Paper Bead Necklace

After seeing how easy it was to make paper beads I decided to make a paper bead necklace for a Christmas gift. See my post paper beads for the how to on making the beads. I already had some beads in my stash which I added to the paper beads I had made. I  used my Cameo to cut out a charm from card stock. This necklace was so easy and quick to make and no special jewelry making equipment.

The charm I cut out is a free cutting file by Mrs. Miles also known as Barb Derksen. Thanks Barb for so generously sharing this swirly heart.(Her free files can be found here) The card stock was actually redder in color with a sheen but changed color when I melted Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel over it. It is easy to make your own charms.  I did with this one cut two charms out and glued them together for a little more stability. Stamp the charm with embossing ink and pour the embossing enamel over and melt with your embossing tool.

These beads I cut from a plaid scrapbook paper I had on hand. I coated them with two thin layers of Mod Podge but didn't like the brush strokes showing or the finish. The bead was on a toothpick so I decided to roll it over the embossing ink pad.  Then I poured out some of the embossing enamel powder. I poured the powder into a glitter tray but if you don't have one a sheet of paper will work. I rolled the bead through the enamel powder and then melted it with my heat tool rotating the bead as I heated it. It was easy and no messing with melting the UTEE as it is called in a melting pot. If you don't have clear UTEE you can use regular clear embossing powder but it will take more coats.

The silver beads I have had in my stash for a couple of decades. I did see some similar beads for 20 cents a piece recently in a bead shop. I bought a yard of the cord for 35 cents but the price will vary. You should be able to find  the cord for under a dollar.

The clerk at the bead shop where I bought the cording showed me how easy it is to knot the cording to make an adjustable necklace. If you don't know how Here are instructions for making a simple knot. Of course there are fancier knots you can make for making an adjustable necklace.

Alas bead stores seem to be going out of business. I went earlier this week to a neighborhood where I used to buy beads and the store was gone. My local bead store is closing which is a shame as it was within walking distance and beads and cording was considerably cheaper than in craft stores like Michaels. I am going to have to walk over there and stock up on cording and beads.

That is all for today. One more gift made and the books are bought for the grandchildren. I may actually get gifts mailed out the first of the month instead of mailing them at the last minute.

Thank you for stopping by and do come back. I'm off to make a box for the necklace. Wishing you Happy Frugal Crafting till we meet again.