I wanted to come up with some great garden markers for the garden we planted this past weekend. I looked online for some ideas, but I didn’t feel inspired. I rummaged through the garage to find something that might inspire me in terms of materials. I was at a loss browsing through things there. Finally, I thought up this idea. I went the craft store to collect all the things I would need.
I had some beads on hand, and you’ll want to have some to decorate the ends. I needed to buy the Alphabet Letter Beads.
I also needed wire. I purchased 18 gauge floral stem wire. The final thing I purchased was the Crimp Covers. They may also be called crimp beads. They are found in the jewelry making section of the craft store. You will want a size that is big enough to crimp onto your wire and hold your final bead in place (i.e. bigger than the hole of the final bead when crimped). You will want some needle nose pliers on hand as well.
The first part I did, which was to wrap the metal floral wire around a simple bead. I crimped it tightly in place.
The next part the kids were able to do with a bit of assistance. We intentionally did this project outside. I would work with one of the kids at a time. The other two would ride bikes or play on the playground. Then, they’d switch off. I did this with them until they became bored (they each did about 3, and I did the rest). This arrangement made this project a lot more manageable. With Corban (age 2), I just handed him the beads to put on the wire. This was great hand-eye coordination practice for the little one. With Kenzie (age 4), I tried to help her sound out the words and she was able to find her own letters. Abigail (almost 6) could practically do the whole thing on her own. She did try to spell blueberries – bluebarees though. She also wanted to spell cilantro – silontro. It all makes sense phonetically.
Once the final beads were in place, I put on the crimp cover and squeezed it tightly in place. This assures the beads don’t slip down the wire. It has to be pulled very tightly.
I love the colorful and fun outcome of these garden markers. I really enjoy crafts that are easy for the kids to help create and yet yield really beautiful results.
Abby and Kenzie helped me stick the markers in our newly planted garden. Here are some pictures from our planting day:
I’ll have to check in with you later as our plants grow more. Last year I wasn’t as on top of the harvesting. Our broccoli bloomed, and our lettuce was out of control. We also had an abundance of tomatoes that I didn’t utilize like I could have done. I need to read up on that a bit more. I have never claimed to have a green thumb, but I’m learning. We have loved having our own fresh food to go out and pick from come harvest.
“We have loved having our own fresh food to go out and pick from come harvest. For more DIY ideas on everything from gardening with kids to using vintage mirrors as wall art, Homeclick Community has some great videos and articles for you.“
What a great idea!! I love this, I’m totally trying this!!
So cute!
Thanks so much!
What a wonderful idea! I love how creating these works on fine Motor skills.
Thanks! We had a a lot of fun with it.
These are the cutest garden markers I’ve ever seen! And I’ve looked at a lot of them. Can’t wait to make these with the kids.
What a huge compliment. Thank you so much. I was pretty excited about the outcome too, and I love how easily the kids could help. I’d love to see your results! Let me know.
I saw these over at Monday Funday and had to stop over…these are simply beyond adorable!!! Such a fabulous idea and I love the way these will look in the garden. Thank you so much for sharing and am pinning. 🙂 Have a wonderful week!
Thank you so much, Cindy. I was happy to come up with a solution my kids could help with but I would enjoy too. I’m off to check out your blog now. 🙂
Beautiful idea, beautiful plantings, beautiful setting, and beautiful family! What sweet blessings.
What a sweet comment. Thank you!
Awesome idea! These are cute, too!
Your plant markers look great – how fun too! I have these linked to my DIY garden markers post too today, for inspiration!
Great feature and wonderful collection of garden markers. Thank you so much!
Awesome! It would also be fun to use colored wire to make a “necklace” of these to put on larger plants, such as rose bushes of different varieties.
That’s a really fun idea, Karen. I love it.
What a wonderful & colorful idea! I have the problem of having to rewrite my tags every year and then try to remember where what is planted! some are pretty easy but most I am wrong so then I have to move them again! It is frustrating! I did also buy some 12″ aluminum plant tags but that was too expensive. I need at least 300. So I very much like your idea!
Thanks for sharing!!!
300? You must have an amazing garden. I should have invited you over. I have to say, I’m just a novice at trying to make my garden work for me. It produces well, but I’m not great at harvesting. It seems overnight everything is blooming, and I have missed my opportunity to make it work. I am producing more than I know how to maintain, which is a good thing. I don’t have anything close to what you are doing though. I’m so glad my garden markers might make a show in your garden. Thanks for commenting.
I TOTALLY love these!! I was wondering if you could tell me the size of the letter beads and where you found them? Also where did you buy the colored beads? Thank you for sharing this idea!! They are so so cute!
Hello! I’m so glad you like them. I think you’ll have fun with this project. I went back to the post and added a bunch of links to products to make it easier for my readers. I do believe the letter beads were 7mm. I found them at my craft store, but I put a link to Amazon as well. I think I just had the colored beads on hand that were purchased or given to me years ago. I am sorry I can’t be more help there. I would go to the jewelry section of your own craft store and pick something out that you’d like. The wooden ones are a bit weathered this year. I would encourage you to try plastic or glass for longevity. Thanks so much. I hope you enjoy your creations.
Where do you find those larger size beads (and what size are they, actually). I can’t find them anywhere.
Hi! Glad you are here and like this idea. The alphabet letters at 7mm, so I think you could get the end beads between 7 and 12mm. I don’t remember where I originally got mine…maybe Michael’s. Here’s a couple affiliate links I found that might be helpful: http://goo.gl/mEC8vT and actually the following might be the exact ones: http://goo.gl/lHFqmY
We used to make these with names for key chains and necklaces in camp years ago
I’ve done that too. Super fun, isn’t it?
I have a beautiful garden and in the winter months I forget what some things may be under the ground. I will be marking everything before it dies so as not to think it is a weed in the spring and my husband thinks everything is a weed !
Glad you found inspiration here. That’s super smart to keep them there over the winter. These markers seem to stand the test of time. Thanks for commenting.
I have a question, how well did these stand up for the next year? I tried my garden identification project and they didn’t stand up to the water and the sun. Just curious how the bead stood up.
We have used them over and over again. I think they’ve been out for a few seasons now. The wire that goes into the ground gets a bit rusted, but the beads actually stay quite nice. We even left them out all winter, if you can believe it. If you take them out at the end of each season I bet they’d stay even nice. Enjoy!
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Love this idea, but how do you keep the beading wire from rusting?
Thanks! We used them for a few years without much notice of rust issues. If I remember correctly, they did rust, but the wire was in the ground, and the beads just stayed nice and covered any problems. It’s been a while since we made them, so my memory could be fuzzy. I just don’t remember this being a big problem. Enjoy!