Crafting is a really great way to express yourself, and you can have a lot of fun exploring your creative side while doing it. Although bead crafts can be quite tedious, the final product is something you can cherish forever. Hopefully, this list of bead craft ideas, ranging from children’s crafts to more complex bead crafts for the seasoned crafter, will inspire people of all ages. Here are some bead craft ideas that you won’t be able to put down once you get started.
20 Simple bead crafts you should try
1. Hanging Beaded Garland
This cute hanging beaded garland from She’s Crafty and She Knows It will make an adorable addition to your home! This craft allows room for customization, as you’ll use your choice of stamp to create a symbol or message that is meaningful to you. You’ll stamp the lettering on adorable wooden circles to make a personalized home decor item.
2. DIY Beaded Earrings
Not only are beaded earrings an enjoyable craft to make, but they’re also so much fun to flaunt your creation after they’re completed. These adorable teardrop earrings from Consumer Crafts have a unique pattern and are really beautiful. As with any craft, feel free to mix up the colors and really make the design of the earrings your own!
3. Christmas Tree Bead Pin
If you’re looking for a fun craft for your kids to do this holiday season, these Christmas tree bead pins from Rock-a-bye Parents are adorable and sure to keep your child busy and entertained. You will need 12 safety pins, one yellow bead, six blue beads, seven red beads, 36 green beads, 60 white beads, a butter knife, and some pliers. This craft doesn’t allow for much customization, as there is a specific pattern that needs to be followed to ensure the final product looks like a Christmas tree!
4. DIY Beaded Tassel Necklace
You’ll make quite the fashion statement in these beaded tassel necklaces by Made in a Day and have all of your friends asking where you got them. Instead of using a bead wire to make this necklace, it’s recommended that you use a nylon string because it will look and feel better in the end. You can customize this necklace to match your personal style and then pair it with a cute outfit for a super stylish look.
5. DIY Snowflake Ornament
This bead craft is so pretty it might end up on your own tree, but you know what they say — handmade gifts are so much more meaningful than store-bought ones. If you agree with this statement, then you’ll love this simple snowflake ornament from The Bead Club Lounge. This gorgeous piece will make the perfect gift idea this holiday season. Your friends and family will love the unique beaded pattern, but they’ll also love that you made the gift especially for them.
6. DIY Beaded Spider
Even if you don’t particularly love spiders, you will love this craft. This creepy crawler bead craft idea from The Crafty Blog Stalker is so intricate and satisfying to finish. The final outcome of this beaded spider craft will truly be a piece of art. You can even consider using your new spider friend as a fun Halloween decoration!
7. Beaded American Flag
This children’s craft from Clarks Condensed is a super cute and festive craft to make for the 4th of July! The kids may even be so proud of their little finished products that they’ll want to hang their new patriotic keychains on their backpacks when the school year starts in August. This craft has a specific pattern to ensure that the beaded project ends up looking like the American flag. If your kids mess up the specific pattern that is required, it’s okay because they’ve made a new country! Wouldn’t you agree that we need creative thinkers like that in our world?
8. Beaded Wreath
Does the name Joanna Gaines ring a bell to you? If your answer was of course, then our guess is that you probably love farmhouse decor. This beaded wreath from Home Talk just screams rustic farmhouse decor. You’ll need to get some nice fake greenery to complete this beaded wreath. It’s super simple and inexpensive to make, and it will make a stunning homemade piece to put on the front door of your home.
9. Tassel and Wood Bead Keychain
This tassel and wood bead keychain from French Blue Cottage is a craft that the whole family will enjoy designing. This craft is great because everyone can customize their own keychain. They can choose different ribbon styles and paint the beads in different colors and designs to fit their own personal aesthetic. Even the person in your family who isn’t really into crafting will have fun getting creative to make these keychains.
10. Beaded Drink Coaster
These bead coasters from Craft Klatch are perfect for someone that is new to making bead crafts. The fun part about this project is that you can play with the color scheme and design a pattern you’ll love! You could make these coasters colorful so that they add a pop of color to that coffee table in your home, or you could go with seasonal colored beads for a more festive design. After you string your beads onto a fishing line, you’re already a majority of the way there. It’s also important to keep in mind that you’ll need a cork round to act as the base of your coaster.
