Some of my favourite Hama bead Christmas crafts

If you've been following my blog for a while, then you'll know how much I love crafting with Hama beads. As the children have grown they haven't been used as they used to be, but I still have a Hama bead cupboard in the kitchen and I have some upcoming Hama crafting plans!  

Until then, I'm sharing some of my older Hama bead posts, all with a Christmas theme, in case you are planning some festive crafting for either children or adults.

I love using Hama beads for Christmas decor, and one of my favourite things to make is Hama bead snowflakes. A long time ago I made some Hama bead snowflake bunting, and I'm currently planning some more crafts using the patterns that I created for that post. I've also created some more intricate Hama bead snowflake designs which use transparent beads to keep the structure of the snowflake intact. I've used them as mini embellishments and also to decorate a glass jar lantern.

I really love this colourful Hama bead fairy light bunting. I used a variety of beads from my stash, including a mix of solid and transparent beads, which really makes the fairy lights seem to glow. The pattern is so simple but I think it's really effective, and the finished pieces could also be used as individual hanging decorations as well as bunting.

For a sweet, personalised Hama bead gift I love these little Hama bead Christmas wreath hanging ornaments, which can also be turned into magnets. You just need to make a simple circular frame using a random selection of beads in different shades of green, add a ribbon, and find an image for the centre. I used offcuts from old Christmas cards, or you can also insert a photograph of a loved one.

Another type of ornament are these simple Hama bead bauble tree decorations. I made them with a specially shaped piece at the top which can be used to showcase some festive Christmas ribbon in a large, decorative bow. In the post I have shared the designs for two different shaped baubles.

One of my free Christmas patterns is this collection of mini Christmas themed Hama bead designs which can also be used for other pixel art crafts like cross stitch or diamond painting. I used them to make some tiny embellishments using mini Hama beads which can be used to make pin badges or as decorations for homemade Christmas cards.

I've also shared another take on the Hama bead baubles by using a palette of red and white and some different motifs to create Scandi themed Hama bead baubles. You can find the patterns in the post, and I love how customisable they are. You can make them in any colour you choose to match your decor!

These baubles even went on to inspire a selection of different Scandi themed Hama bead crafts. 

Finally, something from deep in the archives of this blog - my Hama bead Gingerbread House! This project uses the Hama bead house pegboard which is one of my favourite larger boards. You can customise it in so many different ways! This Christmas I definitely need to work on an updated version.

If you would like some more Christmas themed Hama bead craft projects then you may like these older round up posts:

Hama bead Christmas crafts and projects - a selection of festive craft projects using Hama beads for both children and adults.

Hama bead Christmas crafts for adults - more Hama bead festive crafts, but these are particularly aimed at adults with more emphasis given to working with the fiddly mini Hama beads and creating functional and decorative items.

Finally, if you are new to crafting with Hama beads then you might find this post useful - Ironing tips for Hama beads.

How to use Hama beads in crafts this Halloween

I love crafting with Hama beads, and I also love remembering some of the many Hama bead crafts that I've shared here on the blog over the years. Today I'm revisiting some of my favourites, all of them Halloween themed crafts.

If you haven't used Hama beads before then you might find this post helpful - Ironing tips for Hama beads.

Start small

If you are new to working with Hama beads or you don't want to purchase too many supplies, start by practising with some smaller pieces. I've created a set of small Halloween art pixel designs which are perfect for all sorts of projects - Halloween party place cards, keyrings, party bag gifts and favours, mini bunting, magnets, pendants...all sorts of things! They are easily made using the basic square pegboard and whatever beads you might have lying around.

Work with what you have

If you already have some Hama bead supplies then it's easy to do some Halloween Hama bead crafting just using what you already own. 

These Hama bead witch designs are made using the princess pegboard. With a bit of imagination the board can be used in lots of different ways to create some spooky witches.

I also repurposed the Hama bead house pegboard to create a Hama bead Halloween house. I just chose colours that worked with a Halloween theme and added a pumpkin and some bats.

If you have a selection of Hama bead pegboards already lying around, think about how they could also be used for Halloween themed designs. Even the basic shapes like circles, hearts or stars can become perfect Halloween decor if you use a spooky colour scheme or glow in the dark beads.

Halloween themed tableware

Following on from the above, another use for the basic circle shaped pegboard is to make some Halloween Hama bead coasters. You can find designs to copy, like the ones in my post, or just work on stripes or concentric circles in Halloween colours.

For your Halloween table you could also make some Halloween themed Hama bead napkin rings. These designs are really simple, using only the square pegboard, and by shaping them slightly when they are still warm from ironing they fit perfectly around a rolled napkin.

