Creating an Evil Eye with Kids

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My son’s teacher is from Turkey. She is lovely. A former aeronautical engineer, she decided to change careers to her passion: guiding children in a Montessori classroom. She is the type to appreciate thought and her students’ participation in the gift process. So, I sought help from a friend who is married to a Turkish man. She inspired me to create an Evil Eye with my son to give his teacher.

In Turkey, people created the Evil Eye Pendant to guard themselves from such not-so-well-meaning people with their necessarily evil eyes. The Evil Eye is worn or displayed to protect oneself from evil looks. It is actually a stone bead made from a combination of molten glass, iron, copper, water and salt, a combination of minerals and metals believed to provide a shield from the forces of evil. The symbol of the eye is regarded as a strong protector against evil forces in almost every culture of the world like Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist and Christian.

This activity was great for children, especially those young ones honing their fine motor skills. Additionally, smoothly adding culture, emotional & learning into the activity.

I can’t take any credit for the tutorial. I researched online and found an amazing blog, Mich L. in LA, and her post on creating an Evil Eye.

Materials:

• Jewelry pliers and cutters
• Wire
• Blue beads, light blue beads, white beads and a single black bead
• Headpin
• Ribbon, twine or string

Approach:

I will let you visit Mich L. in LA for the detailed tutorial but the idea is to create concentric circles of beads in the color order seen in the above image. Then you have a single black bead, the eye, hanging in the center

The experience was a great that included my son in the process. It wasn’t perfect but I think his teacher was touched by his efforts. We decorated a tin can and placed the Evil Eye in it for her to open.

I also love these ideas for Evil Eye crafts:

• Ward Off the Evil Eye with a Hamsa Craft from Kid World Citizen
• Evil Eye Mandala Jewelry Arts & Craft Activities from Paper Mandalas
• Crafty Fun With Hamsa & The Evil Eye from Bubblegum Post

 

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Marnie