and didn’t plan them out ahead of time, but you could definitely do that.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
From there, I simply added more vintage glass beads until I was happy with the length and how they looked.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Lastly, I needed to close off the jewelry wire and create another loop so they could be hung on a Christmas tree. This time, I simply made a loop with my hands by bending the wire across itself near the top of the final bead.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Then, I wrapped it around itself a few times to create a small coil. Again, doing this against the top of the bead so that there wasn’t any slack in my icicle ornament, thus allowing the beads to slide on the wire.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
After two or three rotations in the wire coil, I snipped it off with my wire cutters. Then, I used my small needle-nose pliers to flatten the snipped end against the coil, ensuring that no sharp edges remained. Of course, I did this ever-so carefully, given the proximity of delicate glass beads…
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
And that was it! The first of my icicle ornaments was completed, but since I had so many beads leftover, I made several more ornaments before calling it a day.
Icicle Ornaments with Vintage Glass Beads
In the end, I made five icicle ornaments with the vintage mercury glass beads that I’d purchased. I still had several beads remaining, but five seemed like the perfect set. And, of course, each ornament was different, too.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Of the five, my favorite is the original one I made with the twisty oval beads. But I love that each one is different, even if the wire got a bit wonky as I strung the beads. And while these icicle ornaments are indeed delicate, they’re very easy to store and take up little to no room in my ornament bin.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Obviously, these could be made with modern or contemporary beads, as well. But you know how much I love to use vintage supplies! And multi-colored versions would be beautiful, as well. It really just depends on the glass beads you end up procuring.
I’m just sorry it took me so long to upload these to my blog! Better late than never, I suppose. Think you’ll be making your own version of icicle ornaments now?
Speaking of which, here are some of my other upcycled ornament ideas in a single collection. This will give you loads of DIY ornament inspiration using items from thrift stores, yard sales, or even your junk drawer!
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
And if you simply love vintage Christmas decorations and ideas, then this collection of inspiring projects and decor ideas is definitely for you, too!
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Craft on!
S
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Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Sarah Ramberg is the owner of Sadie Seasongoods, a website that celebrates all things secondhand. From upcycling ideas and thrifted decor to vintage-centric travel itineraries, Sadie Seasongoods is a one-stop shop for anyone who loves thrifting and approachable repurposing ideas. Sarah is also the author of “Crafting with Flannel” and has been featured in numerous media outlets and magazines.
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