There's something about a little ladybug that just makes people smile. This cute beaded ladybug is made with pony beads and cord, with a fun bug shape that's easy to personalize with your own combination of colors. Make the familiar red and black ladybug, try completely different colors, or create a whole collection of colorful little bugs.
Attach your finished ladybug to a key ring, backpack, bag or zipper pull, or leave off the key ring and use it as a hanging decoration. It's a fun project for ladybug lovers, bug and insect fans, kids and animal lovers, and makes a great handmade gift. This pony bead ladybug is also well suited to summer camp, classroom and group crafts, school mascots and fundraisers.
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You will need one connector such as a 
Lanyard hook, or any type of 
Key Ring.
Next, you will need 2 yards of cord for our mouse. There are lots of different types of cords you can use. We prefer a cord that is 1mm to 2mm thick because it helps your ladybug keychain critter keep it's shape better. Alternatively, you can use a thinner cord and weave a little wire or a pipe cleaner into your keychain critter to help it keep it's shape that way. Either way works just fine but you can experiment with it to see which method you prefer.
One good option is 
Suede Cord . Another good choice is 
Monofilament Cord or 
2mm metallic cording. Other good choices would be jute or hemp cord, leather necklace cord, rattail cord, shoelaces, ribbon, paracord, or a strong jewelry cord like tigertail.
You will need 
27 - Black Pony Beads (or the color of your choice).
37 - Red Pony Beads. Red glitter pony beads or transparent red pony beads or would also work well for your ladybug.
Optional: For a stiffer critter you can include a little wire or a pipe cleaner with your cord to help keep it's shape
Beading Wire or 
Pipe Cleaners
3. After finishing the pattern tie a double knot in the cords at the bottom and apply tacky glue to secure.
4. Weave your wire or pipe cleaner through your beaded ladybug keychain to make it stiffer and hold it's shape. You probably only need to do this on the first or second row.
(Seed beads or E beads can be used in place of pony beads to create smaller characters.)
