Transcript for Parasol Umbrellas Video

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Hi everybody. This is Monica. And today I want to show you how I made these really cute little parasol ornaments — little mini umbrellas. I had such fun coming up with all these different examples that I hope will inspire you to create your own parasol ornaments. You can do whimsical or you can do something very fancy. So hopefully as you look at some of the ones I’ve made and then as we talk about some of the different options and how to construct your parasol ornament, you will be inspired and you will create all kinds of fun little mini umbrellas for yourself.

So to begin, let me show you some of the ones I’ve made. This is a fun one that I created using very satiny type fabric. And this uses the Parasol pattern here on the top. And then I took ribbon around the edges here and sort of draped it. I thought that was a fun little detail. And so that’s something that was a little more fancy. 

And then I created this whimsical Parasol ornament. This I made to represent the movie “Singing’ in the Rain”. So I put little silver raindrops coming off the side. And the fabric that I used on my ornament has musical notes on the black fabric and on the white fabric… musical notes all over. So that was a fun one to make.

And sticking with the idea of being whimsical, here’s another one that I made just by using really fun polka-dot fabrics and sort of a mini-floral type fabric here. And then I did a different treatment here along the edges that gives it a fun look. And even the bottom has some fun fabric on it here. 

I also made this Parisian style ornament by using black and white and pink fabrics… and then this really fun handle here, almost like a barber pole type of handle. And this one, I actually did a different pattern on top. This is the Starburst pattern that is available on the Ornament Girl website. And then I did a different topper on this one. This has like a hook, and we will talk about how I did that as we go along in the video. So that’s a fun one, and it has some cute detailing here along the side, with the ribbon and the bows.

And here’s another fancy parasol ornament. I used some very pretty beaded trim on this one. This reminds me of raindrops also. The way the light catches them is really pretty. 

And then for a baby shower decoration, I created this one. Isn’t that fun with the little polka dot edges here? A little baby girl’s shower. I could see these sitting all over the tables at the shower. Wouldn’t that be fun? Again with the polka dots on the bottom. That’s a fun little detail.

And one more that I had so much fun making. This one reminds me of spring with the flowers… with the floral type patterns in the fabric. I had a lot of fun adding this fringy trim here. 

So there are all sorts of different approaches and ways that you can make your parasol umbrellas. And I hope that as you stick with me, you will continue to be inspired and think of different things that you can do for your own parasol ornaments.

To get started making a parasol ornament, you are going to need a piece of foam. Now typically when I make a parasol ornament, I use a “hemi”. Now “hemi” is what we call a half-round ball piece of foam. It’s just a lot easier to say “hemi.” So, Staci has these hemis available in her shop on her website. What I love about the ones that Staci has is that they are the soft polystyrene type of foam. And, it’s a lot easier to push pins into this soft polystyrene type of material.

You can, in your local stores or online, you can find the Smoothfoam brand type of foam. These are a lot more dense, though, and they are a lot more difficult to push pins into. So just be aware of that. Now I will say, one of the great things about using the Smoothfoam brand is that they already have a hole here in the middle. So that’s great when you are trying to attach your handle. So, that’s a bonus. But just be aware your fingers are gong to probably get a little worn out when you are putting your pins into the Smoothfoam brand foam.

You can also use rough styrofoam. I found this 4” — well actually it’s 3.9” — This 3.9” hemi at Wal-Mart. So these work as well. So it doesn’t matter if it’s smooth or rough foam. Both will work. It just depends on, you know, do you want to wait to get your order from Staci, or do you want to run out and buy something right away. Okay?

Now, one thing I want to show you is one other shape option that you have for your parasol project. Okay? Let me show you two ornaments side-by-side, and I’ll show you a difference between them. You’ll notice that the ornament on the right has a lot more of a domed shape at the top than the ornament on the left. 

