Making Paper Beads

Saturday, April 14, 2007Filed Under Crafts, Beads |

In Victorian times, women in England gathered in dining rooms to make beads by rolling scraps of wallpaper on knitting needles. They would then string the beads on long pieces of yarn to create curtains that separated rooms. You can make these beads from recycled scrap paper, and string them together to make jewelry!

Paper BeadsWhat you’ll need:

  • scraps of wallpaper, magazine pictures, used wrapping paper, colored paper, etc.
  • pencil, ruler, and scissors
  • paste
  • drinking straws
  • thread or yarn

Before you begin, gather all of your supplies together and put them on your work surface. Read all of the directions from start to finish. Now you are ready to begin.

  1. With your scissors, cut long triangles from your paper scraps that are about 1/2-inch wide and 2 1/2-inches long. Make a template to trace, if you wish.
  2. Cover one side of a triangle with paste. Put the paste on the inside of the paper so that the colorful pattern will be on the outside of your bead.
  3. Place the triangle’s glued short side on a drinking straw.
  4. Wrap the paper completely around itself on the straw.
  5. Cut away the straw at both ends of the rolled paper.
  6. To make beads with different shapes, vary the size and shape of the paper triangles that you cut.
  7. Let your beads dry, and then string them together on your thread or yarn. Knot the ends of the thread together.

Comments

3 Comments so far

  1. Beadin' Gram on April 14, 2007 10:22 pm

    I’m so glad you visited my blog — otherwise I might not have found yours — and it is delightful. I love you many projects — I shall visit often.

  2. Matthew on April 14, 2007 10:56 pm

    I fixed the comment you left on our blog to point to the voting, and i voted for you!

    Thanks for stopping by BAYB! :)

  3. C5 on January 15, 2008 10:55 pm

    I’ve been telling my kids to do this so I can blog about it…and when I got to your site, I saw your post. :) It’s really one idea to recycle those glossy mags. :)

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