If you have enjoyed my DIY beaded spiders, DIY beaded leaves, and DIY beaded crescent moons, I have a new beaded ornament tutorial to share: how to make a DIY beaded dragonfly ornament. Cricut gifted me a Cricut Maker 3 to make the wings and they turned out so perfectly! Am I *technically* making these dragonflies for my Mom’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Christmas tree theme? Yes. But are they also super cute for spring and summer decor? Definitely!
Hang some of these beaded dragonflies in a window for some sparkle – or string them together to make a bedazzled garland for your mantel. I’m going to add them to a beautifully full, faux flower wreath – until I have to hand them over to my Mom, that is… Here’s what you’ll need to make your own beaded dragonflies!
Beaded Dragonfly Supplies:
- 16 gauge wire
- Needle nose pliers
- Scissors
- Beads of various sizes*
- Cricut Acetate
- Cricut cutting machine (I used my new Cricut Maker 3)
- Cricut standard grip cutting mat
*A note on the beads: whatever you choose, make sure they can fit onto the 16 gauge wire. I raided my craft stash and used up all kinds of odds and ends for these beaded dragonflies. This would be a perfect project for re-purposing old jewelry! If you’re shopping for new beads, lampwork beads (like these ones or these glow in the dark ones) are really fun for this.
How to Make Acetate Wings with a Cricut Maker 3:
When I first envisioned making these beaded dragonflies, I considered using resin or beaded wire to make the wings – but then I realized that a Cricut cutting machine could help me cut very intricate and ethereal wings, with little to no effort!
I used Cricut Foil Acetate and my new Cricut Maker 3 to cut out the wings – using a ready-made dragonfly design from Cricut Design Space. That means I didn’t need to design anything – I just sized the dragonfly image I wanted to use and clicked “make it“. It’s basically “click and cut” – it could not have been easier! Here’s the link to this project, all ready to go, if you’d like to try making your own DIY beaded dragonfly ornament! I just used scissors to snip the body and head off because I only needed the wings from the design I chose. I liked this dragonfly design specifically (there are many available), because there were holes in the body, so I could easily wrap the wings around a bead and string onto my wire. Ready to make your own Cricut dragonfly wings? First, peel the film from the acetate:
Place the acetate on a standard grip cutting (foil side up, if using Cricut’s foil acetate sheets). Choose a dragonfly design and size to approximately 6″ wide (here’s the link). Click “make it” and follow the prompts, choosing “Acetate” as the material. Allow your Cricut cutting machine to work its magic!
Gently peel off the design from the cutting mat – the cut pieces will pop right out. Using scissors, snip off the head and tail – I marked the spot with arrows in the photo below.
How to Make a DIY Beaded Dragonfly Ornament:
Basically, the body is just a line of beads on wire – embellished with a pair of Cricut wings!
Cut 16 gauge wire to approximately 6″ long. Using the pliers, form a little curlicue or loop at one end to keep the beads from sliding off. Straighten the wire and slide on the beads, starting smallest to largest
When you reach the last bead before the head, thread on the Cricut acetate wings. Then add the largest bead for the head. Here is a close up so you can see how the Cricut dragonfly wings are attached:
As the final step, trim the excess wire, and form a loop or curlicue to secure the beads. You can also use this loop to hang the dragonfly, in a window or on a tree, or stitch through this loop to affix it to something (like garland, or a wreath).
Here’s the finished DIY beaded dragonfly ornament! You can shape the wire a bit, bending the “tail” a little to soften the straightness and create an every so slightly more realistic bead dragonfly.
I love how the Cricut acetate flutters with the slightest breeze or movement – and the acetate really catches the light. Thanks to my new Cricut Maker 3, these dragonflies take only a few minutes to make.
P.S. Don’t Forget to Pin for Later!
This makes me want to go out & buy a cricket. Love this! Thank you for sharing.