I wanted the ornament on the left to have more of a pagoda style parasol look to it. So, I was using Asian-inspired fabrics from my local fabric store that have a lot of metallics in them and some heavily-beaded trim and so I wanted that pagoda style just to carry through to the shape. So instead of using a hemi, I decided to use more of a flat shape… more of a disc. So let me show you these side-by-side.

Do you see how the shape is different? So this is a hemi here on the right, and this is more of a disc shape. Now I had these on hand, but I had ordered them a while back from the Smoothfoam company. They have a website where you can order various shapes and sizes of foam, and that’s where I got this from. So, again, this is the Smoothfoam brand that is a lot more dense and a lot more difficult to push pins into. But it does have the nice hole there, so that’s convenient when you are trying to attach your handle. But the shape is really the reason that I chose this. Because I wanted more of a flat shape for my pagoda style parasol. So if this is the look you’re going for, you might consider using this type of Smoothfoam brand disc. Okay?

Alright, let’s move on, and I will talk about how to place the fabric on your ornament, and I’ll give you a couple of tips along the way. Okay? 

Before you begin placing fabric on your parasol ornament, there’s one little tip that I would love to share. I started doing this when I began making my crown ornaments, and now I also use it when I make my unicorn ornaments. And I just love it. Because I think it adds jut a little something extra. 

When I start making my ornament, before any fabric goes on the ornament, I first place some batting here on the bottom of the ornament. So for instance, before I start placing fabric on my crown or my unicorn, I turn it over and place some batting. This is just a double layer of some batting that you would use, say, in a blanket. And I put it on there, and I attach it with a couple pins, and I just trim around the edges.  And then I begin placing my fabric on the ornament.

But for the parasol ornaments, I didn’t really want that much cushion. I wanted just a little bit of cushion, but the batting was really just too thick for what I was wanting. So, I decided to start using for my parasol ornaments:  felt… crafting felt.  Now I know felt comes in different sizes. This is not too thin; it’s not too thick. But I really like that it gives my parasol ornaments, here on the bottom, just a little bit of padding. And it’s nice and soft when you touch it, instead of it being just the styrofoam and the fabric. Okay? 

So, what I do, is I just have my felt. If your felt, by the way, is super thin… I’ve bought some felt from Dollar Tree before, and it’s just way too thin. So I usually double it up. But this is fairly thick, and it’s not super stiff. It’s a little bit stiff, but it’s not that really stiff, thick, hard felt. Okay? It’s still sort of supple and you can move it around. So I just place my hemi on the felt, and draw around it so that I know where to cut. And once I have it cut, then I pin it to the bottom of my hemi. Okay?

Okay, I have cut the circle of felt. And I usually cut it just inside the line so that it’s not overhanging my hemi at all. Before I actually pin it to the bottom of my hemi, one other thing that I really like to do — because, remember, you are going to have to put a handle through this. So I fold it in half. And then I fold it in half again. Now, I know it’s a little hard because it’s thick. But once you fold it in half twice, then I take my scissors and I snip the corner here off. Okay? It doesn’t take much, just a little bit. Make sure you get all the way through. And now when you open your circle back up, you have a hole there. See that? Now, if you need to make it a little bigger, sometimes I do. Because, again, you’re going to have to poke a handle through there. So having that hole there is a really nice little touch because that means you’re not going to have to be digging around in it later. Okay? It also tells you where the middle of your hemi is. 

I know this is white on white. It’s probably hard to see, but once you place it and line it up with the bottom of your hemi, then take some pins… just a couple. You don’t have to over do it. You just want it to be held straight. You don’t want it to, you know, slide off. So two pins should do the job just fine. And you have a hole there. In fact, I’ll put a mark there. Now you can see where it’s at.

So I have the bottom of my hemi covered in felt. And that’s really going to give it some nice cushion, but it’s not going to be super fluffy like a piece of batting. That would just be a little too fluffy, I think, at least for mine. 

