A DIY suncatcher with a hanging heart-shaped prism makes a great homemade gift idea for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, a birthday, or a wedding anniversary! (First published January 18, 2016; this post is updated and republished to improve the content.)
Make a hanging heart suncatcher craft, wall hanging, or pull chain for a lamp or fan with a heart-shaped prism that hangs on the end of a gorgeous hand-beaded cord. This project is an easy suncatcher craft and DIY gift idea that kids or adults can make with fishing string (monofilament line), pony beads, glass beads, or Swarovski crystal beads. You might also enjoy learning how to start and finish a beaded necklace or bracelet.
Hanging prism suncatchers add a gorgeous touch to your DIY decor. Place heart-shaped prisms on the end of a gorgeous hand-beaded strand to hang from the review mirror of a car–or place hanging hearts in a kitchen, bedroom, living room, bathroom, or office window–to cast beautiful rainbows around the room. Or use this hanging heart DIY prism craft tutorial to make a pull chain for window shades, ceiling fans, and lamps.
Related: Rainbow Pony Bead Chrystal Prism Suncatcher
Related: Thumbprint Heart Glass Magnets
How to Make A Hanging Heart Prism Suncatcher
There are two ways to make a hanging heart prism suncatcher. One method uses a plastic needle, while the other uses crimp tubes and crimping pliers. Crimping pliers are inexpensive and simple to use. This article contains directions to make it easy.
You can find the directions for making a prism hanging on a hand-beaded string with a plastic needle in our pony bead and prism suncatcher craft tutorial for toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners. The plastic needle is used to make it easy for young children to make but is not necessary for someone with more developed fine motor skills, such as elementary-aged students, teenagers, and adults.
So feel free to follow the same basic directions (with or without the needle or pipe cleaner) if you or your children have strong fine motor skills and are not ready to invest in crimping pliers. But please be aware that the plastic sewing needle is often too big to fit through the smaller holes of most types of beads.
Some wooden beads are big enough to be strung with the needle method, but not all are guaranteed to have a large enough opening. Plastic pony beads, however, have a large enough hole or opening, making it easy to use a plastic sewing needle to string them using the method described here–>Pony Bead Suncatcher.
Hanging heart suncatcher crafts for kids and adults
We used the step-by-step instructions below to make the hanging heart hand-beaded suncatcher crafts shown in the photographs. I started and finished the suncatcher while my 3-year-old daughter strung the pony beads onto the line. She no longer needs to use a plastic needle because she’s had a lot of fine motor practice doing crafts with her mom over the years.
Related: Keepsake Valentine Gifts Kids Can Make
Related: Personalized Heart Candle Holders
Hanging Heart Suncatcher Prism Craft Materials:
- Heart-shaped prism (45mm or get multiple sizes–>here)
- Monofilament fishing line
- Transparent and/or mixed heart and/or faceted pony beads.
- Crimp tubes or crimp beads
- Bead crimping pliers
Related: How to Start and Finish a Beaded Necklace or Bracelet
Alternative Bead Options for hanging suncatcher prism heart crafts:
If you won’t be working with children and pony beads aren’t your thing, try using glass beads or Swarovski crystal beads. To see some amazing options, click on the links below.
Related: Keepsake Gifts for Him or Her
Heart Suncatcher Prism Craft Step-by-Step Instructions
Follow the easy step-by-step directions to make hanging heart suncatcher prism crafts. You can see each step below in the following suncatcher prism photo tutorial.
1. Gather supplies and cut the monofilament line.
- Cut a section of monofilament line about a foot longer than the desired length.
- In other words, if you want the hanging heart prism to hang on two feet of beaded line, cut at least a foot and a half of fishing string or monofilament line.
2. Start the hanging heart suncatcher craft.
- First, place a crimp tube (or bead) on one end of the fishing string (monofilament line).
- Next, put the heart prism on the monofilament following the crimp bead.
- Then, tuck the short end of the fishing line into the crimp tube next to the long end of the monofilament.
- Push the crimp tube towards the heart to shorten the loop.
- Finally, use a pair of crimping pliers to squeeze the crimp tube shut around both pieces of the monofilament line to secure it firmly in place.
- Use scissors to trim off the excess line if needed.
3. Hand-bead suncatcher line or string.
- String pony beads onto the long end of the monofilament line.
- There are several ways to do this. You can use one color, two colors, or as many colors as you like, arranged in a pattern or chosen randomly.
- My 3-year-old daughter (at the time) did a little of both for the suncatcher prism shown using various pony bead shapes and sizes.
4. Finish the Hanging Heart Suncatcher Craft.
- To finish the hanging heart suncatcher crafts, place a crimping tube onto the end of the line, followed by a pony bead. (The pony bead will ensure the rest of the beads don’t slip off the loop.)
- Next, slip the other end of the line into the crimping tube and make a loop big enough for the heart prism to go through. (This will ensure you can loop it through the hanger to hang your suncatcher prism on a curtain rod if desired.)
- Then, use a pair of crimping pliers to shut the crimping tube and hold the beads in place. The photo tutorial below shows how to do this step.
- Finally, cut off any excess fishing string (monofilament line) and enjoy your masterpiece or give it to a loved one for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparent’s Day, Christmas, a birthday, or a wedding anniversary!
Related: Slow Falling Hearts Sensory Bottle
DIY Suncatcher Prism Craft Step-by-Step Photo Tutorial
The photo collage below shows how to make hand-beaded suncatcher crafts.
Related: Easy Thumbprint Heart Keychain Pendants
Hanging Hearts Crystal Prism Suncatcher Crafts
Heart-shaped prism suncatcher crafts look gorgeous hanging in windows but also make wonderful pull chains for lights, shades, and fans.
A DIY suncatcher prism heart makes a great homemade gift idea for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, a birthday, a wedding, or an anniversary!
Another fun heart craft that makes a great gift idea is these fun thumbprint heart glass magnets and thumbprint heart necklaces.
You might also like these cute hand-sewn lovebirds!
Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE.
If you liked this Hanging Heart Craft, You may also like:
- Salt Dough Hand and Foot Keepsake Gift
- You + Me = Love DIY Gift for Him or Her
- DIY Heart with Celtic Knot Keepsake Box
- Beaded Name or Word Necklace
- Valentine Love Bugs Craft
- Heart Shape Nature Scavenger Hunt
- Slow Falling Hearts Sensory Bottle
- Rainbow Prism Suncatcher Craft
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