Bangle & Bauble Ornament
The black Daffy spangle stands out beautifully on gold prismatic paper.
This green prismatic paper is so reflective around the gold Marvin Martian spangle that it's difficult to get a clear photo. The ornament is quite sparkly in real life.
On a trip to the thrift store, I purchased several children's bangle bracelets to make ornaments for my Looney Tunes tree. They are small -- about 2 1/2" in diameter -- but they're just right to frame a tiny bauble.
The metal in some of them is fairly malleable, and some of the bracelets had slightly deformed; they weren't much use for frames, but I salvaged them to make the spiral and zigzag drops for the ornaments.
For each ornament, you will need a bangle bracelet and a small bauble that fits inside with a little room to spare.
I started by gluing fused bead trim around the inside edge of the bracelet (I used 4mm size). To do this, first cut a length of the bead trim to fit; about 6" of the trim was perfect for my small bangle, but the length you need will depend on the size of the bracelet you're using.
Use a toothpick to apply a bead of strong glue like GOOP or E6000 along the entire inner rim. Lay the glued bangle flat (protect your surface with foil or waxed paper if you don't want to get glue on it) and lay the beads around the inside of the bangle, pressing them against the glued rim.
As soon as the glue has grabbed, pick up the bracelet and go around the edge with your fingers, pressing the beads into place to be sure they're stuck down. Then hang the bangle on a hook to let the glue dry (you don't want to risk gluing the whole thing to your work surface).
To make the spiral drop, select a second bracelet that is soft enough to bend into shape. Cut it with wire cutters, and then form a spiral by wrapping it around a 1/2" dowel or other similar object. (The zigzag drop is made simply by bending the cut bracelet back and forth rather than coiling it.) Form a small loop in each end using your round-nosed pliers.
Now for a dangle to hang in the center. If you have one, a small figure or tiny ornament is ideal choice. I didn't have any suitable small Looney Tunes baubles, so I made my own. Each is created from two 1 1/4" button badges, which are just the right size to swing freely inside my bangles. The silhouettes of the characters are Looney Tunes confettios, on a background of prismatic wrapping paper. I glued the finished buttons back-to-back with GOOP, and trimmed them out with metallic braid. (For hanging, sandwich a small loop of fine wire between the two buttons before gluing them).
Once the glue is dry on the bead trim, the dangle and drop are attached to the bracelet using a jump ring; make sure the ring is large enough to fit around the bracelet, the wire drop, and the dangle. Add an ornament hook and you're done!
NOT JUST FOR LOONEY TUNES . . . !
And of course you can make the bangle ornament in any color combination and with any theme.
For the Minion version at left, I happened to have a yellow bangle bracelet and a tiny figurine that just fit into the middle. In keeping with the yellow-blue color scheme, I used dark blue bead trim on the inside of the bracelet.
A gold coil drop made from a second bracelet completes the ornament, though you could also use a beaded segment instead, as I did on the Mickey ornament below.
Needless to say, an adult-sized bracelet would accommodate a somewhat larger figurine.
To make the Mickey ornament, I started with a red bangle and used black bead trim for an accent. The bangle already had some glitter around the edge, but I added more red glitter glue to the sides for additional sparkle.
I didn't have a Mickey figure, so I made the bauble from two 1 1/4" buttons, just as I did for the Looney Tunes versions above. To make the Mickey shapes, I used a paper punch on black paper, then backed the shapes with a shiny moire style wrapping paper to make the buttons.
The spiral drop on this ornament is a beaded version made from 18-gauge craft wire and red, black, and iridescent beads.
For the Purple Hearts ornament, I chose a small white bangle with gold overtones, and glued purple fused bead trim inside. The dangles in the middle are constructed of beads from my crafting stash -- two hearts plus some faceted beads and spacers.
To personalize the ornament with the couple's initials, I strung alphabet beads and spacer beads on a length of wire and made a small loop at each end. Then I threaded two jump rings through the bead trim and around the bangle at points where they would catch the ends of the alphabet component. I used additional smaller jump rings to attach the letters so they can swing slightly from the jump rings, adding additional movement.
The Tea for Two ornament is made from a yellow-gold bangle and red metallic fused bead trim. The heart and teapot are from my bead stash.
I made the "tea for two" component using a length of 18 gauge wire, on which I strung alphabet beads and spacers. As for the initials in the previous ornament, I linked the letters to the ornament using jump rings. For each end, attach one ring one around the bangle and add a second to join the alphabet component.
I skipped the spiral on this ornament -- I think the holly adds sufficient visual interest at the top.