So once your felt is in place, then it’s time to cover it in fabric. Now I have cut my square piece of fabric just slightly larger than my hemi. Okay? So that I can wrap it up and around the sides, alright? So let’s do that. We are going to turn the hemi over, and place the fabric. Sort of center it. This is especially important if you have a particular motif or some, you know, embroidery,  or anything like that… something that you want to show here on the bottom and you need it to be centered. Be really careful. Now something that’s good about that felt, having the middle cut out, is that you can actually feel where the center is. So you can line up your fabric accordingly and make sure it stays centered. If you need to put a pin there in the middle to keep it from shifting around, then that’s a good idea. 

For instance, here on the bottom of my pagoda style parasol, I wanted this medallion right in the middle. Because I wanted the handle to go — see? Right there, in the center. So I had to be very careful as I worked that my medallion didn’t shift to the left or to the right. So I held it in place with a few pins while I worked. Okay?

Okay, so to begin pinning the fabric to the bottom of your hemi, you’re going to look at the corners here, and you’re just going to begin placing pins up along the edge here. Now, you don’t want them too close to the edge, but you don’t want it too high up either. Okay? So you just want it about a quarter of an inch up from the edge. Okay? So I placed my first one, and now I’m going to go across. And I’m going to place a pin on the exact opposite corner. 

Now you want to pull the fabric so it’s tight, but not so tight that it’s distorting the fabric. Okay? You just want it tight; you don’t want it loose. So now I’m going to place another pin to hold it on this side. Again, just about a quarter of an inch up. And now I’m going to work on the sides. Okay?

And once I have all four corner pinned, then I will begin filling in between those four corners. It’s really a good idea to work in pairs. Because as you work in pairs, it’s going to keep your fabric from getting distorted or too bunchy on one side. You know, you really want it even… as even as possible. 

So my four corners are now pinned down, and now I’m going to begin to fill in. And, again, I’m going to work in pairs. And then just continue to fill in. And when I’m finished, I will just have a nice row of pins all the way around my ornament. Okay? So I’m going to continue to do that, and then I’ll come back and will move on to the next step.

Okay, I have a nice row of pins all the way around, and now I’m going to trim. Okay? And we will go on to the next step.

So once the bottom of your ornament is covered, then it’s time to move on and cover the top part of your ornament with whatever pattern you would like. Now, I typically use the Parasol pattern because I like the way that it makes the top of my parasol ornament look like an actual umbrella. So that pattern is available, if you don’t already have it, on The Ornament Girl website.

But you can really use any pattern, almost, on the top. In fact, I used a different pattern for this Parisian style parasol. I used the Starburst pattern. This is also available on The Ornament Girl website. So you’re welcome to use any pattern you’d like, including The Basic Star pattern, which Staci has available as a free workshop on her website. You can sign up for that, and The Basic Star pattern would work perfectly well for a parasol ornament. Okay? So whatever pattern you want to use on top, feel free to use and put that on the top of your hemi. 

As you work on the pattern on the top part of your ornament, I do want to mention one little tip. And that is to bring your pieces down not quite to the edge. You want to stop your pieces just about… oh… quarter of an inch or so above the edge of your ornament. Because if you let all of the pieces go down right to the edge, then you are going to have all these fraying edges right here at the edge of your ornament. And they will actually try to peek through later. So do yourself a favor and just end all your pieces and do your trimming about a quarter of an inch or so right above this edge. Okay? So all the way around, make sure your pin line and the edges of your trimmed fabric all stop before you get to the edge here. Okay? You’re going to make life a little easier on yourself. And keep in mind those edges will be covered later with a band or ribbon or whatever you want to place around this edge of your ornament. 

By the way, on this particular parasol, I’m making this one using the Bloom pattern, which is available on The Ornament Girl website. I wanted sort of a flowery-looking parasol ornament. So that’s the pattern, if you are interested in that. That’s the one I’m using here.

