These beaded candy cane ornaments are so much fun for children and grown ups of all ages to make! They only require a few simple resources and are super easy to make which means they’re the perfect craft for families as well as groups such as schools and clubs. We love the way ours look hanging on our Willy wonka themed Christmas tree and the best part is if they’re done right they’re super durable which means they’ll last for years to come!
Here’s what we used
Pipe cleaners
Beads
Thread/ribbon
How to make our beaded candy cane ornaments
Take your first bead and thread it on to one end of your pipe cleaner. Bend the pipe cleaner around the bead and then twist the two section of pipe cleaners together to secure.
Now thread the remaining beads on to your pipe cleaner. My daughter has been learning all about patterns at school so for us this was a perfect opportunity to practise repeating patterns.
Take the loose end of pipe cleaner and tuck it back in through the beads and then twist it firmly to the main body of the pipe cleaner to secure.
Take a length of your thread or festive ribbon and thread it through two of the top beads. Tie it onto a secure loop and cut off any excess. Twist the loop so that the knot is hidden inside the beads and then your super cute beaded candy cane ornaments are ready to hang!
When it comes to Christmas movies the fist one we usually watch as a family is home alone, the kids think it’s hilarious and we think it’s hilarious listening to them laughing at it! For me though I think the most cosy and nostalgic film to cuddle up with at Christmas is Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory. I’ve watched it every single year since I can remember. I love a good musical and something about it is just so magical and in my opinion Gene wilder is nothing short of enchanting. So after watching it together I thought it would be nice to follow on by making some sweet little Willy Wonka inspired Christmas decorations and after a while we came up with these adorable polymer clay lollipop ornaments. It took a little bit of practice but after a few tries my little boy was making them in minutes!
Here’s what we used
Polymer clay
Cocktail sticks
Bow
Glue
Eye pins (optional!)
Thread
How to make our polymer clay lollipop ornaments.
Take equal portions of your chosen colours and roll them into individual balls.
Roll your colours into sausages of equal length and thicknesses. Press the colours together, if you have multiple colours stack them in twos.
Squeeze the ends of the colors to secure them together and then twist the stick of colors round and round to give you this fun stripy pattern!
Take one end of your clay and begin twisting it around into a spiral lollipop shape. Insert a cocktail stick in to the bottom of the lollipop. you’ll also need to make a hole to thread the string through so that you can hang it. We used eyelet rings so we made a small hole in the top edge to place one in but if you don’t have these you can simply use a cocktail stick to pierce a hole in the front of the outer ring so that you can attach some string once baked. Place it in to the oven to bake, times will vary depending on the brand you use, for us it was 130 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Once baked place on the side to cool slowly.
Once cool Glue a bow onto the bottom of the spiral and then thread through the string to hang your ornament with. Your super sweet Lollipops are ready to hang on the tree!
