Ice stars

Make a handful of decorations in a twinkling

by Mindi Hawman
figure 1

I
ve always been fascinated by stars. Theres nothing more uplifting than
seeing the sky full of them on a clear winters night. The sparkle of
beads, of course, suggests the twinkle of stars. So why not bead a star?
These stars are so quick and fun to make, youll want a constellation of them!
They can be stitched together into necklaces, bracelets, or earrings, but I
like to use them to decorate a window or a tree. One year I made an office figure 2
tree for my chums, filling a miniature potted tree with tiny white lights and
hundreds of stars. Last March, I filled a tree with white and gold stars for
the guests at the rehearsal dinner for my sons wedding. A friend of mine
uses them to embellish quilts. I never grow tired of making them. The possi-
ble combinations like the universe are infinite.

stepbystep
Thread a needle with 2 ft. (.6m)
of Nymo. Pick up 5 110 seed beads
and go back through all 5 again, tight-
ening the beads into a ring and leaving
a 3 in. (7.5cm) tail. Sew through 2 more
beads, holding the tail to keep the
tension snug.
Pick up a bead and sew through the
next bead in the ring. Go around the
ring, adding a bead between each bead.
Sew through the first bead added in this
step (figure 1).
Pick up 3 beads and sew through the
next bead on the second round. Add 3
beads between each of the beads on the
second round. Sew out through the
middle bead of the first 3 beads added
in this step (figure 2).
There are 2 variations for adding
the stars points:
a. Pick up 6 seed beads and sew back
through the third bead picked up (fig-
ure 3). Snug up the tension. Pick up 2
more beads and sew through the middle
bead on the next group of 3 beads (fig-
ure 4). Add 4 more points to complete
the star.
b. Pick up a seed bead, a bugle bead,
and 4 seed beads. Go back through the
first seed bead after the bugle (figure 5).
Pick up a bugle bead and a seed bead
and go through the middle bead on the
next group of 3 beads. Add 4 more
points to complete the star. figure 3
Sew back through the beads to the
tail. Without removing the needle, tie
the working thread and tail into a sur-
geons knot (figure 6). Dab the knot
with glue or clear nail polish and sew
through a few beads with the working
thread. Tug the knot into a bead and
trim the threads close to the beads.
To stiffen the star, use a trick I
learned from NanC Meinhardt. Dip the
star into Future floor wax. Blot it with a figure 4
paper towel and let it dry. To hang a
star, string some nylon filament through
one of its points.
Contact Mindi at 905 Ballaine Rd., Fair-
banks, AK 99709 or (907) 479-2806.
materials
110 Seed beads, 2-4mm bugle beads, figure 5
square-cut or other small seed beads
Nymo D
Nylon filament
#12 beading needles
G-S Hypo Cement or clear nail polish
Future floor wax (optional) figure 6
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