Okay, if you are wanting to create little triangles along the edges of your parasol ornament, there are various sizes and shapes of fabric that you can use to accomplish that. If you’re just wanting just a little bit of a zig zag along the bottom, then I suggest using a 2” x 2” piece of fabric, okay? And the way you do that is you would take your square, but fold it on the diagonal to create a triangle. And once you have your triangle, just fold it over like a book. And that gives you a nice little triangle. One side will have a double folded edge, and one side with have just a single fold there. But once you have your triangle, then you will just align the tip of your triangle with one of the dividing lines somewhere on your ornament. For instance, I’ll do it right here. And you will line up the raw edges with the trimmed edges of the fabric that has already been placed and trimmed on your ornament. And once you have that in place, you can pin it a couple of times to hold it where it belongs. And if the raw edges stick up a little further than they should, that’s fine. Because you’re going to go along later you would just trim right along the edges to clean that up before you place your band all the way around your ornament. Okay? So that’s one option.

Now if you want a little bit of a larger point here, you can do the same thing, just with a larger piece of fabric. This is 3” x 3”. And you would do the same thing:  just fold it on the diagonal, and then fold it like a book. Align it with one of the lines — the fold lines or dividing lines on your ornament. And pin it twice. And as you can see, that is hanging down a lot more than the little one that I made earlier. So that might be an option for you.

Now another option if you want something that hangs down a little further but you don’t want it quite so wide, you can use the Prism Fold. And to do the Prism Fold, you need a rectangle piece of fabric. Turn it so the wrong side is facing you. Fold down the top about… oh… a third of the way. And then you will fold in one side. Now bring it down but you don’t want it straight down. You actually want to continue on and go a little further than half way. See how I brought that a little bit further over to the left? And then you would bring the other side in to meet the folded edge on the right. So really, you’re just creating a little bit more of a narrow triangle. 

And once you have your Prism Fold done, then you would place it and line it up just like you did with the others. Place it. Now, it’s going to have some excess here, and you can trim that off first if you’d like. Align it. Make sure your point is in line with whatever dividing line you’re putting it near. And then you would pin twice to hold it in place. And, again, you would just trim those edges here that are sticking up above your pin line. Okay? But you can see that that hangs down further, but it’s not quite so wide. 

So, usually, when I’m making my parasol ornaments, I’ll either use those small triangles or I’ll use the Prism Fold to make my triangles come down further, but they’re not quite so wide. 

On this “Singing’ in the Rain” ornament that I made, I have both. I have some of the small triangles, here in black, and every so often I have a Prism Fold, here, and it sticks down just a little bit further, and it’s a different type of fabric. So you can mix and match these different folds that I’ve shown you in order to accomplish different looks all the way around the edge of your ornament. Okay? And now let’s talk about some options for a handle for your ornament.

Okay, let’s talk about handles for your parasol ornament. There are a lot of options and different things you can do. So I’m going to talk about several of those. First, let’s talk about metal options. I tend to not really use wire or craft pipe cleaner type materials because they don’t hold their shape very well. Unless you’re dealing with a really thick gauge of wire, these just are really going to be more of a decorative type handle for your parasol ornament. You could certainly do that, especially if you’re just going to be hanging your ornament. If it’s just going to be hanging up and you don’t really need the sturdiness of an actual handle, then certainly feel free to use something like this just to give you the idea that there’s a handle on your ornament. But those tend to not be my choice simply because I really do like to have an actual handle that’s sturdy to hold on to. 

Now the one exception is, again, if you have a really thick gauge wire or you have something like this. Now, this is… isn’t that the perfect shape for an umbrella? I happened to come across these and you’ll never believe what they are. Or maybe you will. Have you seen these? Do you know what these are? This is a balloon weight. I found this at Wal-Mart for a little less than a dollar. They are in the party section. All it is is just a disc of concrete, and there is a hole drilled in the middle, and these little hooks are glued down inside the hole. Now it does take a little bit of pressure. I had to kind of work them in and out. Some of them were a little more difficult than others, but you can work these out, and then that can become your handle for your parasol ornament. So, it would fit right in there and be a perfect little handle. They are a little bit short, though, so I tend to not use them simply because of their length. I wish they had another few inches, but there you go. If you’re in a hurry and you want something that’s actually metal and is pretty sturdy, then that’s an option right there. Less than a dollar… Wal-Mart party section. Alright. 

