Thankful Beads
If you have little beads and bobbles leftover from craft projects, here’s a fun way to use them. Make a strand of thankful beads to weave around your Thanksgiving centerpiece.
But, for those that don’t have a jar of leftover beads, this idea is, without a doubt, a great place to start beading projects.
And, it keeps the little ones busy while you’re figuring out how to cut away the burnt pieces from the turkey.
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I find wooden beads on Amazon. These are the main sizes I use for decor beads and garlands.
Yard sales and thrift stores are great places for unique wood beads too.
I used the thicker sharpie markers for the beads.
To start, I grabbed the jar of leftover beads from my wooden beads DIY garland and the rustic wood bead garland. In the jar, there were several badly painted beads too. We can use them in this project.
Directions
- First, cut a piece of twine as long as you want your garland. Mine is 4 feet long.
- Then, to save your sanity, make a twine needle. You can see the little video on Instagram here.
- Make a knot at the other end of the twine.
- Finally, start adding beads. Usually, I add beads by color and size, but this time, I strung them on randomly.
- To finish, make a twine tassel for the end.
Since I’m spindle obsessed, I added a small piece to one end.
To decorate, place a jar of markers on the table and let everyone write or draw thankful things. Even “school” made it onto a bead!
Ideas for the beads.
- Keep as-is with a memento to bring out your thankful beads each Thanksgiving.
- Add to the beads over the years to include new family members.
- Cut into necklace sizes for the little ones to keep. Just as long as they won’t try to eat it.
If you want beads that are heavier, as in weight, try making these beads.
I think our turkey is burning.
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Oh my what great timing on the wood bead craft idea! I buy them from Hobby Lobby and use in my decor and I love them! I just purchased a big bag of three different size beads from Amazon and you gave me a great idea I can do for my grandchildren’s rooms….I can totally personalize them and can do while I’m am laid up with this broken ankle!😖 went to doc yesterday and he said I stretched all the tendons and ligaments and broke a small bone so he soft casted it and told me bedrest ice elevate etc for at least two weeks! So I’ve been trying to think of things I can accomplish while not walking!? I was just thinking my daughter saw wood tags 2.5” x 5.5” for their stocking names on Etsy (so cute…but she knows Mom and Johnny my carpenter friend can do…she is getting smarter lol ) So she wants us to make the tags I was just thinking I could make a small circle or strand with a tassel to attach to tags with something unique about each of my kids and their families on them …I have small letter stamps …that might be cute….I’m lol bc I’m just writing and writing….so Jeanette my dear friend…thank you for inspiring me!😊🌟❣️
Kim, I so sorry this happened to you. And 4 to 6 weeks! Yikes. This is perfect while you’re recovering.. I love the idea of using little rubber stamps!! You can paint the beads too! A red and white strand with candy canes at the end would be adorable. I wish we were closer, I’d bring soup and cookies to make you feel better. Hugs.