I needed some simple Wooden Beads to finish a pendant, so I made some myself. It took me under 5 minutes to make a handful of them! So that’s a really neat quick tip for you. 🙂
You need:
wooden twigs
pruning shears
sandpaper
rotary tool (available here*)
waxed cotton cord (available here*)
How it’s done:
You can use all sorts of different twigs for this craft. Just ensure that they are dry and not too freshly cut. I used willow because the bark is smooth and the sticks are easy to cut.
Cut the twigs into little pieces with pruning shears. The shears should have a sharp edge, otherwise you won’t get a clean cut. You could also use a small saw. If you want all of your beads so be the same size, you should mark the twig beforehand with a ruler. I didn’t bother with that.
Sand the cuts with some fine sandpaper. If your pruning shears are sharp enough you should barely have to sand anything.
Secure the wooden pieces into a vise to drill them.
Use a small woodworking drill bit. It has a small spur at the tip to keep the drill bit in line. I used my trusty proxxon rotary tool (available here*) for that.
That’s it! You can thread the wooden beads on a string. If you want to, seal the surface of the beads with some transparent varnish.
The beads are perfect for rustic necklaces, bracelets or pendants. A waxed cotton cord (available here*) looks great with the wooden beads. I bet they would also look really nice if they were painted in different colors!
Here is a quick summary of all the working steps for you. 🙂
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