Bell heart tutorial

Well with the Decembers Crafty What Nots all ready to go out I thought I would share with you one of last months crafty tutorial to make this really cute bell heart!  I really love the little bells and they make such a lovely sounds!

To make this you will need 1m thin wire (the sort you can cut with scissors) 11 bells, 11-12 crystal beads and ribbon.

Step 1 - fold your wire in half and thread a bell so it sits in the bend.  I laid all my beads and bells out first so I had heavier, bigger beads at the bottom of my heart.

Step 2 - Twist the wire close to the bell for about 1cm.

Step 3 - Thread a bead on to one of the ends.  Sit it about 2cm away from the end of the twist you just made.

Step 4 - Twist the wire close to the bead...

...and then twist for 1cm like before.

Step 5 - Continue threading beads and bells until you have 6 bells and 5 beads on the same end.  Now you need to start threading the other end working back from the middle (why?? well if you just started from one end and kept going you may not have a symmetrical heart, by working from the centre you are always keeping it symmetrical and if you run out of space you can make sure that each end is the same!) Here is my string of beads and bells.

Step 6 - Straighten out your wire a little so all the bells are sticking out on the same side.

Step 7 - Twist the two ends together and finish with a bead or by just folding the wire over.

Step 8 - Attach your ribbon.  You should now have a circle of beads and bells!

Step 9 - Shape your circle into a heart!  I then moved some of the bells so they looked a little more random.

I used a packet of Krafty Christmas bells which are available in gold or silver.

I also had a go at making a mini wreath with bells, buttons and beads!

Do you like making little Christmas decorations?  What have you made so far this year???   I seem to have been Christmas craft crazy while planning the Crafty What Nots!  If you don't already know what a Crafty What Nots is then why not pop by here, There are some really lovely reviews and photos showing you the contents of the last two boxes!

I thought I would leave you with this little pic I snapped yesterday, we were so lucky to see such a stunning sunset and it was pure fluke that I managed to get this bird in full flight!

Have a lovely week one and all! Hope to see you at Handmade Harbour.

xxx