Craft Review: Beaded Bugs

I have a kid home sick today, so we passed a little time making some Beaded Bugs from FamilyFun.com. These instructions come from Family Fun, but I changed a few things, mostly the length of the wires to be cut, as I felt like some of the pieces were too long and we had to cut off the excess.

Dragonfly

You will need 20 gauge wire, ruler, wire cutters, plastic beads
(12 mm, 8 mm, 6 mm, and 4 mm), needle-nose pliers.

To make a Dragonfly

To make the body, bend a 12-inch length of wire in half. Use the needle-nose pliers to curl up the end (at the bend) to form the tail. From the other end, slide nine 6 mm beads onto the doubled wire, followed by two 8 mm beads and finally one 12 mm bead for the head. Set the body aside and make the wings. 

To make the wings, thread eighty... yes 80... 6 mm beads onto a 20-inch length of wire (Bend the ends to keep the beads from sliding off). Shape the upper portion of the strand into a figure 8 for the top set of wings (25 beads per wing); then shape the lower third into a smaller set of wings (15 beads per wing). 

Set the body on top of the wings and attach by wrapping the wire ends of the wings around the body wire between the 8 mm beads. 

Finally, place a 4 mm bead near the tip end of each of the remaining body wires and curl them to form antennae.

My daughter (she's 7) needed a little help in forming the wings, but other than that, this was a very easy project for her to accomplish.

The neighbor girl was here for a few hours, too, and she
made a caterpillar.

Neighbor Girl is 3, and she found it too difficult to thread the beads onto the double wire. She didn't stick with the project for very long, but she did enjoy playing with her caterpillar once it was made.

To make a Caterpillar

Bend a 14-inch length of wire in half and curl the bent end to form the tip of the tail. Slide five 8 mm beads onto the doubled wire, then two 12 mm beads, then two more 8 mm beads, and finally one 12 mm bead to make the head.

Place a 4 mm bead onto the tip of each wire coming from the head and curl them to form the antennae.

For legs, cut three 2-inch lengths of wire. Tightly wrap the center of each wire once around the body wire between beads and then shape the feet. We put the back set of legs between the 3rd and 4th beads, the second between the 5th and 6th, and the 3rd between the 7th and 8th beads.

Cute Caterpillars

To make a Baby Beetle

Cut two 4-inch lengths and two 2-1/2-inch lengths of wire and thread all 4 through a 12 mm bead to make the bug's body. Bend 2 ends of the 2 longer wires upward and slide on an 8 mm bead for a head. Bend the rest of the wires down to form 6 legs. Thread a 4 mm bead onto the tip of each wire from the head and curl them to form antennae. Finally, shape the feet.

Baby Beetles

These bugs have come to life. My daughter really enjoyed making one of each, and the Neighbor Girl was proud to show hers off to her Paw Paw when he came to pick her up.

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy -- to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. —Jude 1:24-25