Pony Bead Christmas Tree

Use colorful pony beads and chenille stems to make these fun and bendable Christmas trees. They make great ornaments or gift toppers!

Create a loop in one end of the brown pipe cleaner. Twist to secure the loop.
Starting at the end opposite the loop, twist the longest green pipe cleaner around the brown pipe cleaner to secure it in place.
Leave a 1″ gap, then twist the next longest green pipe cleaner around the brown one. Continue twisting the rest of the green pipe cleaners around the brown pipe cleaner, from longest to shortest, leaving an even gap between each one.
Starting with the lowest green pipe cleaner, slide on two green pony beads on both sides. Add a colored bead to each side, then continue with two more green beads. When there are ten beads on each side, bend the excess pipe cleaner up to secure the beads, then snip off any excess. (Alternately, you can thread the excess through the 2nd-to-last beads on each side to make them extra secure. A gab of hot glue will also keep them permanently in place.)
Continue adding beads to the branches, mixing in a colorful bead occasionally. You can make your tree however you want, but generally there should be fewer beads on each branch than on the one below it.

This project was created by Amanda Formaro, originally for Kaboose/Spoonful.