Paper Bead Tutorial, Compliments of Mateare Manualidades!

Hayzel (age 8) and her handmade paper beads!!

Mateare Manualidades, our craft class, has been hard at work - starting some projects and planning for future classes. Our most recent project was making paper beads (for earrings, bracelets, etc.).  Here's a little bit about how we make them (Amy brought most of the supplies from her craft class, and the idea was compliments of Pinterest.com.. these directions will be translated and left with the supplies when I'm gone sofuture groups can make them, too!)...   

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

Paper (we used white so we could decorate them the way we wanted. 

Colored paper and magazine pages also work!)

Permanent Markers (have to be permanent, and only necessary if using white paper)

Ruler

Pencil

Scissors

Toothpicks (no toothpicks? we used old matches!)

Glue

Foam Board (or something to stick the toothpicks in while they dry)

Acrylic Glaze (since these pictures, we put ours into empty fingernail polish bottles for easier use!)

STEPS:

1. Mark every 1/2 inch on one side (top) of the paper.
2. On the other side (bottom) of the paper, mark 1/4" then every 1/2" after that.

3.  As shown above, using the ruler and pencil to connect the dots to make triangles. 

Note: When working with the younger kids, we made much bigger triangles (1" wide) so it was easier to handle).

 4. Using the permanent markers, draw along the outsides of the triangles, being careful not to miss any spots right along the edge).  No need to color in the inside of the triangle - it won't show.  Above are a variety of different styles that we experimented with, and you can see below how they turned out!

Jessenia concentrating on wrapping her beads!

5. Carefully (and tightly) wrap the triangle around the toothpick, starting with the big end with the marker side on the outside. Be sure to keep it tight and straight!

5.5. Have fun!

6.  Put glue on the last couple inches of the triangle as you finish wrapping it. Any extra glue can be spread out on the outside of the bead to protect it. We used Elmer's Glue-All because it was what we had, but it ended up working well and drying much faster than regular school glue which was nice!

7. We found really cheap foam boards to stick our toothpicks/matches into to allow the beads to completely dry (depending on the glue, this may take 20-60 minutes).  
8. Using a small brush, apply a light layer of acrylic glaze (they say Diamond Glaze works well.. we just used whatever I found here!).  Allow to completely dry, then repeat.  Three layers is best to most protect it from water damage. Obviously they still shouldn't be submerged in water, but at least protected from sweat/rain/etc.  The smaller beads glazed/dried better than the larger beads.

9. After allowing the final coat of glaze to dry, we picked out plastic beads and used elastic string to make bracelets.. this was definitely the most fun part!!

 10. Wear and enjoy!! :)