"A blog dedicated to the art of making paper beads & paper bead jewelry...by Janice Mae"
MissWooGoo’s Paper Beads
Every now and then, I would like to share with you fellow paper bead enthusiasts that I met through Etsy – the place for all things hand made just in case you haven’t heard of etsy yet 🙂 Shelly Rhodes aka MissWooGoo. Her etsy shop is full of really nice paper beads each one of them is Shelly’s creations. She shares with us, how she got hooked on making paper beads like so many of us, and how she makes them! I especially like the Pepsi Paper Beads made out of pepsi cartons.
Shelly gives credit to her mom in her discovering paper beads, in her own words:
“My mom mentioned to me that she had seen a receptionist wearing a necklace that looked like really pretty stones she had never seen before. When asked, the receptionist said that her necklace was made of paper beads. I thought “Wow, that would be neat to do!” and the rest is history!”
“My work area is simply a small kitchen table that I use to cut out, roll, and glue the beads. I mainly concentrate on inch and ½ inch beads, although I am going to give ¼ inch beads a go I think. I use toothpicks to roll the beads, although the bead rollers do intrigue me, and one may very well be in my future! The glue I use is simply Elmer’s regular glue, not the school glue. This holds really well for me, is inexpensive, and gives good results. Almost all of my beads are made from upcycled magazine pages. I am lucky in that the local library generally has a really good selection of the better magazines (I like the thickness of the paper better than the cheaper magazines) that they give away for free in the foyer. So by the time the bead reaches the customer, it has been reused twice. Once by the reader of the magazine, and once by myself using it to make beads. It makes me feel good to know that I am supporting a craft that is kind to the earth, as well as beautiful to look at.” Amen to that!
Shelly is so right! Investment is minimal and it provides hours of enjoyment!
“I coat all of my beads in two layers of polyacrylic varnish. I use polyacrylic because I have to do the coating inside (one of the bad points of living in apartments) and with polyacrylic there are no odors to deal with, so ventilation is not a problem. I string all the beads, and generally dip 6 strings at a time and let them drip dry. I have found that if I make sure the first layer of varnish is completely dry before I dip it a second time, I have better luck with coverage and also with the holes not clogging up.”
“After the beads are dried, they are sorted by color and each one is checked to make sure that the bead hole is open and able to be strung. Then I count each set, take pictures, and bag them up. Then they just wait for someone to pick them from the line-up I have on Etsy. I have had fairly good luck selling my beads on this site, and would recommend it to anyone hoping to at least break even with their craft costs!”
“I love making paper beads. It’s a time when I can turn on the radio, tune out the world, and make an original creation with each bead I roll. It’s an inexpensive craft, and is perfect for someone who has limited space, since the supplies do not take up a lot of room, and the finished product can easily be stored in zippy bags.”
I have recently begun to make hand painted beads on upcycled office paper, so it will be interesting to see how that progresses for me. The possibilities with this type of bead as far as color and design is virtually endless, and that excites me even more!
Patriotic Red, White and Blue Paper Beads
Green Hand Made Paper Beads
To see more of Shelly’s work and get inspired by her beautiful paper beads, head on to her blog:
Read MoreStarbucks Mini Pocket Books
What’s lively and balanced in the morning? That would be me, after I have my cup of coffee. I love Starbucks coffee but I prefer making it at home, not too strong not too weak but just right. I have been collecting the coffee bags, because I do not have the heart to throw them out, this is how my house get too cluttered. Today, I made little pocket books with them. When I was a kid, I remember folding paper and making them into little wallets.
Have you tried sewing paper? Instead of gluing paper together just sew them up, it does not only hold them together but it is decorative as well.
It gave me a reason to take out the old sewing machine again. Of course it wouldn’t be complete without the paper beads holding it together.
It holds, a photo, a credit card and money. What a neat idea when you want to give someone a gift card, or a Starbucks gift card.
I made a tri-fold and a bifold and little pockets on the side.
A little stain gets covered up with sheet music…..
I love it! Another day of turning the ordinary to extraordinary. Have you done any recycling lately?
A New Twist on the Spiral Stitch
If you are new at beading or jewelry making and is looking for a project that is EASY, enjoyable and the result REWARDING! Then, you should try this very simple stitch-the Spiral Stitch. I made one before, using seed beads and crystals and remember the many compliments I got. This time, I made this Spiral Necklace with extra small paper beads. I love the fact that I am wearing something recycled from magazines and each individually hand rolled by Philippine women. Not that it matters who are making it, just the fact that someone took the time to do it.
Even though this is a fairly simple project, the little details like; what to do when you run out of thread and how to attached the clasp and finish the necklace, takes time, and can only be explained best in a full length video. Here’s the preview anyway…
The kit will include all the materials needed: needle, fireline thread, clasp and many, many, many extra small paper beads 🙂
It is similar to the bead rope crochet, although, it is more flexible but has the bead encrusted effect.
Here it is on my neck!
It looks good on every one, don’t you think?
Another day of taking the ordinary to extraordinary!
Mmmm… Watermelons and Paper Beads
The weather is getting warmer and warmer each and everyday here in California, just to remind us that summer is right around the corner!! Kayla G made this cute, fruity little bracelet with matching earrings. A perfect ensemble for the fun summer days…
The bracelet is made with green indian glass beads and extra large paper beads. She added extra small olive paper beads for a little extra spunk. The colors go perfect with the Watermelon glass bead which adds to the summer time look.
The earrings that match are delicously cute! Made with olive shape paper beads and a watermelon glass bead.. yummy
New Bamboo Rollers
We are continuously trying to improve the bamboo rollers, to make them more user friendly. Now, it comes with a full bottle of Diamond Glaze instead of the sampler ones, so you can make a lot of paper beads. It has a new locking mechanism that will keep the paper tightly in place.
Instructions are better explained with a video 🙂
The kit includes; 2 sets of bamboo rollers, strips of pre-cut magazine paper, a full bottle of Diamond Glaze (2 oz), and a brush.
Sample beads are attached to the handles, so you can see how your beads should look like 🙂
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