It's easy to make your own decorative hooks for holiday tree ornaments. They will compliment your ornaments much better than the dull gray, mass-produced hooks from the drug store. The also make great pre-holiday gifts.

Begin with a roll of 20-gauge wire. I prefer copper or brass wire for its color, but you could also use silver tone, gold tone, silver plate, or gold plate craft wire. Steel wire can be more difficult to work with, but you can try it in a pinch.

Unwind about a foot of wire from the roll. For best results, make a flush (flat) cut at the very end of the wire using side-cutters for jewelry making. (This gives the wire a more professional appearance and removes the jagged edge.)

Hold the wire in your non-dominant hand, and pick up a pair of small, round nose pliers with your dominant hand. Grasp the end of the wire with the tips of the round-nose pliers. Slowly roll the end of the wire away from you to create a small loop.

Continue holding the loop securely with the round nose pliers, and use your other hand to slowly pull the wire around the loop with a wide, circular motion. What you're trying to do here is create a very loose coil of wire around the first loop.

Bring the wire all the way around, as if you were drawing a circle in the air around the pliers.

Remove the round nose pliers, and use side cutters to trim the hook about 1 inch past the base of the coil you just made.

Grasp this end of the wire with the round nose pliers, and roll them away from you to create another small loop. Be sure to roll this loop in the opposite direction you wound the large coil.

You now have a basic ornament hook! Here it is in action:

(If you don't like the shape of your hook, just use your fingers to reshape it.)

To make your hooks even prettier, try decorating them with one or more colorful beads. Before you begin any wrapping, string a bead (or beads) onto the wire while it's still on the spool. Make the coiled portion of the hook. Then, before you trim the coil from the spool, bring the beads up against the coil and hold them there with your fingers.

Trim the hook about 1 inch past the beads. Use round nose pliers to create your final small loop, which will keep the beads from falling off. Use your fingers to bend the beaded loop downward (like a question mark), as shown here:

If you're interested in finding more creative things to do with wire, try the projects in Wirework: Using Wire for Beautiful Home Decorations, by Karin Hossack (available at Amazon.com).

For colorful beads to adorn your ornament hooks, I recommend Artbeads.com. My favorite beads for this project are the Czech glass selections in 4mm diameters or larger.

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Chris Franchetti Michaels is a writer and jewelry artisan specializing in beaded designs, wire work, and metal fabrication. She is the author of the books Teach Yourself Visually: Jewelry Making and Beading, Beading Quick Tips, and Wire Jewelry Quick Tips. Visit her website BeadJewelry.net for more jewelry-making help and inspiration.