Wooden Halloween spider bead brooch

The month of October, the month of witches, ghosts and other monstrous characters is soon upon us, so why not make a "horrible halloween brooch" ?

Wooden beads in fun shapes for the adults to cut out, and to be painted and put together by young children – but not too young!

you will need

To make the brooch: * Frightful beads * toothpicks * little beads (seed beads) * moveable eyes (optional) * paint and paintbrush * a brooch pin (approx 1.2 inch) * 6 inches of wire 0.5 mm in diameter * a glue gun * liquid glue

To make these "ghastly" beads yourself you will need: * a fret saw * a piece of plywood 6.3 inches x 3.5 inches, 0.2 inches thick * Tracing paper * A pencil * Sandpaper * A drill * a 0.5 mm diameter (76 gauge) drill bit

Making 'frightful' wooden beads (instructions for adults)

Print out the pattern for the beads and enlarge it if needed.

Retrace the outlines of the beads onto the piece of plywood using the tracing paper.
Cut out each piece, starting with the smallest (be careful with your fingers!) using a fret saw.
Sandpaper each piece. Bore a hole, about 0.2 inches deep, into the thickness of the small pieces (be careful not to bore right through the piece!) and 5 holes into the spider's side (3 at the top and 2 along the bottom).

Making the brooch

Slide the "frightful'' beads onto the toothpicks for easier painting.
Paint each piece and leave to dry. Cut 5 pieces of wire of different lengths (at least 1.4 inches long), coat one end of each length of wire with the liquid glue and stick it into the spider (into the holes made in the side), stick on the moveable eyes and leave the whole design to dry.

Thread the little beads onto each length of wire, put a drop of liquid glue onto the wire together with a "horrible" wooden bead. Leave to dry.

Heat the glue gun, turn the spider over and apply a few blobs of hot glue to the back to glue the brooch pin on. Leave to cool. Twist the wires a little to add an extra touch of class to the brooch.

And it's finished – a magnificent brooch, that will be worn only by the very bravest amongst us: our very own little monsters!