How to Make a Paper Bead

When I was a child, I was very interested in arts and crafts, much like I am now. But when I was younger, there seemed to be a huge trend in bead working. Women wore pattered beads, children wore animal-shaped beads, and men wore wooded beads. I noticed that artists made colorful and intricate beads from glass. They made beautiful beads from polymer or fimo clay. They even used papier-mâché to create their own beads.

As a young girl, I was very lucky to have a supportive mother who would spring for all my art supplies, so I had the opportunity to try all these mediums. Glass beading I found was too advanced for my average skills. When I tried working with fimo, my hands were not strong enough to make even a dent in the clay. (Have you even worked with fimo clay? It is very hard!) I even tried papier-mâché and found that it was not really my thing. Too messy for my tastes. So, I sat and thought. What was I good at working with? I figured it out: paper! I always loved paper—construction paper, cardstock, notepads, you name it. I loved to cut designs, experiment with origami, and draw. I found it fun and easy. Why should making paper beads be any different? So, I set out to find a way to incorporate my love of jewelry and my skills with paper. I came up with a unique and fun way to create new beads.

Now you can do it, too. And the best part is, you probably have all the supplies you need right at home. 

Here is the list of supplies: 

· one pair of scissors
· a couple of different catalogs and/or magazines
· Elmer’s glue
· a Bic pen, a ruler
· clear nail polish

1. What you do is simple. Page through some old catalogs and magazines, such as Glamour or Vogue to find designs that you like. Catalogs and magazines are great to use because they have a glossy finish. At the time, I was a big cartoon fan, so I paged through Warner Brother catalogs to find pictures of cartoon characters, like Sylvester the Cat or Bugs Bunny. However, like I mentioned before, any kind of design will do.