A Heart prism pony bead suncatcher is an easy fine motor craft for kids and adults. They cast beautiful rainbows all around the room when placed in sunlit windows. You can also use them as pull chains for lamps, shades, and fans. A heart prism suncatcher makes a great gift idea for Valentine’s day or Mother’s Day that kids can make!
Related: Rainbow Pony Bead Prism Suncatcher
Related: Thumbprint Heart Glass Magnets
How to Make a Heart Prism Suncatcher
There are two ways to make a heart prism suncatcher. One method uses a plastic needle while the other uses crimp tubes and crimping pliers. Don’t worry, crimping pliers are inexpensive and simple to use. This article contains directions to make it easy.
You can find the directions for making this with a plastic needle in Pony Bead and Prism Suncatcher. 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.
You can follow the same basic directions without using the needle if you don’t want to invest in crimping pliers. If you use the needle method you will only be able to string basic pony beads. The needle is too big to fit into the smaller openings of other types of beads.
For this project, I started and finished the suncatcher while my 3-year-old daughter strung all of the pony beads onto the line. She’s had a lot of fine motor practice so she no longer needs to use a plastic needle.
Related: Keepsake Gifts Kids Can Make
Related: Personalized Heart Candle Holders
Heart Prism Suncatcher Materials:
- 40mm Crystal Heart Prism
- Monofilament Fishing Line
- Transparent Pony Beads Multicolored Pony Beads and/or Mixed Heart Pony Beads, and/or Faceted Beads.
- Silver Crimp Tube Beads
- Bead Crimper Pliers
Related: Slow Falling Hearts Sensory Bottle
Alternative Bead Options:
If you won’t be working with children and pony beads aren’t your thing, try using glass beads, and/or Swarovski crystal beads. To see some amazing options click on the links below.
Related: Keepsake Gifts for Him or Her
Heart Prism Suncatcher Directions
1. Cut a section of monofilament line about twice and long as you will need.
2. Place a crimp tube on one end of the line. Place the heart prism on the monofilament after the crimp bead.
3. Tuck the short end of the line into the crimp tube next to the long end of the line. Push the crimp tube towards the heart.
4. Use crimping pliers to squeeze the crimp tube shut around both pieces of the monofilament line. Use scissors to trim off the excess line if needed.
5. String pony beads onto the long end of the monofilament line. There are so many fun ways to do this. You can use one color, two colors, or as many colors as you like. You can put them on randomly, or you can make a pattern. My 3-year-old daughter did a little of both using various pony bead shapes and sizes.
6. To finish: place a crimping tube onto the line followed by a pony bead. The pony bead will ensure that the rest of the pony beads don’t slip off of the loop. Slip the other end of the line into the crimping tube.
Make sure you leave a big enough loop for the heart to go through. This will make it easy to loop through to hang it on a curtain rod if desired. Use crimping pliers to squeeze the crimping tube shut. Cut off the excess line and enjoy your masterpiece!
Heart prism suncatchers look gorgeous hanging in windows, but also make wonderful pull chains for lights, shades, and fans. They make a unique handmade gift idea for Valentine’s day, Mother’s Day and anniversaries!
Another fun heart craft that makes a great gift idea are these thumbprint heart glass magnets.
For more art and craft ideas click HERE. To learn more about Rhythms of Play click HERE.
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- Salt Dough Hand and Foot Keepsake Gift
- You + Me = Love DIY Keepsake Gift
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- Valentine Watercolor Resist Word Hunt
- Slow Falling Hearts Sensory Bottle
- Valentine Almond Heart Cookies
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