Girl Scout Troop 704
Girl Scout Troop 704
Materials Needed
12 mm faceted crystal bead 10 mm faceted crystal bead
32 small crystal bugle beads 26 gauge wire
Metallic thread Hot Glue Gun (use with an adult's help!)
Instructions:
Hot glue the 12 mm. and a 10 mm. faceted crystal bead together hole to hole.
Cut 4 wires, approximately 3-4 inches long, and string each wire with 8 small crystal bugle beads. Leave about a 1/2 inch gap between the first 4 beads and the last 4 beads.
Bend the ends of the wire so the beads won't fall off.
Twist the 4 wires together at the 1/2 inch gap, forming 8 legs.
Hot glue the twisted section of the legs to the underside of the crystal beads, right where the 2 crystal beads join together.
Take approximately 10" of silver metallic thread and tie it around the middle of the spider, and tie the ends together to make a loop for hanging.
Bend legs to look like a spider.
This is adorable and very simple!
The directions above are general directions to give you an idea. We didn't use the beads listed in the directions because we couldn't find what we were looking for. Any two different size beads/balls will work. We found some garland with gold balls on it and cut the garland apart. The key is to have two slightly different size balls to make the head and body. I remember making these with my mother when I was young and my spider long ago broke, so I wanted to do this again. The one I had years ago was made from two small different size of gold glass ball ornaments. I remember this spider done in gold so that is the color I prefer, but you could use whatever color you like. I also add little bead eyes to my spider. If you use the faceted crystal beads you could probably turn this into a swap by gluing a pin on the bottom.
Here's the Legend that goes with the Spider. If you don't like the legend don't use it. These still make a neat ornament to hang anywhere.
On Christmas Eve, a long time ago, a gentle mother was busily cleaning the house for the most wonderful day of the year... Christmas day, the day on which the little Christ child came to bless the house. Not a speck of dust was left. Even the spiders had been banished from their cozy corner on the ceiling. They had fled to the farthest corner of the attic.
The Christmas tree was beautifully decorated. The poor spiders were frantic, for they could not see the tree, nor be present for the little Christ child's visit. Then the oldest and wisest spider suggested that perhaps they could wait until everyone went to bed and then get a closer look.
When the house was dark and silent, the spiders crept out of their hiding place. When they neared the Christmas tree, they were delighted with the beauty of it. The spiders crept all over the tree, up and down, over the branches and twigs and saw every one of the pretty things.
The spiders loved the Christmas tree. All night long they danced in the branches, leaving them covered with spider webs. In the morning, when the little Christ child came to bless the house, he was dismayed! He loved the little spiders for they were God's creatures, but he knew the mother, who had worked so hard to make everything perfect, would not be pleased when she saw what the spiders had done.
With love in his heart and a smile on his lips, the little Christ child reached out and gently touched the spider webs. The spider webs started to sparkle and shine! They had all turned into sparkling, shimmering silver and gold.
According to legend, ever since this happened, people have hung tinsel on their Christmas trees. It has also become a custom to include a spider among the decorations on the Christmas tree.
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