My step-daughter has joined a band playing bass and singing. I know she's got a good voice, yours truly helps her with technique from time to time, and she practices the bass every day for hours so I'm hoping she's improving. She's able to hook in a pair of headphones to the amp, though, so the rest of the family doesn't suffer.
Anyway, she made a veiled request for a small dreamcatcher to hang from her guitar. Hmmm....sounds fun.
You can get metal craft rings from just about any craft shop in a range of shapes and sizes. I happen to have a selection in one of my drawers. Unfortunately, none are the size I want. But, I've also got these wires left over from another project.
I twisted the ends, and made a bit of a bundle.
I've decided to use silver to wrap the wires.
Shiny.
Incense is good for several reasons. Not only does it make the room smell nice and create a feeling of peace and contentment, it's also very handy for sealing the ends of the craft cord so that it doesn't fray.
Very sneaky.
Tightly wrap the cord around the wires, securing the ends with a dab of craft glue. Use a clothes peg to hold the ends down until the glue dries.
I also tend to dab a bit of glue on the wires every once in a while as I wrap them. Just because I tend to overdo things.
Now, tie on a length of thread. I'll be using black beads, so I'm using black cotton.
Yep. I said beads.
Black seed beads to be precise. I started with 19 seed beads, loop the over the ring form, bring the needle through the loop created by the beads. Pull tight. In order for the pattern of beads to work, they all have to be very firm.
Also, if you find 19 beads is too big/small, feel free to change that number, but always keep it an ODD number. You'll see why in a moment.
Work your way around the ring form.
When you get back to the beginning, thread your needle through the beads, coming out at the middle bead.
Thread on 17 beads (2 less than your first row). Then, take your needle through the middle bead in the next loop.
Keep working your way around the ring, decreasing each row by an even number and pulling the work tight. If you find a row is floppy or loose, decrease the NEXT row by 4 or even 6.
Dreamcatchers are a Native American tradition. The legend is that the web like quality captures bad dreams so that they can't haunt you. The hole in the center allows good dreams to pass though. The spider, or the focal bead, also helps to filter the good and bad dreams, and helps to get rid of the bad dreams so that they don't accumulate and clog the dreamcatcher. Therefore, always add a focal bead which is slightly bigger than the rest.
In this case, I added a smiley face.
And a loop to hang it.
The black pony bead just helps to disguise the knot.
Now for the finishing touches.
I cut 3 lengths of the silver cord (sealing the ends with the incense, of course), and attached them to the ring by looping them over and taking a few stitches with the thread to secure them.
Then glued a black pony bead over each one to hide the ends.
And left it to let the glue dry and decide what I wanted to add next.
Feathers are always a good choice. Except they can get damaged in storage. For this one I'd want black and/or white feathers.
Of which I have neither.
But then I had a truly inspired, funky idea. TASSELS! Why not?
Turns out my organizer is just about the right size for what I want. I wrapped some thin black cord around and around...
...and around...
...and around...
Until I had the thickness I wanted.
Then I wrapped the cord around itself at one end.
I clipped the cord, and threaded the end onto a needle. Then used the needle to tie a knot.
And thread the end up through the middle of the wrapped section.
Cut the loops at the longer end, and whamo zammo, you've got yourself a tassel!
I then used my little crochet hook to thread through the loops left at the tops of my tassels.
And draw the silver cord through them.
Then just tie a knot to secure it on.
Clip the silver cord and use your incense to seal the end. I also used it to melt the knots together a bit and secure them without the use of glue. Just be careful you don't melt the plastic pony bead, or catch the cotton cord on fire.
And the beaded dreamcatcher is done!
Happy crafting!
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