DIY Beaded Christmas Tree

About this kit

A kit of small beads, decorative charms and wire, with a set of steps. You build upward in rings, threading bead by bead, until a small Christmas tree stands on its own with a star or an angel at the top. It is the sort of job that fills three evenings and leaves something on the shelf at the end of them, rather than an afternoon and a box back in a cupboard.

Five colourways

Christmas is red, green and gold. Christian works in cream and gold with cross and angel charms. Halloween takes the same tree into orange, purple and black. Autumn runs rust and bronze. Winter is silver, white and blue. The tree shape is identical, so the difference is entirely in the beads and charms rather than in the build.

What you work with

Beads in a few sizes, wire, and the charms that go on at the end: stars, bells and tiny ornaments. They arrive grouped by colour and size, which saves the sorting that eats the first evening of most beading kits, and there is a tray for whatever is open on the table in front of you. Everything needed to finish the tree is in the box, which is not always true of beading kits at this price.

The build

You start at the base and add rings outward, which is why the tree keeps its shape instead of sagging in the middle. Each ring is a job in itself, so an interrupted evening costs you one ring rather than the whole project. The lower rings take the longest; the top of the tree comes together quickly and feels like progress.

What it ends up as

A small tree standing in a pot on a table. Because it is built from beads rather than moulded or printed, it looks handmade from across the room and more so up close, which is exactly where an artificial tree gives itself away. It also survives a year in a box far better than anything with a light string fixed to it. The star or the angel goes on last, and that is the point at which it stops looking like beads and starts looking like a tree.

Specifications

Type	Beading kit for a miniature tree
Themes	Christmas, Christian, Halloween, Autumn, Winter
Finished piece	Freestanding beaded tree in a pot
In the box	Beads, decorative charms, wire and instructions

How it goes

1. An evening at a time

   One ring per session and stop at a sensible point.

2. On a tray

   Keep the beads shallow so a knock does not send them everywhere.

3. Somewhere with decent light

   Small beads in a dark room is the fastest way to give up.

4. On a shelf afterwards

   It stands on its own, so it needs neither hook nor branch.

In the box

• Beads for building the tree
• Decorative charms and ornaments
• Wire and fixings
• Printed step by step instructions

Care

Dust it with a soft brush. Keep it out of direct sun, since some beads discolour after a summer in strong light. Store it upright in a box rather than lying flat, so the rings keep their shape and the top does not bend over.

Common questions