PAPER BEADS

PAPER BEADS

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I made these a little while ago and have in fact worn them to work a couple of times (after all if you can't wear paper beads in a craft shop where can you wear them? )

One sheet of 12 x 12 paper will be enough to make all of these grey beads, as long as you end each in a point which becomes the edge of the wide end of the next bead.

I've just used a glue stick to add a bit of body as I wound them up and then coated the finished beads with Mod Podge to glue them properly and provide a protective finish.

After a bit of experimenting, the easiest way to do this seems to be to wind the elongated diamond shaped pieces of paper around a bamboo skewer  (you can make several on the one skewer).  After that if you rest the ends of the skewers across a shoe box or plastic container, you can brush the sealer over all the beads at once, and they will turn as you brush so all sides are done at once, and you can just leave them in place to dry.

For this necklace I've used white shell beads as a spacers.  I think the extra weight helps it hang better.