My Paper Beads – by Cathy
We are always looking for tips, ideas on how to make cutting the triangle strips easier and most importantly uniform in shape. Cathy, would like to share with us how she cut her triangle paper with a rotary cutter – primary use is to cut fabric for quilting. Here is a step by step in Cathy’s own words:
Turn first paper over and mark the top and bottom with a little dot as to where to cut. Don’t need to draw the line.
If you were to mark them, it should look like this:
Start at the bottom with the rotary cutter with the ruler on dots. Keep all fingers and finger tips ON the ruler to they don’t get cut off! Stand while cutting so weight is on top of ruler and it doesn’t slide. Keep left pinky finger on side of ruler to keep it in place. apply some pressure to cut through several layers. With a new blade you could probably cut through more than 4 layers at a time but I just did 4 layers.
Keep a steady pressure to cut straight up. You may need to move your left hand up while cutting to the top so it doesn’t slide.
Take rotary cutter all the way through the paper at the top.
Just shows I cut 4 layers at a time. After wards I sort the paper into the 4 different colors.
Cathy finds it easier to cut with the rotary cutter compared to an exacto knife. After you’ve made the beads, make something pretty with it 
Paper Bead Trade w/ Fall Theme is open to anyone who loves to make paper beads whether you are a newbie or an expert we would love to have you! You can sign up by leaving a comment here or email me.
I do that also. It’s much faster. However, sometimes my wrist gets tired from holding the ruler down and I enjoy sitting and cutting with scissors!
i would love to participate in the bead trade
I was cutting like that, but my hands and wrists starting hurting. I got a rotary paper cutter and just put my paper in and cut. No stress on my hands or wrists!
Hi. My name is Julie and I would love to participate in the fall bead swap! Do we turn the beads into something (bracelet, earrings, etc.)????? I love rolling beads and I love fall, so this is exciting for me!
I am so grateful for this site. It has helped me so much. I used to cut my paper with a scissors and that was ok. It took a long time and the measurements were sometimes off by a bit (even a millimeter or two can make a big difference) Then after seeing Janice Mae’s tutorial on cutting them with a x-acto knife I did that and it helped a lot. Now this is just wonderful. To cut several sheets at once AND get them even is great. Between that and the bamboo roller (which I love) my beads have improved so much and I can make them a little faster. Thnnks guys!!!
Hi my name is Debbie and I would like to participate in the fall bead swap. The highlight of my day is checking your site for new ideas.
If you wrist and hands ache from using the rotary cutter that may mean you need a new blade as it should just glide through. Also using a surface that is a little below the waist might help.