Beads Galore!

Crafting just couldn't wait people! I was supposed to be studying (hehe reoccurring theme here? Quite possibly.) and while browsing the newest addition to my "Blogs-To-Stalk" list, I discovered a new obsession: eco-friendly bead making! You see, I love those adorable bead-watches that everyone seems to have but when I went to the local bead stores, they wanted$0.59 per bead. Rip off anyone? I'm sorry, I can't justify spending that much on a single bead. Solution is simple: make your own! So below are images of my very first beads!



These are my magazine beads--recycling that pile of old fitness magazines. It's so easy!

*Cut a strip of a colorful page about 5/8" at one end and all the way to a point at the other.

*Start rolling from the fat end to the skinny end.

*Apply a small amount of glue to the

skinny end to hold it all together (gluesticks work great!)

*Paint a little Mog Podge onto the bead and let dry for 15-20 minutes.

*Spray with an acrylic finish.


These I used colorful scrapbook paper which made a larger bead and let me choose the color patterns.














These chunkier beads were made using old newspapers!

*Tear old newspapers into small pieces and put in large bowl.

*Pour boiling water over newspaper pieces and stir. Keep them in warm water for around 30 minutes or longer until the paper goes mushy and you are able to stir it up.

*Drain all the water from mush.

*Mix a little glue with small amounts of mush and form into desired shapes and sizes. I coated mine with a layer of Elmer's glue--worked great!

*Allow to dry until hard. (Since we live in the polar ice caps, it took a couple days. In warmer conditions I would imagine a couple hours would be sufficient. You might also take a blow dryer to them...)

*Using a tiny drill bit, drill a hole through the center.

*Paint desired color

*Apply Mod Podge and acrylic sealer.

NOTE: My mommy suggested sanding them to make them smoother. I tried these without sanding. I think on my next set I'll sand them down a little with a nail filer to smooth out the edges a little.

These are a great idea for little people because you get your fingers all gluey and sticky--I'm sure they'd LOVE it! Some of the advantages to these beads is they are cheap to make, you can design any color you like, and they are very lightweight. I'll post pictures of my bead watch as soon as its complete!!

Give them a try and let me know what you think! I love feedback!