project: i heard the bells ornament

Bells and Christmas kinda go together, don't they? The song I Heard the Bells refers more to church bells or chimes playing carols, but there's also Santa's jingle bells, bell ringers collecting donations, sleigh bells, silver bells and on and on. So get some little bells out, and let's make something with them, okay?

I've made this first item as an ornament of sorts, but at our house, I hung it on the doorknob of our front door. It adds just a bit of jingle as people come and go, which is nice when you have holiday guests arriving!



Here's what you need:

Small Embroidery Hoop (I used 3-inch)
Yarn
Jingle Bells



Cut off a piece of yarn that is 3 to 4 yards long (it's better to have too much than too little) and tie one end to the embroidery hoop, leaving a tail of an inch or two. Add a bit of tape to the other end to make it easier to string the bells on.



Start wrapping the embroidery hoop with the yarn, and then add a bell. Wrap it in such a way that the bell goes in the center of the hoop.



Continue wrapping and adding bells along the way. Mine felt a bit tight with 8 bells, but this will vary depending on the size of your hoop and bells.




When you get to the end, wrap the yarn a few times around the metal bracket and secure with a knot. Use the extra yarn to tie a loop for hanging. If you're planning to hang this on a doorknob, be sure the loop is large enough.

This ornament jingles when it jangles!




The other thing I made this year with bells isn't really a tutorial for you, but I wanted to show it off as a fun idea. I started with a basic headband, wrapped it with ribbon, then added bells at the top to form a crown.



It's a wee bit heavy, but I love, love, love it!