11. DIY Macrame Keychain
Macrame keychains are really trendy at the moment. While this craft isn’t explicitly a bead craft, we’ve included this macrame keychain from Curly Made on this list because the beads are still an essential part of the craft. You’ll need to have five meters of waxed cotton cords, two wooden beads, and a swivel lobster clip on hand to be able to follow along with the video tutorial that really breaks down the process into step by step instructions.
12. Beaded Hemp Wish Bracelet
Wish bracelets are a timeless project that holds a special meaning behind the craft. These beaded hemp wish bracelets from Yes Missy are great because there are so many options for customization, from the color of hemp strings and beads to picking out the cute little charms that have significance to you. You can also decide whether you want your bracelet to be single-stranded, double-stranded, or multi-stranded. This bead craft would be a really fun activity to do with your kids or friends on a rainy day stuck indoors.
13. Beaded Daisy Bracelet
This beaded daisy bracelet idea from Honestly WTF is one of my absolute favorites because it’s just too cute! Though this craft does take a little more time and effort than most of the other crafts listed, the finished bracelet will be so worth it. These daisy bracelets are trendy for all ages, so anyone from six years old to ninety-six years-old would certainly look adorable wearing this style of bracelet.
14. Kumihimo Beaded Bracelet
Congratulations because you have just come across the most complex craft on our entire list! So if you have a hard time with classic friendship bracelets, then this is not the craft for you. This is definitely a project for a seasoned crafter that will appreciate this intricate kumihimo beaded bracelet idea from Adventures of a DIY Mom. If you’ve had some success as a bead crafter in the past, you’ll have a blast making this beautiful beaded bracelet, despite the tedious process. We also know you’ll love wearing the gorgeous finished product!
15. Pony Bead Fish
This pony bead fish project from It Happens in a Blink is a super simple craft all the way around. You will only need pony beads and fuzzy sticks for a bead craft that’s perfect for younger children. If you start children out with these types of easier bead crafts when they’re young, they’ll be able to complete the more difficult projects, like the kumihimo bracelet, as they become more experienced. Kids are sure to thoroughly enjoy making these cute little beaded fish.
16. Halloween Wood Bead Garland
This Halloween wood bead garland from Eighteen 25 is a festive craft that will make a really cute Halloween decoration item for your home. This bead project also involves a lot of painting, which makes the process that much more fun! You could paint the beads however you’d like; you may even decide to incorporate this idea for a different holiday and change the color scheme completely.
17. DIY Beaded Bobby Pins
Grab some of your old bobby pins lying around and add some flair to them by using this DIY beaded bobby pin idea from Oh My Creative. All you need is some thin jewelry wire, wire cutters, and your bead of choice to create these super cute and functional beaded bobby pins. They’re also incredibly quick and easy to make, so why not give this bead craft a try!
18. Beaded Suncatchers
This beaded suncatcher project from Chica Circle would be a fun project the whole family could enjoy making! It’s different from every other project on this list because all you really have to do for this bead craft is melt the colored plastic pony beads in a cupcake tin to turn them into beautiful little suncatchers. Please note that only adults should melt the beads on the grill, but the kids can certainly watch!
19. DIY Beaded Statement Necklace
Necklaces are always really fun to make because you get to express yourself creatively and then wear your completed project afterward. With this beaded statement necklace idea from Restyle. Restore. Rejoice, you can create and customize your necklace in just under an hour. You will be able to rock your new statement necklace out on the town and impress all of your fashionista friends!
20. Beaded Pipe Cleaner Butterflies
This cute little butterfly beaded pipe cleaner project from One Little Project is great for a spring or summer project and simple enough for children of all ages. Kids will enjoy crafting the shape and choosing the colors and crafting the shape of their butterfly. Using some pipe cleaners, pony beads, glitter, glue, and a clothespin, you and your child can create a bead craft that results in the cutest little butterflies that the kids can enjoy playing with afterward!
Bead crafts are amazing projects for people of all ages because there are many different levels of difficulty. Hopefully, you can find an idea listed that inspired you to craft with beads, whether it be a simple project or a more challenging one. Many of these bead crafts have the option to add extra customization, so you can let your creativity fly! Crafting has this special ability to promote creativity and happiness at the same time. Perhaps one of the bead crafts included on this list will bring some added positivity into your life. Happy crafting!