Recycling Project: Paper Beads Jewelry

One of the best gifts on earth is jewelry. Your mother, sister, aunt, cousin or that special friend will love these pieces of homemade beaded jewelry.

Figure A

Figure B

Materials:

Coffee stir straws

White paper

Stick glue

Scissors

Ruler

Pencil 

Markers

Acrylic paint

Brushes

Shellac

Necklace lace

Round elastic cording

Necklace fasteners

Inexpensive store-bought beads

Pliers

Procedure:

Color the entire sheet of white paper with markers.

With a ruler, mark off colored paper into triangular strips about 1/2" wide and cut.

Rub the wrong side of the paper with stick glue. Starting at the wide end of the strip, wrap them around the coffee stir straws (figure A). Then let the glue dry.

Brush on the shellac to seal and add shine. Let dry.

Cut the straw right next to the edges of the beads to separate them.

Thread beads on the lacing for a necklace (figure B) or on the elastic for a bracelet. Alternate with other inexpensive beads if you wish.

Finish by tying on fasteners. Note: If you used elastic cord, simply tie off the ends.

Tips:

Have an adult supervise when you are using scissors.

If you prefer to paint your beads, skip step one a move on to step two.

Products: All products available at craft, art and all-purpose stores nationwide.

Source: http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/ca_crafts_projects/article/0,2041,DIY_13721_2273429,00.html