Thursday, December 9, 2010

Paper Beads


I'm not sure what got into me yesterday, but I had this strange desire to make beads out of recycled magazines. It's not something the boys have the patience to do, so I thought I'd make some since they were both taking a sick day from school. I've seen this project in a lot of my craft books and online. I originally saw this link at Family Fun magazine and was going to try to make a simple bracelet. However, once I got started making the beads, it was kind of hard to stop. I made a bunch of them.

So, I decided to string all the beads onto some cord and make a long strand necklace. It's pretty long, actually, and can be worn as a double, triple, or even four-strand necklace. I separated the paper beads with tiny, clear pony beads. The boys think I'm some sort of genius and went, "Wow, cool! You should make those as gifts for people!" LOL -- they're so funny. I still like the bracelet, and since I have some beads left, I might make one of those as well. ETA -- made another long necklace with them!

Awhile back, Rick got a free subscription to Better Homes & Gardens magazine after buying one of their cookbooks. I saved all those magazines for school projects, since I never know when we might want to cut out pictures. Since that magazine is filled with pictures of gardens, flowers, and produce images, that's what I used. Most of my beads turned out to be either a green or pink shade, which I thought was a good combination. Anyway, I'm not sure how often I'll wear it, but it was fun to make and a good way to recycle some of those old magazines.

9 comments:

  1. The beads are lovely, Rena. Makes me think I could recyle the 100 odd Pillsbury cookbooks I have collected over the past 15 years. All except the ones with the cookie recipes...oh, and the ones with chocolate *:)

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  2. Gosh, Rena. Absolutely incredible!! I would not have had the patience to do something like that. hee :D Super job. I really like them.

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  3. Those are super cool! And Ginger has an excellent idea-use Pillsbury cookbooks or pictures with the same theme and you can make theme jewelry. Maybe sell some on your Zazzle store?

    And I love the boys' gift idea! They'd make great gifts.

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  4. Those could make a beautiful garland for a "green theme" tree. :) love the idea.

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  5. Thanks, ladies. And yes, it would be a great way to use up old cookbooks and such.

    These little beads are addictive! I'm making some blue ones now using an old issue of a AAA magazine.

    Kim -- I LOVE the idea of making garland from them! That would look really cute! You could even double or triple strand them and braid or twist them together. Cool!

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  6. Wow! That must take a lot of time! Looks beautiful and even more beautiful that they are recycled!

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  7. Super pretty and cool looking. WOuld be fun to d red and green for Christmas!

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  8. They are light,eco-friendly and funky beads. A good pastime.Use glossy magazines to make them to give some shine!

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