Okay, let’s talk about wood options now. You can usually find bamboo skewers or I found these bamboo lollipop sticks, or dowel rods. You know, something like that will work great for a handle because they’re usually nice and sturdy. The one exception is these bamboo skewers that I found, these are actually kind of flimsy. They’re really thin. So you’d want something just a little bit thicker. But something like this, these lollipop sticks… I love that they already have a sharp tip, and so that is going to be  very easy to just insert into my foam. So something like these would work. To decorate them, though, they are a little plain… which is fine if that’s the look you want to go for. But I typically will paint mine. So use some craft paint and give it a few coats, and that should will work great. 

I also like to wrap them in ribbon. So I’ll take usually like a thin ribbon like this. This is fairly narrow; it’s about 3/8”. And then I’ll take my Elmer’s glue stick, and that helps to keep the ribbon — make it stay put as I wrap it around the dowel rod or the bamboo skewer. So I’ll start by putting just a little bit of glue on with the glue stick. And when you begin to put your ribbon on there, you want to put it at an angle. You don’t want to put it straight on, perpendicular, to the dowel rod. You want it to be at a little bit of an angle, like that. And then press it down onto the rod, and as you begin to wrap it, gently, what you want to do is you want to cross over… you want the ribbon to cross over itself and overlap. And then as you continue to roll, it’s going to continue to overlap. And just continue to add a little bit of glue all the way around as you work, and that’s going to hold it in place. Because if you don’t glue it as you go along, trust me at some point you’re going to accidentally let go and it’s just going to unravel. The whole thing will just unravel on you, and that’s very frustrating. It’s happened to me more than once, can you tell?  So the glue stick is nice because it’s not super wet glue. It’s already a little bit tacky, and it’s just going to help hold that ribbon down as you roll, roll, roll. Okay? So that’s an option there. That’s a really nice way to do it. 

I’ve also done a combination of painting and ribbon. In fact, I have one to show you here. I did this one. I painted it pink and then I took a gray ribbon and wrapped it around where you could still see some of the pink between. So that was a nice effect there. So that’s an option, if you want to ribbon-wrap your handle. 

Another terrific option is to go into the baking section of the store, and find things like treat sticks, or lollipop sticks, or cookie sticks. These are like paper type material that’s been rolled really tightly, and it has sort of almost a waxy kind of coating on it or something. But the work terrific. And if you want to paint these, I’m not sure paint would work great on these, but you could certainly wrap them in ribbon just like we did before. Or if they’re colored like this, I mean these you could use as-is with nothing on top of them. So that works great. 

One thing I like to do with these is, I like to use washi tape. This washi tape is really great. It comes in all kinds of colors and patterns. I will say the ones I have — I don’t know if they’re just old or if this is the case for all washi tapes — but the adhesive doesn’t seem to be super great. So a lot of times, I’ll use glue, including this glue stick, and add some glue to my treat stick or my cookie stick before I place the washi tape on there. And then just hold the washi tape in place as the glue cures. Okay? So washi tape is a terrific way to decorate these sticks. In fact, let me show you this one here. This is that striped washi tape. I just put it on the stick lengthwise, and then wrapped it around the sides. And it gave me a nice striped handle. Isn’t that cool? 

And now for my very favorite tip: straws. Paper straws. Plastic straws. They come in all kinds of different patterns and varieties these days. I’ve found them at the dollar store. I’ve found them at all kinds of craft stores. But they’re so cool. They have all kinds of neat designs on them. These are what I used for my Parisian parasol ornament. I just loved the whimsey that it adds to the ornament. 

