Paper Beads

The lunch and craft-making afternoon I had with friends on the weekend  worked well. My friends were particularly interested in making paper beads, and even though we broke for lunch around 2pm, they went back to making paper beads afterward. 

So I thought some of you might like to try it as well. 

We made just two kinds — and you can see them in this photo. The first kind was a pair of leaf earrings, which look pretty and are really easy to make. In the photo you can see one earring made and the other triangle of paper that’s about to be turned into a matching leaf.

You just need a square of paper about 8 or 9 cms square (or smaller if you like.) Take  the square of paper, cut it into two triangles, and then, starting from the widest side,  fold it like a fan, turning it over with each fold, keeping each fold as narrow as you can. Then you slide a jump ring (small metal ring) over it to the middle, then fold it in half, and glue the two edges together. (Here’s a  link to the instructions.)

The other paper beads are just simple rolled-up strips of paper. The size and shape of the final bead depends on how wide your strip is, and what shape you cut it. An isosceles triangle was the most popular; it resulted in a bead that was fatter in the middle and narrow at the ends, but people enjoyed experimenting. The photo above shows some finished necklaces, with other beads in between the paper ones. The pinky beads and the green ones are paper. (Here’s a  link to the instructions.). And here’s another link for kids.

Both types are pretty easy to make, and some of my friends were delighted that paper beads made from old magazines could look quite pretty. Recycling in action!