Author
I will say that I have had a lot of fun with my Cricut, and my husband and enjoyed using it too. We’ve used it for practical things (like letters on our boat mooring and boat), and we’ve made t-shirts together along with other Christmas ornaments. It’s been really versatile, although it is a big expensive at first. But there are so many ways to use it around the house, beyond crafts. I’m glad you liked this ornament idea! Thanks so much for your kind comment.
Tanya,
Thank you for the super cute craft tutorial! I plan to use this as a mother’s day art project for my students. I have a question about the acetate wings. I downloaded the file for my Circut from your link; however, it seems to be locked into a set of four wings set for a traditional 8.5 x 11 paper size.
I am ordering 12 x 12 acetate sheets and need to make about a dozen of the wings. I would like to be able to put as many wings on a sheet as possible. Do you know how to ungroup the wing patterns? I tried to ungroup them, but could only duplicate, which does not fit on a 12 x 12. Is there a way to cut out some and just have one that I can duplicate? I am fairly new to Circut and have only ever cut paper for classroom door décor or bulletin board displays.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Author
If you search #M883F60B in Images (in Cricut Design Space), you’ll find the single image, unsized and ungrouped. You can then add that to your canvas and size/orient any way you’d like!
It’s a cute project. So I made one but don’t have a Cricut. what to do.. I made them out of tiny beads and wrapped them around in place
I’ll have to play around with it. Gave it a shot. Thanks
Author
I love that idea! You could even try maybe gluing a sheer fabric around a wing shaped from wire. Or using an exacto knife to cut this kind of material – but in a simpler shape. Lots of options! Happy crafting and I’d love to see what you make.
Love this idea. I don’t have a circuit cutting machine. I like the idea of making these wings with sheer material. I made Barbie leg “A Christmas Story” leg lamp. I have sheer material so I will be able to do that.
Great idea and fantastic directions. Thank you for sharing.
Author
Hi Kathy, I’d love to see your wings made with sheer material when you’re finished! Such a great alternative 🙂
Absolutely love your dragonflies. I would love to make a few as gifts using cremains beads. Unfortunately, I also do not own a Cricut (3). Would you consider selling pre-cut wings? I would definitely order a few.
I love these Dragonflies ordering the things right away! Thank you for sharing. I was wondering where you got the little heart bead dishes?
Author
I’m so happy you feel inspired to make them! The heart shaped dishes are egg cups. I thrifted them, but they are by a company called Iittala and you can find them on etsy sometimes.
Hi thank you for the instructions. I noticed you mentioned Cricut clear acetate sheets that you used and then you mention you used Cricut foil acetate sheets. For the pictures of the dragonflies what did you use?
Author
I used foil acetate sheets – they have little sparkly bits and that’s the big difference. But I believe Cricut no longer sells them, so I also suggest the clear ones in my post as that is what was more readily available at time of writing. They will still flutter and be exactly the same, with the same cut settings, the only difference is that decorative sparkly bit,
Very cute dragonflies!! Love the multi color beads as a head on the dragonfly. I’m hoping to make a few and just hang them from my window. Do you sell the little wings if someone did not have use of the machine to make them?
Author
So glad you like this project! I don’t sell the wings, but you could make them from wire and then bead or wrap a sheer piece of fabric around as an alternative. If you’re really patient, you could use an exacto knife to cut a simplified version from acrylic sheets. Lots of different ways to make them if you don’t have a Cricut. Happy crafting!
I’m trying to make this project for kids at my church and I’m struggling with getting the wings to cut all the way through. Little bits are getting stuck on my blade. I’ve tried a new mat to ensure they are sticking down but it’s still not working. Any tips on blade type or pressure?
Author
Which Cricut machine do you have? Cricut has guides for cutting all of their materials, for which machine you have, etc., so I recommend defaulting to their settings. My Joy didn’t want to cut it, even though it technically should be abl,. but my Maker 3 had no issues. I did start with a brand new blade, though, but then I just followed the prompts for the rest – no special hacks or anything.