Easy DIY Melted Bead Ornaments

It’s the last week before Christmas, but it’s not too late to still add some new additions to your tree! I love making at least one new DIY ornaments with my kids each season, last year my paper straw trees, paper poinsettias and yarn balls were a huge hit and I was excited to rehang them again this year. With me working more and more, time has been slipping away from me like whoa and I almost forgot to make something new! I knew I wanted to create something that was pretty quick to make and less messy then years past, and these really pretty & easy DIY melted bead ornaments checked all of my requirement boxes. They make a beautiful addition to the tree, and would be gorgeous tied onto a present as well! Clean up was super easy too- especially with the help of my favorite go-to cleaning tool: my Swiffer dusters.

These melted bead ornaments are SO MUCH FUN to make. Using just regular pony beads, you can make cookie cutter shapes, or free handed patterns to create sun catchers, ornaments or bag decorations- really anything you like! They almost look like little stained glass works of art. Simply beautiful!

To make these you only really need three things: pony beads, metal cookie cutters and a drill (to make a hole at the end)- or you can use hot glue. You can use either clear or opaque pony beads (I used clearish ones). The opaque beads won’t work as sun catchers, but they will be a bit more visible on the Christmas tree. You can experiment and see what you like the best.

The kids loved placing the beads down in the cutters. It was fun to see what patterns and designs they came up with. You will first want to line a baking, pie or cake pan with tin foil and then place the cookie cutters on top of them. Next you will pour the pony beads into each of the cookie cutter shapes and use a toothpick to flip them all so they are standing up in the same direction. If some are sideways and some are upright the surface will end up being bumpy. It looks best when they are all the same direction.

You can either melt these in your oven or in an outside grill, whatever you prefer. I didn’t think it smelled when we melted ours, I just opened the windows just in case. Here’s the steps you need to make your own ornaments:

Preheat your oven to 400 and line your baking sheet or pie pan with aluminum foil.
Place pony beads inside of the metal cookie cutter. You can do one color or lots!
Put the cookie cutter and beads inside the oven.
The ornaments take about 5-10 minutes to melt. You’ll want to keep an eye on them to be sure. If they look flat and melted (without bumps that still resemble beads), you can take your ornament out.
Let cool completely.
Pop your melted pony bead out of the cookie cutter. You may have to really push it out as the plastic sticks to the cookie cutter, but it will come out.
Use an 1/8 drill bit to make a small hole for a string or just hot glue your ribbon or string to the back and you have an ornament! Hang them with two open ends if you want to use them to decorate a present or loop the string if you want it to be an ornament.

This didn’t make too much of a mess, but my Swiffer dusters helped to clean up any dust and dirt left behind super easily. I always have some handy when we are crafting. They help to get rid of small scraps, glitter or bits of dried glue in no time. Sometimes it’s hard to get the energy to get up and craft with my kids, especially this time of year! This is part of modern “adulting” though, so thankfully Swiffer but makes it easy. Swiffer is the original cleaning hack that helps you nail the Art of Adulting. Swiffer is the fast and easy way to tackle your adulting to-do list so you can get get your home clean in the time you have – even if you just have a few minutes to spare. If you’ve got a life, you gotta Swiffer.

If cleaning isn’t your favorite thing to do (like me!) then you can relate to these funny videos with comedienne Abby Elliott:

Can you relate?? I certainly can!! So don’t let “adulting’ scare you, just get some Swiffers and roll with it- and if you are looking for a fun and easy holiday craft to do, be sure to try these diy melted bead ornaments. They really do turn out beautifully!