Today I offer two wonderful options for creative projects. These are both great because they are made from things we would normally toss out.
The first is paper beads. These are simple to make, quite attractive and made from any paper you have on hand.
I bought a paper quilling tool from hobby lobby for around four bucks. It has a short, slotted metal tip. You slip the paper into that and twist around until you reach the end of the paper. At the last quarter inch or so of the paper in the rolled bead, I lay down a bead of Aleene's Clear Gel Tacky Glue on the "tail" end of the paper bead. I roll the bead and glued tail around and around until the last bit of the paper is secure to the bead. I pop the bead off the quilling tool onto an old cookie sheet and let it dry completely. Then I place the dried beads into their appropriate containers.
I also use a long, metal needle piercing tool. I use this one for the larger sized beads I make. While it doesn't have the slotted opening, which makes rolling a bit fiddlier, it does make much larger beads. I simply roll the paper back and forth several times to get it started on the tool before trying to roll the whole bead onto the needle.
Once I've made the beads-and you can make several different types and shapes by cutting your paper differently-I embellish them. I used long straight pins stuck upward through foam core and placed my beads on them. Then I uses markers, paint pens, paint, glitter glue, glitter and beads on the paper beads to create unique and different designs and patterns on the beads.
Once the embellishments were completely dry-I let them all dry overnight and completed this step the following day-I painted them with a good coat of water based varnish/clear coat. I happened to have a high gloss mod podge I found at Goodwill for $1.50, so that's what I used.
The results are quite lovely. Really shiny beads with lots of sparkle and creative design. Since I'm not sure what I am going to be making with these beads yet, I have them separated into sizes and colors. What is so fantastic about these beads is you can make them from any type of paper you have on hand.
I had several sheets of ugly or unusable scrapbook paper, you know the kind that comes in kits you buy for two or three perfect papers and the other four are just awful...Anyway, once I cut them into strips for beads, roll them up, embellish or just leave them plain and gloss them, they look fantastic! I've also used the free catalogs that come in the mail. The junk mail that's colorful, the kids artwork (after I take pictures of it for their books), phone books, the papers that come with prescription medications, old coloring books, old magazines, cookbooks, any and all paper items are up for grabs when it comes to crafting!
I've been doing this a lot lately. I've taken a small container with materials along with me to the doctor's office to work on while waiting. I've been catching up on GRIMM on Netflix and I roll beads. I have, probably, a thousand or so beads at this point. I haven't counted, but I have a half filled gallon zip lock bag of paper beads. Some are seed bead size...
There are more options for paper beads than just jewelry: I plan to use some to create a mosaic. And I will be using some in my miniatures. I will be making ornaments with some of them. I will use some as buttons. Some as hair accessories for L. Some will be used for bookmarks and embellishments on my paper cone creations. Some will be used in my paper flowers. Some will be used as embellishment on my lampshades in the living room. Still others will be used in my creation of puppets.
And, if all else fails, I may actually use some for jewelry making.
Tutorial from Jennibellie, one of my favorite bloggers
The first is paper beads. These are simple to make, quite attractive and made from any paper you have on hand.
I bought a paper quilling tool from hobby lobby for around four bucks. It has a short, slotted metal tip. You slip the paper into that and twist around until you reach the end of the paper. At the last quarter inch or so of the paper in the rolled bead, I lay down a bead of Aleene's Clear Gel Tacky Glue on the "tail" end of the paper bead. I roll the bead and glued tail around and around until the last bit of the paper is secure to the bead. I pop the bead off the quilling tool onto an old cookie sheet and let it dry completely. Then I place the dried beads into their appropriate containers.
I also use a long, metal needle piercing tool. I use this one for the larger sized beads I make. While it doesn't have the slotted opening, which makes rolling a bit fiddlier, it does make much larger beads. I simply roll the paper back and forth several times to get it started on the tool before trying to roll the whole bead onto the needle.
Once I've made the beads-and you can make several different types and shapes by cutting your paper differently-I embellish them. I used long straight pins stuck upward through foam core and placed my beads on them. Then I uses markers, paint pens, paint, glitter glue, glitter and beads on the paper beads to create unique and different designs and patterns on the beads.
Once the embellishments were completely dry-I let them all dry overnight and completed this step the following day-I painted them with a good coat of water based varnish/clear coat. I happened to have a high gloss mod podge I found at Goodwill for $1.50, so that's what I used.
The results are quite lovely. Really shiny beads with lots of sparkle and creative design. Since I'm not sure what I am going to be making with these beads yet, I have them separated into sizes and colors. What is so fantastic about these beads is you can make them from any type of paper you have on hand.
I had several sheets of ugly or unusable scrapbook paper, you know the kind that comes in kits you buy for two or three perfect papers and the other four are just awful...Anyway, once I cut them into strips for beads, roll them up, embellish or just leave them plain and gloss them, they look fantastic! I've also used the free catalogs that come in the mail. The junk mail that's colorful, the kids artwork (after I take pictures of it for their books), phone books, the papers that come with prescription medications, old coloring books, old magazines, cookbooks, any and all paper items are up for grabs when it comes to crafting!
I've been doing this a lot lately. I've taken a small container with materials along with me to the doctor's office to work on while waiting. I've been catching up on GRIMM on Netflix and I roll beads. I have, probably, a thousand or so beads at this point. I haven't counted, but I have a half filled gallon zip lock bag of paper beads. Some are seed bead size...
There are more options for paper beads than just jewelry: I plan to use some to create a mosaic. And I will be using some in my miniatures. I will be making ornaments with some of them. I will use some as buttons. Some as hair accessories for L. Some will be used for bookmarks and embellishments on my paper cone creations. Some will be used in my paper flowers. Some will be used as embellishment on my lampshades in the living room. Still others will be used in my creation of puppets.
And, if all else fails, I may actually use some for jewelry making.
Tutorial from Jennibellie, one of my favorite bloggers