mardi 14 mai 2019

Simple Directions Of How To Make Paper Beads

By Barbara Hall


For as long as there has been a record of history, crafting has always been a popular way for people to socialize and pass time. One timeless craft that uses products created from materials like stone, metal, crystal, plastic, or glass, is beading. To have more personalized fun with this craft, one can learn how to make paper beads.

This is a super easy craft that can produce a great number of different looks that can be put together to form so many varied projects. They can be formed as round, oval, or tubular shapes in a range of sizes and thicknesses. Follow these simple instructions to amass a batch and create fun projects like necklaces, earrings, bracelets, purses, curtains, and so much more.

Gather up scrapbooking sheets, colored papers, magazines, newspapers, or like items in order to create the strips needed to build the different types of bead. To get tubular results use a rectangle, a right triangle for teardrops, and isosceles triangles for rounded ones. Understand that a wider bead will require longer strips and the shape's base will determine the bead's height.

Wrap the wide end of the strip around a toothpick, wooden skewer, or dowel (this determines the size of the hole in the middle) and continue to wind until completely done. Be sure the wrapping is done tightly to ensure that it does not come undone when removed from the sizer. For a symmetrical look, keep the strip centered during wrapping, and allow it to go a bit off-centered if a more freeform shape is desired.

Once fully and tightly wound, take a bit of tacky glue and check to be the end is secured. Poke the stick into a block of florist foam or styrofoam and allow the adhesive to fully dry before proceeding. The next step is to add embellishments if so desired.

When the glue holding the end has thoroughly dried, the pieces can be painted or colored with markers if one chooses. Adding puff paint, wire, or thread before or after painting, can give the piece texture, and glitter adds a bit of sparkle. Be sure that all embellishments are completely dry before proceeding to the sealing process.

A variety of mediums, such as a water-based wood hardener, clear nail polish, marine varnish, Diamond Glaze, clear-drying glue, or Modge Podge, may be utilized to seal the papers and render the pieces more durable. Loading the baubles onto a length of wire and immersing them fully into the chosen solution, is typically the easiest way to saturate with the majority of these options. Multiple layers are required, though it is important that the first coat dry before the next is applied.

Now that the pieces are sealed, they will be durable and last much longer. They can be used to create a number of awesome projects from the simple design of a necklace to something as complicated as a handbag. Try different combinations and mediums to find the one that fits one's personal tastes best and get creative with it.




About the Author: