Recycled Paper Beads

Sometimes, you want to make some jewellery but you have no beads whatsoever. I often come up with this problem but there is a solution: homemade paper beads! Grab some paper and lets get going.

You will need:

• Paper
• A gluestick
• PVA glue
• Water
• A skewer/bead making tool
• Cocktail sticks
• Small piece of polystyrene
• Coloured pens

To actually make the beads, the best and easiest way to do it to use a bead making tool (I recommend the Recycled Paper Beads kit from green creativity. You can get it easily off Amazon). But if you don't have one, you can roll them on a skewer.

Method

1. Firstly, you need to cut the strips of paper. There are different shapes of beads you can make but I will start with the most common. Start by marking inches across the top of the paper (you can change this to suit how wide you want the beads).

2. Mark half an inch on the bottom of the paper. Continue making full inch mark along the bottom.

3. Now join all these marks up so you get triangle shapes.

4. Cut them out.

5. At this point, you will need to decorate the strips of paper. But if you have cut them out of some magazine paper or decorated paper then this won't apply. If you are decorating them, remember that you will keep rolling over the top of the design, so anything running down the middle won't be seen.

6. After decorating, you now need to roll the beads. If you are using a specialised tool, follow the instructions that come with it. If not, start by putting a line of glue on the wide section of bead. Make sure you do this on the back.
7. Now fold it the top over the skewer and glue it down. This will hold the bead in place as you roll it.

8. It is now time to create the actual bead shape! Slowly and carefully roll the piece of paper around the skewer until there is a small tail left. Use a glue stick to secure this down.

9. Slide the bead off the skewer and put it onto a cocktail stick. Stick the cocktail stick in a piece of polystyrene. This will keep the bead from the ground as it dries and make it easier to seal.

10. Once the bead as dried, you will need to make the watered down glue to seal the bead. If you have some Mod Podge, feel free to use this. But if you don't, put some PVA glue into a bowl and add water until it is a thick but runny consistency.
11. Paint this all around the bead. You may find it easier if you pick up the cocktail stick.

12. Wait for them to fully dry and then take them off the cocktail sticks. Your bead are now finished! 13. Thread them through some elastic and tie to create a wonderful bracelet or necklace.

We hope you have found this tutorial useful and comment down below if you have made some. We would love to see a picture if you have!