"A blog dedicated to the art of making paper beads & paper bead jewelry...by Janice Mae"
Paper Bead Origami Star-Studded Earrings
I remember making the origami stars as a kid, it is one project that kids will be good at. It is not a new thing, there are a lot of tutorials on the internet on how to make the origami star. I am always interested with anything paper that I can incorporate into my paper bead jewelry. Possibilities are endless when it comes to paper bead jewelry, it is always fun and definitely a conversation piece. So, here is my version of the origami star strung on a wire which I made into earrings – materials are: 1 strand of 4mm paper beads, origami star, 4mm bicone swarovski, ear wire finding and diamond glaze.
How to:
You can find many ways to use them, as a dangle attached to a book mark finding or a 3d decoration on a card would be pretty also. It would be a nice way also to tell someone that they are the “star” in your life.
Wish I may….wish I might…….
A Paper Bead Torsade Tutorial
I found that the best way to make a torsade necklace is with 28 gauge craft wire. The hard part would be deciding on the color and pattern but this could be fun as well. This is the second torsade necklace I made with the olive shaped paper beads so far, I would love to try them out in other shapes and mix them with other kind of beads. I strung 6 18 inch strands of paper beads and, seed beads and fire polished crystals on a 28-30 inch craft wire.
A Woven Paper Bead Ring
This is our own version of A Circle Pendant, which uses fire polished crystals and glass beads. Instead, of making it into a pendant, we added a band and made it into a ring. The pattern is for a pendant and it would look pretty also with paper beads. The materials for the ring/pendant is small round paper beads, glass beads and illusion cord.
We put the instructions in video form, if you need to clarify something please email me or leave a comment.
At this point, you can make it into a pendant if you choose to, or add the band for the ring.
Wire Wrapped Paper Bead Tube Necklace
There’s so much inspiration around us that can be interpreted in a jewelry design. Something, someone can spark your interest and gets you motivated. My home is full of stuff collected over the years; books, magazines, fabric, yarn, boxes…..anything that I think I can use someday. Once in a while I try to organize and clean up or I could end up on that television show. But, this is where I get my inspiration. I may not need that piece of ribbon or box now but I can assure you I will find use for it someday. One of my source of inspiration is my collection of old books. I have a book which I “thrifted” few years ago, 400 Outstanding Women of the World and Costumulogy of Their Time by Minna M. Schmidt. The stories of these women are just fascinating and inspiring.
On the first page of the book you will see Pocahontas and it tells you a brief story about her and it even has her picture on it !
Every one of these women featured in this book has an image of her. The story they tell is fascinating and awe-inspiring. You will find on page 190 Barbara Uttman (1514-1575) of Germany. She founded the lace industry in her community. It was told that at her wedding she presented her groom a set of cuffs of Cluny lace that she made. She taught lace making and provided jobs to ten thousand lace workers both men and women. Barbara Uttman’s motto still lives among her countrymen, “Great Thoughts Come From The Heart.”
In Honor of her, I made this necklace out of paper bead tubes and paper clay. I love working with paper clay, it air dries overnight and lightweight just like the paper beads. All I did was copy her image and set it on the paper clay with diamond glaze.
I then applied gold leaf on the sides to give it that antiquey look.
Here’s a video on how to wire wrapped paper bead tubes. Instead, of using bead caps I wire wrapped the top part and bottom part of the paper beads to cover the holes.
Winter Scene Necklace and Earrings
I was cleaning out my desk and found an old Starbuck’s gift card with the word Winter on it. What came to my mind was the Olympics! It inspired me to make something out of it. I cut it up, it was not that hard since the images were already framed, and wire wrapped blue olive shaped paper beads with it and incorporated some coordinating glass beads.
I used a beading awl to put holes on cut up pieces, or if you have a drill you can drill holes on it instead.
I made some earrings to match too.
So, don’t just throw away your old gift cards or better yet, cut-up those high interest credit cards and make it into something.
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