September 2025 Craft: Beaded Victory Garden Wands

By Captain Gin Pack
Centralia, WA Corps – Northwest Division

Although the primary focus of Victory Gardens was to produce food. They were also a place to showcase deep pride for their community, patriotism, and even help distinguish certain foods growing. Many Victory Gardens were adorned with, art and signs, pathways and borders, scarecrows and garden figures, even flowers.

What you will need:

Threaded rods – ours were sized 8/32 inch., they’re also known as M4 screw rods. We purchased ours precut in 9-inch rods. However, for money saving, you can purchase longer versions and cut them to the size you’d prefer.
Bolt cutters/grinder/or hack saw (if you are not purchasing precut rods). If you’re comfortable and know your way around some basic tools this should be an easy job to cut to size.
Nut- to be threaded on the rod, since we used an 8/32 (8 being the diameter of the screw and 32 indicates the number of threads per inch) we would at least one nut per rod.
Large Hole Beads – I also saw these referred to as “European Beads”, purchase a variety of colors and/or textures. They come in both glass and plastic variety, so whatever your budget is or the look you’re going for, shop around. You can also find fun embellishments as well that can accommodate the rod and provide a beautiful element.
Drawer Pulls – These will be used as the toppers. They can come in a variety of different colors, textures, and materials. You can also repurpose old furniture that’s headed to the scrap yard or hit up yard/garage sales.

Tell your victory story:

Start with the nut and place it about a quarter to a third of the way down the rod. This will serve as the bottom and keep the beads from falling straight down. Flip your threaded rod around and then tell your victory story in the color of the beads.

Perhaps take a moment or two and visualize the victory you’ve seen with Christ as your side. Maybe it’s the birth of a baby you thought you might not ever see, or a defeated medical diagnosis, maybe it’s the gift of a beautiful uneventful and simple life with Jesus as your side, maybe you’re desperately seeking to see your victory, but it hasn’t come just yet. Whatever your victory is tell the story in the colors from darkest moments to bright shining moments to the journey to victory.

When you’re finished, top it with a beautiful top of one of the drawer pulls. What does the top symbolize for you?

Now place it in the dirt of a houseplant or a raised garden bed, maybe amongst flowers, or even on a farm. Wherever you place it, know that this place now is your own place to celebrate and recognize the victory for which we have or anticipate having in Christ