Paper Beads» Paper Beads – Recycled Paper Made Into Paper Bead Jewelry

Paper To Paper Bead Idea #4 – Poster Board

JaniceMae — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:36:57 +0000

Poster boards usually come in 22 x 28 size and they are great for making paper beads. The fiber of the paper is strong and they make thick beads. That being said, my Paper To Paper Bead Idea # 4 is white poster board. I marked and cut the paper on it’s short end, with the measurement 1 cm by 22 inches long. Part of the appeal of paper bead making is the unexpected out come, just like “a box of chocolates, you’ll never know what you’re going to get” right?

Triangle strips: 1 cm by 22 cm

I find the bamboo roller to work better with thicker paper because you can insert the strip of triangle in between the bamboo and then roll.

I was surprised of the outcome, it came out more like saucer shaped 5/8 of an inch in diameter. I was hoping for a more round shape.

I love using nail polish for projects like bracelet and earrings because of the variety of colors and they always have fancy names, this particular nail color is “glass slippers” that just makes me smile.

I let it dry in front of an electric fan and coated it with Vibrance and let it dry again. I brushed the glaze on instead of dipping it.

I made about 13 beads enough for a bracelet and maybe a pair of earrings.

It turned out really nice after all. I took my beads into my studio and start looking for findings that will go well with it. This is what I found, what do you think?

Tutorial On Bamboo Roller

JaniceMae — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 18:56:06 +0000

The craft of making paper beads has been around for a long time, dating way back in the Victorian era when ladies would sit in the drawing room making paper beads out of discarded wall paper. I love the fact that anyone can do it with materials that you already have at home. I’m sure many of you has made some using tooth pick, skewers, nails, needles, knitting needles etc. The paper bead roller tool that you can find everywhere just makes the job easier. The bamboo roller that we have after a few tweaking is one of my favorite tool. I love the fact that it is made of bamboo and that it feels good on the hand. Here’s Kayla showing you how to use it:

You can make any bead color you want and mix it with other beads. We have made this bracelet in jade color, and all you really need is paper, glue and glaze!

It is a very engaging craft, it is not only relaxing but also meditative! Definitely jewelry making on a shoe string.

Believe it or not I hardly wear anything else but paper beads jewelry.

You can take it up a notch and mix it with crystals and gem stones.

How Cone Shapes Are Made

JaniceMae — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 04:11:27 +0000

Here’s the tutorial on how to make cone shaped paper beads as promised One might think that you cut the paper differently………it is cut exactly the same way as you would your regular triangle strip of paper. The trick is pushing the bottom part of the paper bead towards the center, as shown in this video! So, let’s get ready with your magazine pages, yard stick or a long straight edge wood (I used to measure with a plank of wood left over from a remodel I did in my dining room). You can use a heavier card stock paper like this used poster for example;

I did the measurements on the back of the poster; the base is 1/2 inch and the triangles will look like this before you cut them up:

Then you cut them up into strips, you can use scissors or exacto knife

And then you start rolling as shown here:

An then you let them dry on tooth picks and take pictures

And the fun part, making them into jewelry, that would have to be another day.

New Bamboo Rollers

JaniceMae — Wed, 19 May 2010 19:32:08 +0000

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

Gold Paper Bead Necklace

JaniceMae — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:19:13 +0000

After weighing all our options, we decided on pairing these beautiful gold paper beads with jet black swarovski crystals. I think this will look good with little back dress or plain white shirt with jeans, we finished it off with black pleather cord. As I mentioned in earlier post the beads were made out of gold label box and were tightly rolled with metal paper bead roller.

The pleather cord give is that casual look and you can easily just wear gold button earrings to go with it.

We could just have made it with the paper beads strung all around in a 16 inch necklace, but I thought this gives it more a not too formal look

Can you tell they’re paper beads?

We have enough beads left over for a pair of earrings and bracelet, or maybe another necklace.

