As creator of this art blog, it is my duty to bring forward the most creative yet affordable crafts … or any other form of art. I found a great video on YouTube that taught me how to make paper beads out of magazine paper! Throughout the past couple of days I have tested out different glues and varnishes. Not the cheapest way for me, but through my experimentation’s, I can now pass on to you the most affordable and efficient materials for this project! I was pleasantly surprised at how well these beads turned out. Once I made a couple dozen, I wanted to keep making more and experiment with different colors. I like how every bead turned out differently. I refer to most of my projects as “artistic meditation” and again, this was definitely one of those projects. Make sure you have all of your supplies in front of you. Make sure your work space is clean and organized. Light some candles, turn on some music, keep your environment serene. Now  you can fully enjoy this time that you have set aside for yourself.

Materials:
glossy magazine paper
square toothpicks
glue stick
x acto knife (or box cutter)
cutting mat
styrofoam
a pen or pencil
metal ruler
mod podge
clear nail polish

Step One: Once you have found a page that you would like to use, cut it out and make sure that it is even on both sides. Measure out one inch on the top and half an inch on the bottom (or vice versa) and with a pencil, mark every inch of the page. That will be the width of your bead. Refer to the picture above as to how you go about doing this. Once you have finished cutting out all of the pieces, stack them together and cut off the tips so that there is a little more than an eighth of an inch of paper.

Step Two: Make sure the side that you have chosen is face down. Use the glue stick to coat the entire back side of the paper except for the first inch. You don’t want it sticking to the toothpick. Once you have done this take your toothpick and roll the paper all the way up. slide the bead to the tip of the toothpick and set it aside by sticking the toothpick in a piece of styrofoam.

Step Three: Take a brush and coat the entire bead with mod podge. Let it dry and then use two coats of clear nail polish lacquer. Mod Podge has a new hard coat decoupage. I had a hard time finding it in stores, but you can probably use this instead of nail polish.

Tips: Square toothpicks work better for me because they provide more traction in order for the paper to wrap tightly.

Elmer’s crafting glue sticks or any kind of glue stick works better than liquid glue because you have more control over the amount you are using. It’s very easy to use too much on beads that are an inch wide. As you wrap the paper the excess glue will ooze out on either side, causing a rather sticky and messy situation.

Clear nail polish works as a glaze to protect the bead from water and discoloring.

I tried making glazed paper beads with the Ranger’s melting pot and UTEE. I didn’t like the fact that I had little control over how thick the glaze would get over top of the bead. I liked the natural shape and texture of the bead and by using clear nail polish it did not take away these details. Stay tuned, this week I will post some photos of the jewelry i’ve made with these beads. Happy crafting!