Paper beaded jewelry...

I’ve been thinking about dabbling in jewelry making lately. The other night I remembered a project that my third graders made when I was teaching: beaded necklaces made with paper! We actually used old wallpaper samples (from wallpaper books that stores give away for free when they are done with them) and created beads out of the paper. They turned them into necklaces and sold them to raise money for the school.

Let me show you how to create these beads from paper to make your own unique jewelry!
First, you will need to decide which patterned paper you’d like to use. Here I chose the Pop Fashion Hip Huggers paper, because I love the elegant feel to it. Depending on the size you want the beads to turn out, you can cut your strips 12” for thicker beads or 6” for skinnier beads. The strips should be about ½ inch wide, but make sure all your strips are the same size to create beads that are similar.Next, I put a small spot of glue from my tape runner on one end. I used a skinny end of a paintbrush and began wrapping the paper strip around the brush. When you are almost to the end, slide the paper bead off the brush and add a bit of Mod Podge to the inside end of the paper. Finish wrapping the end around and hold it the end down for a few seconds. The Mod Podge will adhere and dry quickly. I used a matte finish Mod Podge, but you can also purchase a glossy finish. Paint the Mod Podge all the way around the bead to put a protective coating on it. Let dry. (only takes a few minutes for these to dry)
To create the necklace, I purchased this pre-made necklace from AC Moore for about $2. I cut one of the loops out of the necklace with wire cutters and added the bead in with a small piece of wire. The bracelet is also made with wire, but you could use elastic or a chain if you wanted to and add clasps to the ends. The large black button on the bracelet has a Pop Fashion – Paislee Press On in Metallic Silver applied to it and was covered with Mod Podge to seal it.

With these beads you can create many other things as well, such as earrings, bookmarks, etc…unlimited possibilities! Here is another bracelet made with the Tinsel Town line from Pink Paislee. The beads are different sizes on this one and I used a bit of Tinsel Town ribbon wrapped around a couple of the beads.

Am working on some earrings next, just need a few more parts from the store. Will post more soon, thanks for stopping by!