Bead Strand Table Mat

Strands of beads are sold for different reasons. Some of them are made for little girls to wear as necklaces. Others are made for decorating the tree at Christmas. No matter what type of beads you buy theyre almost always very inexpensive. If youre in the mood to get creative grab one of those strands of beads and make a beautiful table mat. The mat can hold a centerpiece, a basket of fruit or another decorative item.

Although you can use most any color of beads to make the mats youll find that some colors end up having a holiday appearance when used as a mat. Red or green beads can have a holiday look; orange or black strands - even when not used together - can look like they were made for Halloween. In fact, the beaded mats, when made in these types of colors, are great for holiday decorating.

Lay the beads on a flat surface and apply a dot of hot glue to the side area of the end bead. Fold this bead over and press it against the the strand. Roll the beads and notice where they touch the next beads. Put a dot of glue on the beads, as you go along, wherever they touch other beads. Continue rolling the beads to make a larger and larger circle and randomly gluing the beads to others to secure. You can leave the finished mat as it is or glue a piece of felt on the bottom. Although the beads wont scratch the table they can be scooted around without noise if you add the felt. Some people will find it helpful to start with the circle of felt. With this method, you can stick the beads to the felt rather than each other. Fold the circle in half, then again, and so on, creasing it as you fold. When you open it up youll see where the fold lines intersect in the very center. Use hot glue to attach the end bead of the strand to the intersection. With the first bead in place you can continue to add hot glue where needed to secure the strand. Or, hot glue the first bead, apply white glue to the rest of the felt, then encircle the beads with each other to cover the entire mat. Use the same technique as you used for the table mat to make other things, too. Make the design much smaller and you have an elegant coaster. Make the bead circle any size and hang it on a wall. Glue on dried flowers, a painted wooden shape or other embellishments to make a unique wall hanging. Strands of beads are always beautiful, it seems. Whether a person wears them, decorates their Christmas tree with them, or makes table mats, the beads seem to fit in and even add a touch of elegance!