Feb 28, 2011

DIY : Beaded Dragon Fly

      This weekend I had a visit from a friend and after long hours of chatting , sharing updates we were looking for some easy to make crafts to keep ourselves occupied. We came upon some tutorials for beaded dragonfly patterns while we were looking for easy jewelery making instructions and though we have followed the same steps as given in the original tutorial here,   I want to give the step-by-step instructions  as we have made slight modifications to the original tutorial by adding beads to the fly's wings too to add some more bling .  


You might not get the correct shape the first time itself, but once you try it out again, its just so easy to make and you can finish it in '15 minutes'. I got it right the second time and see how cute my little dragonfly looks in my fruit bowl and curtain.



You can also try two different color combination of beads - This gold and transparent bead combination was tried out by my friend and it has turned out lovely... !!!

Materials Needed

Wire               - 12 inch long. (The wire must be easy enough to bend with your fingers)
Seed Beads    - 1 small packet (Approx 100 for a medium sized dragonfly)
Larger Beads  - 9 No (For the body)

Steps for the tutorial are seen underneath each corresponding picture.
 
The dragonfly looks better when contrast 
color combination is used for the wings and the body.
Fold the wire in half. Twist the end to form a loop as
shown in the figure so that the beads don't fall off.
Slide the larger beads (approx 7) over both the wires.
Slide the smaller seed beads over one half of the  wire
as shown above.
Form a small loop  (This makes the wing)
 using the  beaded half as shown above.
 Tuck the looped wing portion behind the straight wire (body)
so that the beads donot fall off.
Now, Slide beads in the other half of the wire as shown above.
Form a loop on the other half of the same size as done earlier.
Now bring the left-over wire upwards and slide the beads in 
the right half as shown. Slide more beads (almost double)
since this will be used for the larger wings.
Make a loop on the right hand side slightly bigger
than the first two loops.
Slide beads in the left hand wire and form another bigger 
loop above the smaller one as shown in the figure.
Twist the wires at the back to secure the beads and
bring both the wires up from behind. 
Slide two bigger beads over both the wires to form the head portion.
Trim the excess wire and slide one smaller bead on each wire.
Curl the trimmed end and twist the wire inwards to form the antennae. 

I am linking this to the following blog parties :  DIY carnival at the Key Bunch, the  Weekend Wrap Up party at Colors Dekor, CraftOManiac Monday, Mad skills party, Craft Link Party  and the blog party here .

15 comments:

  1. Absolutely cute Emreen!! I liked this one the best out of all those linked in this weekend wrap-up at Patty's :))Very neat creation.

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  2. It's gorgeous! Thanks for linking up to our carnival!:)

    Sharon

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  3. Your dragonflies are beautiful!

    Thanks so much for stopping by the Back Porch.

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  4. Hi! Your beaded draonflies are very cute! Thanks for showing us how it is done.

    Thank you also for your visit to my blog. I'm happy you liked my centerpiece! :)

    Donna

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  5. @Ambika : Thanks a lot for such a lovely and gracious comment !!!
    @Sharon : Thanks a lot !!
    @Pat, Donna : Thanks for dropping by !! Am glad that you liked it ;-) ;-)

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  6. Emreen.. wow! wow!! thats super impressive!! I loved that.. and you've made it look so so simple.. Im going to have to try that for sure!! Lovely!! I like the colours you've used in the first one as well... :-)

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  7. @Patty : Thanks a lot. And Yes, its very simple...!! You can finish it in 10 to 15 mins..!!
    @Deepi : Thanks for dropping by...and for the lovely comment !!

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  8. Your dragonflies are supercute! I think these are great crafts for kids too to try out....your instructions make something that looks complicated actually appear very simple...very nice!

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  9. Looks really easy, bookmarked for my daughters summer activities. Thanks for linking in the carnival.

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  10. @Kary,Rekha :Thanks a lot kary. Yes , it's very simple to do and even kids can do it easily...,with a little supervision...;-) !!

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  11. This is so cute. You have made it look simple too. Beading work has always fascinated me but never really had the courage to try with smaller beads. You have given me courage.
    PS I am also becoming your follower.
    Love from Bangalore,India
    Dr Sonia S V
    http://cardsandschoolprojects.blogspot.com

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  12. i just got your lovely comments and checked out where it was coming from and i was like BAAM you make some seriously talented things !!!! specially those neck pieces , they are flawless . i actually want to start making jewelry and sell it but i cant get down to where can i buy the material from :( . P.s - LOVE the Dragon fly :), i am following you now :D cant wait for the new stuff :D

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  13. Hi Emreen

    Thank you for your lovely comments and came out to chkout ur blog.

    Love this tutorial and am going to try this out as soon as possible. Simple n elegant!

    Regards
    Deepa

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Thanks for stopping by to share your suggestions and thoughts with me..!! Hope you enjoyed reading my blog..;-) ;-)