A Storybook Life

This is a great project ….sounds like a perfect craft for these grey winter days. Thanks for passing it on :-)

I think this would be a great art project when my neice has her group of girlfriends over for a sleepover weekend. Fun way to make ‘chunky’ jewelry. might be a great Mothers Day project for my 9-10 year old boys Homeschool group of friends too. Thanks for the reminder that this a fun way to recycle.

The colors are so natural looking…I think I will try small size egg shapes to go in a nest my son gave me. Won’t those look cute painted like Robin eggs?

I like the ethnic look of these. A great project to share some quality time with my 11 year old daughter.

I love this idea! It looks easy and inexpensive enough. Hopefully I can give this a try sometime soon. Thank you so much for sharing.
~Gretchen

those are gorgeous! they do look like precious stones and no way like leftovers from newspapers we read :)

Very good idea.I will try.
Very beautiful blog

Could you make the beads larger like the size of a baseball? I think it would look beautiful on my coffee table. IS there any trick to making the colors look so natural?

Thanks,
Kyle (Suzanne)
Ma of 3 p’s in a pod

Oh I love this…how beautiful. And to think they are made from old newspaper. The mix of the beads with the felt is gorgeous. Thank you for sharing this clever use of recycled newspaper!

Great project - thanks for the instructions. I think I will try making different sized spheres (3, 4, 5 inches in diameter), decorating, and then display in a wooden or glass bowl.

Thanks for sharing such wonderful ideas! I really enjoyed your site. I have 5 grown daughters and we have a craft night once a month. I think the beads will be a fabulous project. So nice of you to share the directions. I will visit often. Thanks Again! Glamma Fabulous

Where can you buy these necklaces?

They’re lovely! I so want to go and make some right now, and guess what! I’ve got everything I need at home! I love doing crafty things and that looks so easy and fun. I so want to be making some recycled beads!
I shall be passing on the page to a friend who’s doing a jewellery making course at the moment. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled at being able to make endless beads for next to nothing.

Hello,
can I suggest that you use a scewer or an even finer metal wire for making the holes while they dry. You might wait a while before you put them on the wire or scewer so the beads firm up, but poke a hole first,(with a toothpick?)one on each end so the holes look neat and tidy, and then put them on the steek. I’m not sure the medium would hold up so be careful and try it first.

I love the felt idea. How about dryer lint?
dana

the quality of your presentation and apparent care make this site a treasure.
the idea of using parenting or bonding with friends around recycling is what this society needs.
and there is no limit to creativity…
paperweights–chimes–mobiles–faux-ceramic dishes–bead curtains–wall bead chains–belts–shoe bobbles–enough?

Very clever–you’re right about all the possibilities there are with these!

This is so cool! I have done a similar project, but I use rose petals instead (when you wear them, the scent rubs off!). And instead of drilling a hole into the beads, I puncture them with a needle or a small taper before they dry.

hi, this is such a great way to use old paper, really want to try it for myself but am just wondering what ind of drill do you use to make the holes and do I need a vice on a work bench to hold the bead while I drill it???

those are great .when i was a child we made simular beads in bible school out of torn christmas paper

If anyone is interested in a good cause and would like one of these necklaces, you should know about “Paper to Pearls”, a charitable initiative of Voices for Global Change. I first found out about this initiative through my college. See below:

“Our handsome paper bead necklaces are made by hand by women in the internal refugee camps of Northern Uganda. The income from the sale of the necklaces helps them buy food, medicine, and school supplies for their children. In addition, net revenue from the necklace sales is given back to the camps in the form of education, training and entrepreneurship development.”

http://www.papertopearls.org/

These are fantastic!

I love these beads and the project. A friend once used the same technique for breaking the papers down in boiling water etc. But then put the boiled and drained paper scraps into a food processor. After shredding, mixed with paste and then put the mixture over an overturned bowl. Leaving it out to dry for several days…you end up with the mixture pulling away from the bowl/mold and you have a bowl. You paint it, decorate it with pictures or cutouts…or just a painted design. And then varnish. You can’t eat out of it or put liquid in it…but use it decoratively.

This is a great tutorial. I love these beads, I just might have to find a way to incorporate them into a set of cards!

Thanks for writing about this!

Alex

p.s. The toile background on your site is very nice, I just designed/printed a letterpress stationery set for a client which included a wood box faced in toile wrapping paper.

This is an awesome way to recycle! I tried it and made some beads, but I can’t quite get the colors to marble like you did. Any tips?

These look great! I will definitely try these next weekend! :)

the beads are gorgeous - i can’t wait to try this! thank you for sharing!

These look great! Thanks for this article.

[…] ooh, ooh! some quick and dirty: -”stop, drop and drool” (over your shoes) is right! especially when it comes to these chie mihara lovelies (thanks fashion is spinach!) and finsk for topshop stunners (scroll down). -delicious subversion: how graphic designer/artist scott king would sink american vogue (via creative review, via someone else whom i forgot, eep!). if only this would really happen. HA! -these mottled beads you can make from old newspapers are rather intriguing…they look like stone! i’m almost compelled to make some giant ones and pretend i’m wilma flintstone or her gal-pal betty rubble. (via a storybook life, via craft:) […]

[…] I was trolling through the internet and saw these paper beads and how-to instructions at this blog. Doesn’t the idea make your mind spin, thinking of the possibilities? The instructions are simple and easy-to-follow. Be sure to read the suggestion-filled comments for more bead ideas and other uses of the paper mixture. […]

How did you paint them to get that crackle look? I love that.

