Yes, you read the title correctly. I have recently discovered paper beads and completely fallen in love! These are SO simple to make and a great way to use up scrap paper including magazines or newspapers you have lying around the house! You absolutely can cut these on your own at home or you can purchase them ready to go in a kit from us. Here are some instructions on how to create them!
Materials Needed:
scraps of paper of any kind
Scissors
a straw or toothpick
glue
Mod Podge
foam paint brush
optional: shoe box and more toothpicks
Ok so to begin you will need to cut out your paper strips. You can get creative with design but generally they will be a long rectangular shape with a triangle on the end. The image here gives you some examples of the different shapes you can do. (This is not my image, however I couldn't link it to the original post because I found it just like this!)
Once you have all of your paper strips cut, you can start rolling your beads. You will need the straw or toothpick for this part. Which item you use depends on the size you want the inner hole to be when you are finished. I would suggest using the straw for younger ages because it's easier to maneuver the paper around. Roll your paper as shown in the image here and secure it with a dab of glue. Hold the paper end down for about five seconds to make sure it is fully secured.
Lastly you will want to seal your beads. This is probably the trickiest part of the process simply because you have to get creative on how to do it. I found multiple ideas on how to glaze your beads on the internet. I will be honest-I have actually skipped this part on every bracelet I've made. It is not mandatory but it will give your beads the shiny appearance jewelry has and also help them last longer and be somewhat water resistant.
To glaze your beads you will want to paint the finished bead with Mod Podge. The tricky part here is keeping them from sticking to the surface you are working on. If you're making your beads with toothpicks you can leave the bead on the toothpick when you are finished rolling and stick the toothpick into a piece of Styrofoam or anything you can get your toothpick to stand up on. Then paint the Mod Podge on and leave them to dry. If using a straw you can string your beads onto the cord and fashion a drying rack out of toothpicks and a shoe box ( or another small box you may have on hand). The pictures below demonstrate the shoe box method.
(Original Post: https://www.instructables.com/Glazing-and-Drying-Paper-Beads/)
That's it! Our paper bead kits come with 100 paper strips in all different colors, a straw, 2 oz bottle of Mod Podge, foam brush, and 5yds of bead cord. I hope you enjoy making these as much as I do!