Now, I will say with paper straws that they are not super sturdy because they’re just paper. So I usually combine them with something like a bamboo skewer or one of these treat sticks that has a little more sturdiness to it. I will insert the sturdy stick first, and then I place the straw on top of it as a decorative cover. Now when you use the straws, make sure whatever you are placing it over — whatever you are covering up — it needs to be more narrow than the straw itself. So this is a pretty narrow treat sick, so I will be able to slide this straw right on top of it. But if I was trying to do that with this wide cookie stick, it’s the same width as my straw, so I wouldn’t be able to slide the straw on top of it. That wouldn’t work. So just make sure if you’re using a bamboo skewer or a treat stick, make sure it’s more narrow than your straw. Okay? You want to be able to slide that straw right on top of it.

Okay, so let’s talk about how you insert your handle into your ornament. I’m going to use… this is an example… this is the one we started earlier but I didn’t finish the top. We’re going to pretend like the top is finished. Okay? So let’s say I want to use this purple straw here as my handle. But it’s not going to be sturdy enough. So I need to use… let’s say this pink one. Okay. 

Before I can insert anything into the center of my ornament, I need to take my scissors. Because, remember, we haven’t cut a hole yet in our fabric. So just take the tips of your scissors and just cut right where you can feel that felt. Remember the hole in the felt that’s underneath? Right where that hole is, you just want to snip a little bit of the fabric, like a little X, and that will open up the fabric so that you can actually insert something in there. 

So now I will be able to insert my stick into my parasol ornament. Now keep in mind, because this is foam, you don’t have a whole lot of chances. Because the more you insert the handle, and take it out, and insert it again. It’s really going to become sort of like Swiss cheese in there. So really try hard, as you insert your handle for your parasol ornament, that you are trying to get it as straight as you can. So really aim for the top of the ornament, and try to get it as absolutely straight as you can. 

So you’ll want to insert it part of the way. And I like to just go part of the way, because then once I have a little bit of a hole, that’s when I insert some glue. So then you’re going to want to use whatever glue you like the best. I’m going to use this craft glue… Elmer’s craft glue. And open it up, and then insert the nozzle right into where that hole is. And you’re going to want to put just a little bit of glue in there. And that’s going to help hold your handle in place. 

So now I have my handle. I have a little bit of the hole in the foam already started, but now I want to go further in. Now keep in mind you don’t want to go too far in, but far enough so that it will hold your ornament there. I’m pretty happy with that. There we go. Alright, it feels pretty sturdy. 

So I have my handle, and now I want to put my straw. Now let’s look at the difference in length. My straw is not really going to go really very far into the foam, if at all. It may just sort of rest on top of the fabric. So I want to judge how much of my straw should I snip off. I think I’m going to snip off just a little bit past where the treat stick ends. Okay? I’m going to trim off about right there. So it’s just slightly longer than my treat stick. Now I’m going to slide it on top. In fact I’m going to turn it over because that’s the cut end and it’s not quite as nice as the pretty cut end. So I’m going to take that end, and slide it down. Now you can try to gently work it up into the styrofoam. Now you don’t want to shove it so hard that you ruin the paper, but I do like to sort of try to see if I can get in there. Yeah, mine is going in just a little bit. 

Now don’t go too far because you actually, again, you want to glue. So I’m going to raise the straw and add a little more glue. Just try to get that nozzle right down in there. Okay? Now this will dry clear, so if it’s a little bit messy it’s not too big of a deal. Now you don’t want it super messy where it’s everywhere, but just a little bit right around that little spot is okay. If you happen to make a mess around the insertion area, you can put some sequins, or beads, or some flowers, or some sort of embellishment there to cover it up. 

Okay, my straw is going on there just a little bit. In fact, I think I took it a little too far because now the end of my treat stick is showing. And maybe that’s fine with you. You can actually cover that with a bead cap, or you can glue a bead on there, or maybe you want to tie a little bow down there or whatever. I’m actually going to go ahead and pull my straw out just slightly because I want it to be… there we go… now it’s flush with my treat stick. You can glue a bead right there to give it a little extra decoration. 

