Beaded Heart Ornaments For Valentine’s Day!

Here’s a fun project to do for Valentine’s Day: Beaded Heart Ornaments. We actually made some like this for Christmas but the heart turned out so cute we decided it was perfect for Valentine’s! This project is fast and easy and the results are so pretty! We’ll show you just how to do it.

Here’s a video we made showing how to bend the thicker armature wire into the heart shape. We also show how to string the beads and sequins on the wire and wrap the heart. Watch the video then use the steps below to make your own.

How To Make A Beaded Heart Ornament

Materials & Tools

12-gauge Aluminum floral wire (Also called armature wire), gold
26-gauge Craft wire, gold
Assorted acrylic beads
Assorted sequins
Ribbon, ¼” wide
Wire cutters
Round-nose pliers
Scissors

Steps

1. Bend Large Wire Into Heart Shape
Cut a piece of the 12-gauge wire about 13″ long using the wire cutters. Then fold the wire in half. Hold onto the center of the wire with the round-nose pliers and pull one side of the wire straight. Shift the pliers to the straight side of the bend and pull the other side of the wire straight. This bend in the wire will be the bottom point of the heart.

To make the top curves of the heart, wrap one piece of wire over something cylindrical that is about one inch in diameter. (We found a nail polish bottle worked perfectly for this!) Then wrap the other wire over the same object. Pull the two sides apart and you should have a heart shape!

Trim the ends of the wire to about 1.5″ from where they touch in the center. Then hold the end of the wire with the round-nose pliers and twist a loop in the end of the wire. Repeat for the other side.

2. Start Wrapping Heart With Thin Wire
Cut a piece of the 26-gauge wire about 40″ long. To keep the top two curves of the heart together, wrap the center with the end of the thin wire a few times.

3. Continue Wrapping Adding Sequins And Beads
Feed a large bead or sequin onto the 26-gauge wire. Slide it down the wire to the heart. Hold the sequin or bead in place with your thumb, then wrap the 26-gauge wire around the heart wire two times.

Add another bead to the thin wire. Slide it down to the heart. Hold it in place against the heart wire and wrap the thin wire around the heart two times. You will be making a wrap between each sequin or bead. When you finish beading the heart, wrap the thin wire around the heart wire a few extra times and trim with the wire cutters.

4. Make A Hanger
To make a hanger, cut a piece of ribbon and slide it between the two curves of the heart where you started wrapping. Tie a knot.

Then tie another knot out at the ends of the ribbon loop. Trim the ends of the ribbon with the scissors.

This is a great craft to make with kids. Just set out all kinds of acrylic beads and sequins. Help the kids bend the heart shapes, then let them string their beads on thin wire and wrap the heart with the colorful beads and sequins. You can make other shapes too, but we like the hearts for Valentine’s of course!
Happy Crafting,
Jennifer & Kitty