by Kimberly Foster
A single piece of paper can create several pieces of beautiful, hand-made jewelry. The paper you use should be relatively thin and pliable; other than that, the possibilities are endless. Use anything from decorative hand-made paper to old magazines and scraps you’d normally throw away!
Other supplies:
Artist medium or white glue
Strong jewelry cord or dental floss
Large needle or toothpick
Paper cutter or scissors
The process
Choose your paper. The color and design of each bead will be determined by what kind of paper you use. The necklace above was made with a marbled decorative paper. The darker beads on the top bracelet were made from a colorful magazine ad. The pastel beads on the other bracelets were made by drawing with pastels on regular printer paper. Use solid colored paper for solid colored beads.
Decide how long (from one hole to the other) you would like your beads to be. The beads shown above range from about 1/2” to 1” in length. I used standard 8 1/2” x 11” paper and cut the paper in half, giving me two sheets of 5 1/2” x 8 1/2” paper. If you want your beads 3/4” long, then divide your paper into strips that are 3/4” wide and 5 1/2” long. Then diagonally divide those strips into triangles and using your paper trimmer or scissors, cut them out.
Using your toothpick or fat needle and starting at the wide end of your triangle, roll the paper around the toothpick. When you’ve come close to the end, dab glue or medium onto the end to stick it down. Continue to roll the bead, covering the outside with the glue/medium to coat and protect it. Slide the bead off the toothpick onto a smooth surface to dry. I suggest allowing your beads to dry on waxed paper or glass so they will not stick.
Experiment with different textures and thicknesses of paper. If you want your beads to be fatter, either use thicker or textured paper, or make your strips longer than 5 1/2”. You may need to use a dab of glue “mid-roll” for some thicker papers to keep the bead from uncoiling.
Once your beads are dry, string them onto strong jewelry cord. Dental floss also works perfectly. Further enhance your jewelry design by adding purchased beads in complimentary colors to separate the paper beads and show them off individually.