Craft me Happy!: Mini Hama Bead Wreath Christmas card

A few days ago I blogged about the Hama bead Christmas wreath that I designed. It's gracing our tree as I type.

Do please have a look at it here, I go into quite a bit more detail about using Hama beads than in this post.

I couldn't help but wonder how the wreath would look made out of mini Hama beads.

I've made a couple of projects out of mini Hama beads - a Christmas pudding card and a portrait. I love the definition they give to a design - they are also incredibly cute! Every Christmas I like to send a few handmade cards to people close to me that appreciate all things handmade and I knew that this wreath would look even better in miniature.

Now, if you've never seen mini Hama beads, I should warn you that they are tiny - I mean really small! Standard midi Hama beads are 5mm in diameter, while mini Hama beads are just 2mm wide.

Here they are next to each other as a comparison. The hexagon pegboards above have the same number of pegs on them, but the mini Hama bead hexagon pegboard will sit comfortably in an adult's hand. I should probably point out that the recommended age for mini Hama beads is 10+. I fear that my 9 year old wouldn't have the dexterity and co-ordination to handle them without getting extremely frustrated! I personally like to pick up and place my mini Hama beads with tweezers as I find that it gives me a little more control. I find it also helps to sit under a bright light - my eyesight is not what it used to be!

Update - 27/04/2020

I've recently made a time-lapse video of me making a mini wreath for a birthday card that gives you a bit more of an idea of the technique I use to build up the mini Hama bead wreath.

I didn't actually have a mini hexagon pegboard and so the cheapest way of getting one delivered to me was to buy this mixed set for making owls that came with Hama beads, ironing paper and a mini hexagon pegboard.

When I'm using Mini Hama beads I like to store them in these stacking bead boxes, which thankfully have a lid for each colour.

Another useful tip I've discovered is that dropping pinches of each colour onto a large mini Hama beadboard creates almost a small palette for you to easily tweeze your colours from. It prevents them from rolling away, but still helps to keep each colour close at hand.

Here's a printable pattern of the original Hama bead wreath. I didn't have dark red or gold in mini Hama beads, so I substituted them with burgundy and mustard (or Winnie the Pooh brown), but any complementary colours would work.

Here's the un-ironed wreath on the pegboard. Once I'd got my work area set up and I picked up speed, one of these little wreaths took me about three-quarters of an hour.

Here's the back of the wreath when I'd run an iron over it. I should probably say that mini Hama beads are a little more difficult to iron than midi sized ones as they are so small and light. You need to be very confident and firm with your iron and run it over the whole design for at least 10 seconds before you attempt to lift off your iron to have a look - this I have learned from experience!

To make the card I printed Merry Christmas onto some 9cm x 11cm cards. The font is Lainie Day SH if you wanted to print and make your own.

To assemble the cards I simply stuck the Hama bead wreath on with extra strong double-sided sticky tape. I did make some little bows to stick underneath, but they just looked too fussy. The bows would have also made the cards too thick for a second class stamp, so that certainly helped with my decision!

I managed to make 4 cards in this colourway.

Out of curiosity, and in the name of frugality, I thought it might be interesting to see how a wreath would look in the mini Hama beads that came with the owl Hama bead set I purchased with the mini hexagon Hama beadboard.

I love it just as much as the traditional Christmas wreath! The colours are a lot more spring-like, so I turned it into a birthday card instead.

Here are the mini and midi wreaths side by side, just to illustrate again how small and delicate the mini Hama beads are.

I'm so pleased with how my mini Christmas wreath turned out. It reminds me a little of a vintage cross-stitch sampler. Maybe I'll find a little square frame to put one in for next year...

Copyright - I have provided the free pattern for personal use. Make them for yourself or give them as gifts, sell them to raise funds for charity but please do not sell them for profit.

If you post images of your own versions on the internet, please link back to this page.

Thank you.