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Craft: Sparkling Sun Catcher

Craft: Sparkling Sun Catcher

Total Time Needed: 1-2 Hours

A bit gray outside? No worries. Hung in a window, this bejeweled, dancing sun catcher will coax the sun back in no time.

Materials

2 1/2 feet of 20-gauge beading wire

25 to 30 translucent colored beads

Ruler

Wire snips

Spice bottle or similarly shaped object (optional, for molding)

Clear fishing line

Instructions

Sparkling Sun Catcher step 1

1. Bend and twist a hanging loop at one end of the wire.

Sparkling Sun Catcher step 2

2. Thread a bead onto the other end of the wire and push it up until it sits about 1 inch from the bottom of the hanging loop. Bend the wire in a Z shape around the bead to lock it in place, pressing the wire so that it hugs the bead tightly.

Sparkling Sun Catcher step 3

3. Thread on the rest of the beads using the same technique. We threaded ours approximately an inch apart, but you can vary the distance. Leave at least a 1 1/2-inch tail of wire after the last bead. Wrap this end snugly around the bead twice, then snip off any excess wire.

4. Mold the sun catcher into a spring by very gently wrapping it around a small spice bottle or similarly shaped item. To give it a sweet egg shape, as in our finished product, gently tighten the top and bottom coils. (You can also skip the spring-molding step and turn your sun catcher into a star or ring.)

5. Finally, tie a length of fishing line to the loop at the top and hang the sun catcher where it can sparkle in sunlight.

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