DIY Beaded Dragonfly Ornament | Dans le Lakehouse (2024)

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.