How To Make Round Paper Beads / Metal Roller

JaniceMae — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:01:44 +0000

I get emails from paper bead enthusiasts on how to achieve a more round paper beads. So, here it is a vlog I think would explain it best plus a few photos. Materials are: metal roller or bamboo roller (either one can be purchased at aubreysbeads), Judikin’s Diamond Glaze but you can also use any decoupage medium or mod podge and glossy magazines or catalogs. Tip: Rounder (fatter) bead uses a longer strip of triangle paper, magazines usually are 15 inches wide when it is opened, you need to use two of these by gluing them together.

Next step is then to mark both ends, how wide is the base of the triangle determines how big or how wide is your bead. For the diamond shaped paper beads it is 1/2 inch wide for the smaller round beads it is 1/4 inch wide. I am showing the illustration on white paper so it shows better.

Here is a close up of one end of the paper.

I used the rollers that we carry in our online shop, but of course you can use whatever you have available, to achieve a smaller hole these tools are great for that. We actually sell them as kits with strips of paper and glue.

Here is the video

Some samples of finished round beads

I hope you have fun, I welcome any comments, questions, feedback…….

More Paper Beads Today

JaniceMae — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:16:18 +0000

I have received a package from my sister today, and she always suprise me with new stuff! She made my day today…

What’s in it? Let’s see:

The bamboo and metal roller with same bamboo handles.

Some are cone shaped or what I call the little Christmas trees. These are so neat because you can still see some words on them.

She wants me to show you how to make the little round paper beads and she already cut the paper for me. She was not this nice when she was little

It also came with just the regular paper bead tubes.

Little Christmas Trees Necklace

JaniceMae — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:21:08 +0000

Christmas is just around the corner, and this afternoon as I was cleaning out the closet in my garage where all my Christmas trimmings are kept, I found Christmas wrappers maybe from 5 years ago. Some of them are not even big enough to wrap something. Immediately, paper beads shaped like Christmas trees came to mind and here is the finished necklace. I wire wrapped it into gros grain ribbon and threaded it into polyester chain. I can almost imagine the Victorian ladies sitting in the drawing room rolling paper into paper beads. The swarovski crystal just added a little sparkle into it.

I cut the Christmas wrapping into strips, they’re just perfect for this project because you can cut them into long strips, otherwise I would have to join two pages together to come up with 30 inch long strips of paper.

The metal paper bead roller was just perfect for making this cone shaped beads available at our online shop: Aubrey’s Beads

Metal Paper Bead Roller by Nem

JaniceMae — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:02:36 +0000

His full name is Nemesio, shortened by family and friends to Jun (for Junior) or Nem for Nemesio, his first name. He came up with coated metal roller with bamboo handles to make paper bead making a lot easier. We are still making the all bamboo roller (original), but if you want to make the small rounder shaped paper beads, Nem would suggest to use the metal roller with the bamboo handles.

The strip of triangle shaped paper should be longer and only about 1/4 inch wide at the base. I would like to demonstrate how to measure and cut the paper in next post.

My Joan tied pink ribbons around it to show her “pink” side. Leave me a comment or email me if you know someone whose life is touched by breast cancer and I would gladly send them one.

How To Make Paper Beads w/ a metal roller

JaniceMae — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:04:21 +0000

There are several ways you can make paper beads, rolling paper with a metal roller (available for purchase from Aubrey’s Beads, just $12, sold as kit) is just one of them. I like using them because the holes is not as large compared to paper beads made on a dowel or a skewer. I had this specially made with a bamboo holder, you get a good grip of the roller this way. The materials you need are the following and for instructions, please watch the video.

Strips of old magazines cut into triangles

I am using Diamond Glaze to glue the paper and also as glaze/top coat. I like using Diamond Glaze because it gives it a glossy finish and it dries quickly.

Here is the how-to video:

Get inspired and make some beautiful paper beads.