Bingo Fill: Beadwork
These photos fill the "Beadwork" square in my 3-1-22 card for the National Crafting Month Bingo fest. Yesterday I posted pictures of my fairy window with its sun catchers. One of those is a composite wind spinner that I spliced together with beadwork some time ago.
The composite wind spinner hangs on the left side of the fairy window. It has two long blue-and-purple striped wind spinners with beadwork at the top, middle, and bottom.
This type of spiral wind spinner is sometimes sold as a bird deterrent. It comes in many colors and sizes, usually with a hole at the top and the bottom. You'll need both holes for this craft.
Composite Wind Spinner in Left Window
The top piece of beadwork starts with a heavy fishing swivel. These are fantasic for use on wind spinners, mobiles, sun catchers, wind chimes, or other ornaments to create freedom of motion. They come in many styles, but I like barrel swivels in brass or silvertone.
The bottom of this beadwork attaches to the upper wind spinner with a large jump ring. The beads are strung on tigertail, which is stronger than most other types of line. Silk would probably work too. You need something strong to support the weight of the spinners.
This project uses a variety of beads. The clear ones include large seed beads, rondels, faceted ovals, one flat oval, rectangular tubes, and a cube. The colored ones include blue discs and blue-and-purple barrels. They are arranged in a mostly symmetrical pattern with a few variations.
Top Beadwork on Composite Wind Spinner
The middle piece of beadwork has large jump rings on both ends anchoring it to the upper and lower wind spinners. The beads are similar. There are clear seed beads, rondels, and cubes. There are blue-and-purple ovals and one flat blue oval. Basically the different colors of the beads reflect the colors of the stripes in the wind spinners.
Middle Beadwork on Composite Wind Spinner
The bottom piece of beadwork is attached to the lower wind spinner with a large jump ring. Its far end connects with a large teardrop crystal via a triangular bail through a hole at the upper point of the crystal. The beads are similar as above with clear seed beads, rondels, and one disc. Therre are blue discs and blue-and-purple spheres.
Bottom Beadwork on Composite Wind Spinner
Ideally, for this type of project, you want a craft table large enough to lay out the whole thing at once. You can use a countertop or a floor, but a table gives you better access for moving around the thing. Even though you will be assembling the bead sections one at a time, it helps a lot with the design if you can lay it out to see how the whole length works.
When you get to the actual beadwork, use a beading board if you have one. Mine has a variety of straight and curved grooves for laying out beads in order to be strung; this style supports a wider ranger of projects than one with only straight or curved grooves.
String the beads, remembering to start and finish the ends with the correct hardware. Once you have all three sections of beadwork completed, attach them to the two wind spinners in order. Some but not all wind spinners have a wide end and a narrow end. If you put the wide ends toward the middle, like mine, you get a long oval shape. If you put the narrow ends in the middle, it's more like a stretched hourglass. Try both and see which you prefer before making the final connections.
I hung my composite wind spinner using a ribbon so I could adjust the height. This is a good idea with a long item like this. If you prefer something tidier, consider a screw-link or S-hook.
The composite wind spinner hangs on the left side of the fairy window. It has two long blue-and-purple striped wind spinners with beadwork at the top, middle, and bottom.
This type of spiral wind spinner is sometimes sold as a bird deterrent. It comes in many colors and sizes, usually with a hole at the top and the bottom. You'll need both holes for this craft.
Composite Wind Spinner in Left Window
The top piece of beadwork starts with a heavy fishing swivel. These are fantasic for use on wind spinners, mobiles, sun catchers, wind chimes, or other ornaments to create freedom of motion. They come in many styles, but I like barrel swivels in brass or silvertone.
The bottom of this beadwork attaches to the upper wind spinner with a large jump ring. The beads are strung on tigertail, which is stronger than most other types of line. Silk would probably work too. You need something strong to support the weight of the spinners.
This project uses a variety of beads. The clear ones include large seed beads, rondels, faceted ovals, one flat oval, rectangular tubes, and a cube. The colored ones include blue discs and blue-and-purple barrels. They are arranged in a mostly symmetrical pattern with a few variations.
Top Beadwork on Composite Wind Spinner
The middle piece of beadwork has large jump rings on both ends anchoring it to the upper and lower wind spinners. The beads are similar. There are clear seed beads, rondels, and cubes. There are blue-and-purple ovals and one flat blue oval. Basically the different colors of the beads reflect the colors of the stripes in the wind spinners.
Middle Beadwork on Composite Wind Spinner
The bottom piece of beadwork is attached to the lower wind spinner with a large jump ring. Its far end connects with a large teardrop crystal via a triangular bail through a hole at the upper point of the crystal. The beads are similar as above with clear seed beads, rondels, and one disc. Therre are blue discs and blue-and-purple spheres.
Bottom Beadwork on Composite Wind Spinner
Ideally, for this type of project, you want a craft table large enough to lay out the whole thing at once. You can use a countertop or a floor, but a table gives you better access for moving around the thing. Even though you will be assembling the bead sections one at a time, it helps a lot with the design if you can lay it out to see how the whole length works.
When you get to the actual beadwork, use a beading board if you have one. Mine has a variety of straight and curved grooves for laying out beads in order to be strung; this style supports a wider ranger of projects than one with only straight or curved grooves.
String the beads, remembering to start and finish the ends with the correct hardware. Once you have all three sections of beadwork completed, attach them to the two wind spinners in order. Some but not all wind spinners have a wide end and a narrow end. If you put the wide ends toward the middle, like mine, you get a long oval shape. If you put the narrow ends in the middle, it's more like a stretched hourglass. Try both and see which you prefer before making the final connections.
I hung my composite wind spinner using a ribbon so I could adjust the height. This is a good idea with a long item like this. If you prefer something tidier, consider a screw-link or S-hook.