In fact, let me show you some of the different ends of my parasol ornaments. Here’s one that I did glue a bead on the bottom… just a little extra jewelry on the bottom. And on this pagoda style parasol ornament, I added a little bead cap. I glued this on there. And it’s the type that if you press on it, it sort of collapses down on itself. So I was able to glue it and collapse this bead cap right around the handle. 

So this tassel was actually part of an earring that I repurposed. This actually was on clearance at War-Mart, and I bought it simply so I could have that little tassel. I loved the gold tassel, and I took it off of the earring. And it already had a little hook on there, so I just hooked it onto my bead cap because there are little holes there. And it added a nice little touch to my pagoda style parasol ornament. So that’s a little nice way to finish it, with a little tassel on the end. 

On this one, again, I just added a little bead here on the bottom. But you know, you don’t have to add anything on the bottom if you don’t want to. For this one, this was a ribbon-wrapped handle, and at the bottom, I just wrapped extra ribbon to make it a little more thick here at the bottom. So you don’t have to add anything to it if you don’t want to, but those are just some different options, ways that I finished mine. 

So if you have any imperfections around the base of your handle, not a problem. Just add some embellishments of some sort. Or maybe just take a ribbon and tie a little bow right here at the top of your handle and that will hide a lot of those little things that you don’t want anyone to notice. Okay?

So once the handle is done on your ornament, now it’s time to talk about how you want to embellish the top of your ornament. You can decorate the top of your parasol ornament as elaborately or as simply as you like. If you’re looking for something simple, I suggest just using a pearl head pin, like this, just a little round pearl head pin. And that will work great. If you want to add one or two beads, it will hold one or two smaller beads and work fine and still have plenty of pin left that you can insert it down into the foam. 

The teardrop shaped pins are great. They have a little more height on them, so they have a little more presence on the top of your parasol ornament. So those work great too. Again, they are long enough you can stack a couple of beads on there if you want. Maybe a bead cap or two. These bead caps are nice at the very base, you know. So those are nice. 

I really tend to like the corsage pins because they tend to be a little more sturdy and they have a nice decorative piece on top whether it’s crystal or a pearl head up top. They’re a little larger, so I like those. And those allow you to stack quite a few beads and still have plenty of pin to insert them. 

Now you can use 3” pins, like these are floral pins from Wal-Mart and then these 3” ones here are pearl headed pins. But those are really long. So be careful if you go with 3” pins. You’re going to have to stack a lot of beads on there to make sure that those long pins don’t puncture through the bottom of your ornament. You know, you don’t want to puncture through. So I really tend to stay away from the 3” pins. I just think they’re just a little too long for parasol ornaments. But if you want a lot of beads on top yours, then feel free — go ahead and use those 3” pins.

And my favorite tip to share for the top of your parasol ornaments. If you’re going to hang it, here’s a great little item. These are upholstery pins, or sometimes called upholstery skewers. I found these in the sewing section at Wal-Mart, and they were the Dritz brand. They are about 2-1/2” long, and I love the fact that they already have that loop at the top.

So for this one, for instance, my Parisian ornament here, I took my upholstery skewer, and I placed a bead cap on it. And then I took the little end of the straw that I had snipped off the bottom here of the handle. I had saved it, and so then I put my skewer through it. And then I put a bunch of glue in there and inserted it so that this won’t slide out later, once the glue dried. And now it looks like the handle of my ornament goes all the way through. Isn’t that fun? So make sure you save the little tips of your straw if you trim off the straw. And put it on top and it will look like your handle goes all the way through! 

But I just love these upholstery pins. I think they’re terrific, because now it’s going to be so easy to hang these. I can just imagine having a room full of all these little ornaments hanging down for, like, a baby shower or a bridal shower, and those little upholstery pins with the loop, those will make it really easy for you.

And that will do it for tips on creating your parasol ornaments. If you need the Parasol pattern that is shown in these examples, that pattern can be found on the website at theornamentgirl.com. As well as this pattern. This is, again, called the Starburst pattern, and it can also be found on the website, which is again  theornamentgirl.com 

Happy ornamenting! Bye!