Making Paper Beads-Recycle The Sunday Funnies, Magazines, Gift Wrap

 Making paper beads relaxes me. I have a lot of beads, but there's always room for more! I googled "paper beads" and found templates to print out on your scrap paper. There's plenty of shapes, but I mostly use just one. Check out these images and templates . Today I'm going to cut out some cone shaped ones, and button shaped ones.

*Here's A Great YouTube Video*

 You'll need some "Ingredients":
 old magazine pages
 scrapbooking paper
 tissue paper
 gift wrap
 glue-I used school glue
 wooden skewers  (the kind you would use for shish-kabobs, you get about 100 for $1) cut into about  4" lengths (I even read where some Girl Scouts used coffee stirrers)
 toothpicks or a length of craft wire
 clear gloss spray (or clear nail polish-it's what I prefer) or varnish
 elastic beading string or whatever you want to string your beads on (about $3)
 a piece of foil or wax paper
               * You might make your necklace long enough to just slip over your head *
 memory wire for bracelets (about $3-will make at least 3 bracelets)
 some beads to fill in your necklace with, if you want ( I found a pretty good sized package of painted wood beads at Dollar Tree)

 The best part of going to Ocean Springs is driving off over the Gulf in Biloxi!
                                     

   I'm going to use the front and back cover of this magazine.

 
 Ingredients!


  And cut some strips like this. Choose the pattern you like for your bead shape, and print out using one of the templates you like. I've mostly cut mine freehand, or marked my pattern out myself with a ruler.  Once you have a nice stack of them, get your piece of skewer and wrap the large edge around your skewer a couple times; dab some glue on the rest of your paper and roll it up. Don't roll it so tight that you can't slip it off your stick, lol! (ask me how I know!)


   Roll the strip on your skewer once or twice, then add a little glue. Continue rolling your paper strip and adding a little glue til you reach the end. I like to take my bead off the skewer and let it finish drying on foil or waxed paper.




Make sure the end is glued down, they seem to want to pop up...




This is what the wire is for, lol! Once I make my beads, then I string them on some craft wire. When the glue dries, take them outside and spray your clear spray or varnish on them. I like clear nail polish, at least 2 coats of whatever you decide to use.

Red beads are pretty.....





But I'm going with the crackled turquoise beads, and some silver beads, too. And I made a pair of earrings too. Somewhere in outer space is a photo of a matching bracelet!  I have no idea how I did that!

  You can also make a bracelet with the elastic string or memory wire; and even a pair of earrings to match. If you make earrings, you'll need eye pins, and earring wires.



 One more thing-I made some cone-shaped beads-


And made an angel. Cute!


Now go make something!
Kudzu




Below are some more examples of paper beads I made-

Aiden and Zach camping out on the living room floor-Dug keeping guard!