Halloween decorations

If you already have some suitable finished Hama bead crafts lying around the house then maybe there is a way that you can re-use them for some Halloween decor. For example, I used the Hama bead witches mentioned above to create some Hama bead witch displays using shoebox lids. We painted the lids black and used glitter and sequins to decorate before mounting the Hama bead witches.

I also used a pattern which I developed for Hama bead sugar skulls to make some Hama bead sugar skull bunting. I love how the sugar skulls use the same template yet they are all individual, and it's also a great way to use up small quantities of leftover beads.

Think about wearable accessories

This same sugar skull pattern can also be used the the tiny mini Hama beads to craft some gorgeous little sugar skull earrings. Great for Halloween themed parties!

You can also use the mini Hama beads to make some little Halloween themed pin badges. All you need to do is create the design and then add a pin badge backing. 

I hope that you liked my ideas for some Halloween themed Hama bead crafting!

Hama bead crafts for Diwali

This post contains Amazon affiliate links

I love using my Hama beads to craft for seasonal occasions, and with Diwali approaching I thought I'd share a few Diwali crafts that I've shared on the blog using one of my favourite craft materials - Hama beads!

Hama bead rangoli

Rangoli are decorative floor patterns which are created during Hindu festivals such as Diwali. The designs can be shaped as flowers or petals, or geometric designs can also be used. Rangoli are traditionally created using sand, petals or coloured rice, and welcome the goddess Lakshmi into the home. I used Hama beads to create some geometric rangoli designs using both the smaller and the larger circular Hama bead pegboards. You can find the patterns for these designs by following the links to the original blog post.

The Large Hama bead rangoli designs are very detailed, and use lots of beads. As well as making pretty Diwali decorations they could also be used as coasters for small bowls or plates.

The Small Hama bead rangoli designs use the smallest circular Hama bead pegboard and are the perfect size to use as coasters for small glasses. They would also make great bunting, or could be stuck to walls or windows as Diwali decor.

Hama bead diwa lamps

During Diwali, small lamps called diwa lamps are lit to symbolise the triumph of light over dark or good over evil. My Hama bead diwa lamps use a very simple pattern on the basic square Hama bead pegboard, and can be customised in all sorts of different colours and patterns depending on which beads you have available in your stash. You can find the pattern by following the link to the original blog post above.

I made some simple stands for my lamps so that they can be stood upright. 

If you are looking for more Diwali crafts then you might like this post - Simple Diwali crafts for children.

If you are teaching your young children about Diwali, here are some books that they might enjoy:

The Best Diwali Ever (affiliate link) - A heart warming picture book about Diwali, siblings and how very special this celebration can be.

Diwali colouring book for kids (affiliate link) - A simple coloring book for young children, suitable for ages 2-5. Contains all sorts of things to colour including lamps, fireworks, candles, lanterns, food & rangoli patterns.

First Festivals: Diwali (affiliate link) - Featuring simple text, gorgeous illustrations and satisfying lift-the-flaps, this book explores common Diwali traditions and helps young children understand the importance of this special holiday.

Mr Men and Little Miss Happy Diwali (affiliate link) - The five-day festival of lights is celebrated by millions of people across the world and the Mr Men and Little Miss can't wait to join in. They're busy cleaning their homes, creating Rangolis, lighting lamps and enjoying all the festivities, including large feasts that Mr Greedy is particularly looking forward to. It’s going to be a busy five days of light and laughter!

Free - mini Halloween pixel art designs for Hama beads or cross stitch

With Halloween approaching, I thought I would use my newly organised Hama bead supplies to make some little Halloween Hama bead pieces! These designs are very small (they measure about 3-5cm across) and so they don't use too many beads. They would also be great for cross stitch or other pixel art crafts. I came up with designs for a moon and star, a bat, a skull, a ghost, a pumpkin and a witch's hat.

Here are the patterns for the designs. You can vary the colours of course based on what colour beads you have available - I have plenty of grey beads so I used those for the ghost, and the skull is made from an unusual off white shade that I found in my stash.

These designs can all be assembled on the basic square pegboard. If you are new to Hama beads then you might find this post useful - Ironing tips for Hama beads. You can find links to some useful supplies at the bottom of this post.

Ways that you could use the finished Hama Halloween bead pieces:

To stick to place card for a Halloween party

Scattered across a Halloween party table

As Halloween party bag gifts

Make into magnets or keyrings

Make into bunting or strings as Halloween decorations

Use as gift tags for Halloween presents

Hand to trick or treaters for a sugar free alternative

Add a cord to make a spooky pendant

If you enjoyed this post then you might also like my round up of Halloween Hama bead crafts!

You can find all my Hama bead posts here - Hama bead crafts