I love the natural ethnic look of these beads. I can see my daugther and I have great fun making these next weekend.

[…] Here is a fun and crafty project that I have bookmarked for summer fun. Making gorgeous beads from newspaper!   […]

Are the felt beads made with the same technique?

Sono collane bellissime, colori molto gradevoli e di buon gusto.
Brava! Carmela

* From an Italian reader… here’s what she says:
They are the beautifulst necklaces, colors many gradevoli and of good taste. Good! Carmela

[…] questa è un’idea di base davvero semplice ed economica, poichè servono dei giornali, dell’acqua calda, della colla vinilica, della vernice protettiva e un minimo di fantasia nel comporre. è infatti gradevole anche l’abbinamento di queste palline con quelle in feltro, o con altri elementi (rondelle, spago, lana, fil di ferro…). la tecnica è praticamente quella per la creazione della carta pesta: si spezzettano dei fogli di giornale, li si ricopre con dell’acqua calda, lasciando a riposo per un’ora. si rimescola e si strizza il tutto, lasciando andar via l’eccesso di acqua. si aggiunge della colla vinilica e si comincia a creare le palline modellando un po’ di impasto alla volta, tra le mani e lasciando uscire l’umido il più possibile. si lasciano poi asciugare per due giorni, rigirandole ogni tanto. […]

tag back from an Italian reader - here’s what she says…

this is an idea of simple and indeed economic base, poichè serves of newspapers, dell warm water, of the vinilica glue, the protecting varnish and a minimum of fantasy in composing. coupling of these littles ball with those in felt, or other elements is in fact gradevole also l (washers, spago, wool, fil of iron;). the technique is practically that one for the creation of the paper steps on: spezzettano of the newspaper sheets, covers them with dell warm water, leaving R-retired for an hour rimescola and strizza all, leaving to go via l water excess. one joins of the vinilica glue and it is begun to create the littles ball being modeled a po of paste to the time, between the hands and leaving to exit l humid most possible. they then let to dry for two days, rigirandole every a lot

Hi,
I’m Helen (the maker of the beads in the photographs!) Thank you for all your lovely comments.

To get the mottled effect I paint lots of layers of different coloured paint on the beads and then sandpaper them down again to reveal the layers underneath.

Hope you’re all having fun making them!
Helen

How do you make the colors of the beads look like that?

Lisa

can i make it out of colored paper instead? i dont have paint but i do have lots of colored paper. any ideas or suggestions are welcomed!

How long do the necklaces typically last? Would moisture, sweating be an issue?

I’m going to do this with my daughter. It will be fun…or an adventure! ;)

i second above comment! i would love to know how well they hold up through time and wear. and what kind of ‘varnish’ would you recomend?

Great idea, I’ll have to try this. What type of varnish do you use?

Just wanted to say these beads are gorgeous and thanks for sharing them. I have two questions, though. Firstly, when I tried this project myself i had some difficulties because the newspaper would make little clumps, making the beads somewhat fragile. Do you have any suggestions as to how to avoid this? Secondly, I myself would like to know what varnish you use!

Thanks

came across your great tutorial. I would like to write up a mention about it on my blog (It’s a blog about beading)

Please let me know if that would be okay. You can go check out my blog to see what it’s like at http://thebeadkitchen.blogspot.com/

Thank you for such a cool tutorial. - Ginger

I am amazed at these beads. Brilliant idea!!

Oh, my gosh! I am so excited to find this and to try it! What fun!!

vry nice n creative.. i like it

This is a great project, looks wonderful!

What type of varnish do you use? Please let me know as I would like to try this project soon, thanks

Can someone please tell me how to get the beads to form. We made a few beads but are having trouble with the paper staying together. We have added a ton of glue and still nothing.

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I’ve just been using regular varnish (the kind you’d buy in a hardware store and use on wood!). I use a few coats.

With regards to the paper holding together to form the beads, I have had a couple that fall apart too, expecially when I come to drill the hole. It seems to happen to me when the paper hasn’t broken down into tiny enough pieces and sort of clumps together. I try to get a really smooth papier mache mixture with the paper completely broken down so it’s almost like a paste. (I’ve been putting the mixture in a blender to do this!).

I’ve also found that if I try to squeeze too much of the water out when I’m rolling them up then they’ll fall apart too.

Not sure exactly how durable they are yet! I started making them about a year ago and the first one’s I made are still looking good. The main drawback is that they’re not waterproof but apart from that they seem to be pretty durable.

u guys are so creative!
any ideas to decorate notice board?
i really appreciate some help here…

[…] Step #1 - Gather a small pile of newspapers from the recycling basket. Step #2 - Rip the paper into small pieces Read the Rest at: http://www.astorybooklife.com/how-to/paper-beads/ […]