Making Paper Beads

My roommate asked me a couple of months ago to make paper beads so he can make his mom some jewelry for Christmas. Well, I must confess that for two months I've had the cutting file made. My excuse for not making them sooner is I could not find the paper. With Thanksgiving next week I knew that I really needed to make the beads if he is going to get his present made for his mom in time. Lol! As luck would have it the paper I wanted to use was with the other papers all along. So today I cut out the paper and started rolling my beads. This goes really quick and you could make a lot of beads in a short time.

You are going to need to cut your paper into a triangle shape. The width and length of the triangle will determine the diameter of your finished bead. I made mine .75" X 6". The .75" is the squared off end of the triangle which tapers down to a narrow point. This is what mine looks like cut out.

I am using some Monet Waterlily scrapbook paper I found on sale over a year ago. Pretty much any paper would work as long as it rolls nicely. If you are using a program like Studio for the Silhouette cutting machine you could fill in your triangles with pattern and make them print and cut.

I am using a paint brush to roll the paper on. A skewer would work, a thin dowel or whatever you can find. Remember the diameter of what you roll the paper on will determine how big your hole is for your bead.

To make the beads you will need a glue stick. To start your bead spread glue on the squared off end on the pattern side. It is important that you put the glue on the pattern side as you don't want the bead to stick to what you are rolling it on.(Wonder how I know that. LOL!) Then tightly roll holding it a moment for the glue to stick. It should look like a pennant on a stick.

In this picture you can see the beads I've already rolled with another bead ready to be rolled. Roll tightly you may want to add glue as you roll that is up to you. For me it is easier to roll until there is about a inch left. Now on the plain side you will apply your glue and finish rolling.(Sorry I can't take a picture and roll at the same time. And my dogs are too busy napping.)

All that is left is to finish these beads with some kind of sealer. It depends on the effect you want. You can use clear nail polish which is quick and easiest way. Leaving the beads on what you used to roll them on will make that easier to do. They can be dipped in Ultra Thick Embossing enamel which will have them looking like glass beads. They can be sprayed with a polyurethane sealer. You will want to seal your beads some way.

I can't wait to see what my roommate makes. He wants to add some amethyst beads along with these. I was going to cut some triangles out of metallic paper for beads to go with these but he said no.

Thank you for stopping by and do come back.

Happy Frugal Crafting till we meet again!