Just a little more than a month remains before New Year! There are tangerines in stores, the first snow fell even in the Crimea, holiday decorations slowly appear on the streets and it means it's time for us to take in this magical atmosphere and to make decorations for a green beauty — Christmas tree — the main symbol of New Year. We, the southerners, have almost no snow and frost in winter, so I wanted my Christmas decorations to resemble ice crystals on windows, and I came up with an idea of this openwork star.

In order to make such a star we need:

• copper wire with a diameter of 0.8 mm — 2.4 m;
• copper wire with a diameter of 0.6 mm — 3.7 m;
• copper wire with a diameter of 0.4 mm — 20 m;
• Rivoli with a diameter of 18 mm — 2 pcs.;
• Czech beads (I prefer transparent light) — about 5 g;
• glass pearl beads with a diameter of 4 mm — 15 pcs;
• glass beads with a diameter of 4 mm (I have two kind) — 40 pcs;
• decorative cord (to hang the star) — 30 cm;
• tools for working with wire: round nose pliers, pliers, cutters, tweezers;
• a lead pencil, paper.

The easiest way to correctly maintain proportions of the parts is to find on the Internet a template for a volume paper star and on its basis to draw a sketch of one side of the ray of the star. I got this sketch, respectively to its dimensions I calculated the required amount of wire.

The next step on the way to the finished toy — production of details according to the sketch. You will need to make 20 pieces of each kind in total: one triangular big detail from the wire with a diameter of 0.8 mm (Fig. 1) and three small openwork details from the wire with a diameter of 0.6 mm (Fig. 2)

The most boring and monotonous work stage is completed and you can proceed to assembling the stars. Take two large triangular parts and combine them on the long side, then attach a thin wire (0,4 mm) on one of the parts (Fig. 1). Put a bead on a thin wire and wrap the wire around the second big detail (Fig. 2, 3, 4). With the same winding secure small delicate details so that they are located as on the sketch (Fig. 5, 6). Similarly connect the two big triangular details.

Here are two connected details.

You can then proceed to completion of assembling of the ray. Take a couple of connected parts, secure thin wire on one of them, not forgetting to fix an openwork detail with it, put a bead on the wire and wrap it around the side of the second pair of connected parts (Fig. 1). Continue winding until about 1 cm is left, then it will be possible to fix the bead on top of each triangle (Fig. 2). After winding at the middle sides of triangular details you will have four connected parts, which represent the expanded beam of a star. To make the ray volume you need to connect with winding the free sides of the expanded ray as described above. Don't cut the wire after winding of the free sides, first fix a pearl at the top of the volume ray (Fig. 3). Now you can cut the wire and hide the tip. After the ray is volume use small pieces of thin wire to connect openwork details between themselves, so they do not dangle (Fig. 4). You need to make 5 of these volume rays in total.

Now, connecting of beams. Is it all the same: secure the wire, wrap through the beads around the sides of each of the volume rays, adding beads between the curled points of the triangular parts (Fig. 1-4) and on the faces of the rays (Fig. 5,6).

Here are 5 interconnected rays.

When all the rays are connected together you can proceed to design the center of the star. To get started, add beads around the center. Fix a piece of thin wire with a length of about 1.5 m on the curl of one of the rays (Fig. 1), thread a bead and wrap the wire around the opposite side of the same curl (Fig. 2). To hide the wire in the transition from curl to curl, you can thread it in a pearl (Fig. 3) or add one bead in a pattern of volume rays (Fig. 4).

After all the curls are decorated with beads, do not cut the wire, this piece can be used to weave a mesh in the center of the star, spiralling to the center, the mesh should be slightly concave so that rivoli is not much protruded from the center of the star, and its edges are at approximately the same level with the curly rays. To do this, it is possible to slightly bend down each new row of the mesh with fingers during weaving. When you reach the center of the mesh, cut the wire, and then gently fold the remaining tip.

The mesh for rivoli is ready, now you need to make an element that will hold rivoli at the top. Make a round element of wire with a diameter of 0.6 mm, it needs to be a millimeter smaller in diameter than the rivoli.

Then, attach the piece of wire, which is left after mounting beads and weaving the mesh, to one of the curls of the ray (Fig. 1), put 3 seed beads on the wire, then wrap the wire around the central circular element (Fig. 2), put three more beads, secure the wire to the next curl in a circle (Fig. 3). To proceed in a circle, the wire can be threaded through the bead that we added when attaching beads around the center of the star (Fig. 3). So continue securing the element. When about half of the circle is passed, you can insert the rivoli, and then continue winding with it.

The final touch is to thread a piece of decorative cord directly between the beads on the faces of the top ray to hang the star — the original and beautiful Christmas tree decoration is ready!

My furry assistant and I thank you!