Very Tiny Ornaments.

Q: Does anybody have any ideas on what I can do to make REALLY tiny christmas ornaments? I mean, for a 12" tree. I was thinking of putting single glass beads on headpins and making a hook out of wire. I don't really know how I'd make the hook. I might use plain earring hooks.

A: You can make mini-snowmen. Different-sized round pearl beads for body, black sequin and seed bead for hat. Jack in the box, soldiers (square bead for body, seed beads for head and legs). You can use head pins to string them on and then bend the top to form a hook. Candy canes out of fimo clay. String extremely small clear beads for icicles. Make garlands out of beads. I can't think of any more off the top of my head. This year, I made a garland with wire and tiny polymer clay star beads. I took a spool of gold wire, I think 22 gauge, used my wire spiralling tool (you could just wrap it around a dowel or bamboo stick) to make a longish wire spiral. Then I pulled on the ends to spread out the wire coils. Every inch or 2, I twisted a coil into a loop, then I used a jump ring to attach tiny gold polymer clay stars. It looks really cool, although you do have to be careful when storing it so that the wire doesn't get all tangled up. You could also use short strands of wire coil, with or without beads, to hang like old-fashioned tinsel. Just cut a length of wire coil, turn a loop at the bottom to hold any desired beads, then form a hook shape at the top. A friend of mine makes small ornaments out of tiny styrofoam balls (1" I think, but maybe smaller). She uses 1/2" pins with seed beads and small sequins. You string on a bead, then a sequin, then add a dab of glue onto the pointed end of the pin and stick the pin into the styrofoam ball. Cover the ball and let dry. They are a bit heavy, but look quite nice on small trees.

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