DIY: Mardi Gras Felt Bead Necklace

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post as a participant in the Walmart Moms Program.

I recently learned a lot about Mardi Gras- “The Greatest Free Show on Earth”. The hubs and I remember the fun Mardi Gras celebration in San Diego, CA. While that celebration was not so family friendly the parades, masks, and beads were definitely a glimpse to how fun it could be in New Orleans.

Mardi Gras San Diego, 2010

Mardi Gras is french for Fat Tuesday. The carnivals and parades are celebrated on Fat Tuesday the day before Ash Wednesday as a last hurrah for crazy celebrations and fatty food consumptions before lent. I have learned that Mardi Gras in New Orleans while hyped up to be an adult celebration in the evenings, It really is a family friendly event in the day. What happens during daylight at parades is just magical.

I decided to bring the cheerful celebration to our home and also teach my kids about other celebrations in our Nation that go hand in hand with our cultural religious traditions. This will be a great way to celebrate the coming of Lent.

Little Lady and I have been quick at creating crafts to celebrate with on Fat Tuesday one being this super easy Mardi Gras Felt Bead Necklace.

To create one of your own here is what you will need:

Working with wool roving is very easy and so fun to do wet felt beads with kids. I was happy to see Walmart carry a variety of wool roving colors.

Supplies:
Wool Roving 8pk for Felt Beads available at Walmart for $13.00
Stretch Cord- Translucent Available in Craft department at Walmart under the bead and jewelry section.
Needle also Available in the Craft department at Walmart.
scissors
water and dish soap

Kid-Friendly DIY Felt Bead Making:

Prepare your child’s working area. Use a plastic dish filled with some warm water and a little dish soap. You don’t want the water too soapy.

The soap is used to help the fibers in the wool come together to make the felt beads.

Using about an inch length of the stretched out wool create a soft round ball. Have the kids hold the tip and dip several times into the soapy water.

Begin rolling the wool in hands and slowly apply pressure. The kids will love doing this!
Continue to dip the wool roving in water several times and keep rolling until a ball is formed.

Once the bead is formed squeeze the excess water and place to the side to dry. Your bead should be firm and round.

Parents Try This Method for Wet Felt Beads too

I helped by also doing this under running warm water. Be sure to have the wool roving sizes match so that the beads come out the same size.

If you get a bump in your bead continue to add water and some soap roll against your palm and continue to roll until the area has been closed together.

Let the beads dry overnight. Using the stretch cord measure out a good length for each necklace you will be making.

Each wool roving bundle gave us an average of 10 medium sized beads. Our necklace took 36 beads.

Try this: Try separating the beads on your necklace to design a different style or Add pasta for separators between each bead!

Parents: Needle beads on a cord for necklace.

Poke your cord through a needle Be very careful the beads can be a little tough to poke through if your needle is on the thicker side. Create a pattern with the beads and begin to loop your beads through. Once you have your desired amount of beads, tie the ends and secure with multiple knots. Cut the excess cord off and it’s ready to be worn!