How to Make

Christmas Spider Ornaments

Maybe you never thought of making Christmas spider ornaments, but I'm here to tell you people love them. And why wouldn't they? These ornaments are unusual, clever, and fun. Just look at the rascal in the photo - all dressed up in festive fashion to look like a million bucks on your tree!

(Caveat: It probably would not be a good idea to give one of these to someone who really hates spiders or is afraid of them.)

The legs on Christmas spider ornaments are easier to attach than the legs on their cousin, the Halloween spider ornament, because the Christmas spider’s legs are made of “glitter” pipe cleaners which are less bulky than the fuzzy chenille stems used for the Halloween spider.

However, Christmas spider ornaments do require tying little bows on all those legs, using very thin ribbon. If you have stubby fingers like I do, that can be challenging!


My instructions below describe making a red spider with green eyes. Feel free to reverse the colors, as shown in the photo to the right.

See photos at bottom of the page for more variations.

Ready to get started? Here is what you will need:

Materials

55 mm clear glass ball ornament (approximately 2-1/8 inches from top to bottom, not including the cap)

• The glass ball needs to have a cap with seven "leaves" or flaps as shown in the photo to the right. Not all ornaments have caps like this, so be sure you get the right kind. Click here for more information.

4 12-inch red sparkly pipe cleaners (“glitter stems”)

Red metallic shred

Two green sparkly (“glitter”) pompons

2 wiggle eyes

Glue

Ribbon to hang ornament

Very thin ribbon for bows on spider's legs

• For the bows, I use ribbon that is about 1/8 inch wide. I cut each of the eight pieces about 8 inches long.

Instructions

Remove cap from the glass ball.

Fill ball with red metallic shred. (Use the eraser end of a pencil. The rim of the glass ball may have sharp edges.)

Legs

Fold each pipe cleaner in half and pinch it, making a "V" at the fold to mark where the middle is.

This step helps keep the legs symmetrical when you attach them to the cap.

Turn the cap upside down. Work each of the four pipe cleaners into slots of the cap so that eight “legs” extend out symmetrically, four on each side. (See photos below.)

• The cap has seven slots. One slot will not have a leg extending from it and will be placed in the very front of the spider when assembled. (That slot is the one at the top in the photos below.)
• Because a spider has eight legs, two of the remaining six slots must house two legs each. I use the back two slots for this purpose. (See third photo below.)
• Feel free to arrange the legs some other way if it works better for you. I sometimes arrange them a little differently myself.

Holding the cap on with one hand, insert the wire into the slot. The wire is "spring loaded," so this step is not easy. You will need to press the two prongs together to fit them though the slot. Once inside the ball, the prongs will spring back open and the cap will be secure.

When you have completed this step, your ornament will look like the two photos below.




Now bend the pipe cleaners to look like spider legs as shown in the photo to the right.
Eyes and finishing touches

Glue the two pompons to the ball where you want the eyes.

Glue the wiggle eyes onto the pompons.

Tie bows on the legs using very thin ribbon.



Tie a ribbon through the hanger wire. Tie the knot tight so it will not come undone under the weight of the hung ornament.

You now know how to make Christmas spider ornaments. They're a lot of fun, aren't they?!

Variations: You can make Christmas spider ornaments in other colors too. For the purple spider's eyes, I used blue metal beads instead of pompons and wiggle eyes.



Please click here to read important ornaments safety tips.