Craft Project Wednesday: Recycled paper beads



Craft Project Wednesday is a 2012 recurring blog post
where I present a craft project I'm currently working on.



Reading through what information can be found online regarding beads made of paper, I think it must have come into fashion when the intrinsic value of paper got lowered. Which must have been when there was so much paper available that even 'poorer' people were able to own and buy books and pamphlets. Or didn't think it a 'waste' to reuse/upcycle them.

If the whole thing make you itch for a tutorial or the like you can take a peek at Paper University's page (but I'd forgo using straws in that tutorial if I were you), or even better, read through this summary of tutorials in Pearl's post about it at her page "the Beading Gem's Journal". It's a treat, I promise.

There is even some charity work program in Uganda done with making paper beads. It's called Bead for Life, and I've seen their sales persons and products at different crafts fairs for two years now. I hope it's going well for them.

And before I digress even further: those that want their jewelry to really ooze color, making these types of beads using glossy magazine's and printed ads is definitely the way to go. I tried out both 'traditional' printed-book-paper and glossy-magazine-paper. Funny really, I got a magazine that met that description from Mimi shortly before Christmas, otherwise I wouldn't have had any 'research material' for that at hand at all! I would have been forced to maybe even... go... and... buy... me... one.

Svensk damtidning, anyone?

*hurr hurr*

But, basically it's as easy as: paper + scissors + glue + some clear varnish to coat the beads in.

Paper beads made from a glossy magazine ad,
and varnished after the glue had dried.

I was originally thinking of using these beads (in the photo) I made for an earring project, but I ran out of ear clips so I have to rethink it a bit. Also, the hole left by the toothpicks I used to roll them on is so large that I might even have to consider using bead caps. But this is a later problem.

Comments

  1. Jag gjorde papperspärlor också ett tag, men det verkar iaf som att dina är mycket större (tänk lillfingernagel ungefär o inte så avlånga så vet du vad jag gjorde).

    Mina gjorde jag förresten av ungdomstidningen Demi som mamma envisades med att beställa åt mig o jag inte hade nån lust att läsa. (Hon förstod visst vinken då jag gjort pärlor av en halv årgång ;))

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  2. Med andra ord: alla medel är tillåtna. Demi, Svensk Damtidning eller valfri annan tidskrift, alla har de en relativ livstid som "läsbar" i ca 1 månad efter att de kommit till försäljning.

    Hemhemma sku jag ha gått och grävt i husets pappertidningsroskis efter testmaterial. Här i Åbo går det inte, så man tar vad man har :)

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  3. Jag insåg att jag kan gömma en Hemmets jag köpte för att jag ville ha exakt en sida (o den är utriven) i jeanskassen... Svensk Damtidning har däremot inte varit här i lägenheten under min tid :P

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  4. Tack för den med :)

    Damtidningen har inte heller kommit in hos oss heller, och jag har för min del inte saknat den ett dryft. Tji, där fick två av mina mostrar veta det. De är prenumeranter, om inget har ändrat och jag minns rätt :P

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