Making Paper Beads

unikatissima Doodled Paper Beads

After I’ve made my paper beads roller that I presented yesterday I played around with paper beads a little more.

I prefer the tube beads anyway (marginally ;-)) and after having seen the paper bead designer I thought: ‘Yes, a little bit of colour is enough, you can’t see the rest anyway.’

So I quickly made me some doodle paper beads ;-)

And that’s what you do:

 

unikatissima Doodled Paper Beads
First I took two sheets of plain printer paper and simply doodled at one side with a blue ballpoint pen.

 

unikatissima Doodled Paper Beads
Then I cut the sheets in strips of the same width…

 

unikatissima Doodled Paper Beads
… and rolled my paper strips with my nifty paper bead roller in a wonderful short time.

 

unikatissima Doodled Paper Beads
Of course the hole of the bead is split into two holes, too, because my bead roller consists of two halves.

 

unikatissima Doodled Paper Beads
I ‘stirred’ the hole again with a toothpick so that only one big hole remained.

 

unikatissima Doodled Paper Beads
Somehow I didn’t want to use the glue excess as varnish for the beads, so I used a simple glue stick and covered the beads afterwards with medium gel. Here you can see them drying.
My potted palm got special leave on my balcony for it ;-)

 

unikatissima Doodled Paper Beads
Although I find my doodled paper beads beautiful I thought that I would look boring if I string only them, therefore I made some additional easy Peyote beads.

 

unikatissima Doodled Paper Beads
Looks good, doesn’t it? ;-)
I wasn’t sure yet what I would do with my beads on this photo.

 

unikatissima Doodled Paper Beads
It became a bracelet in the end. I simply strung the beads on an elastic and hid the knot in a bead.

 

unikatissima Doodled Paper Beads
And here an ‘action shot’ ;-)
It’s not so easy to take a good photo of your own arm ;-))

 

After I had finished with my doodled paper beads I thought, that this was a great way to make a lot of matching paper beads from advertising flyers.

 

unikatissima Magazine Paper Beads
So I picked an ad with a photo of bed sheets where I liked the clour scheme.

 

unikatissima Magazine Paper Beads
Then I measured the circumference of my doodled paper beads with a string and cut strips from the ad a little broader than necessary.

 

unikatissima Magazine Paper Beads
I glued the strips from the ad at one side of a plain printer paper sheet and cut the resulting papers in (in this case) 1 cm broad strips, because I wanted to have little beads.

 

unikatissima Magazine Paper Beads
I glued some patches from the rest of my ad on details that I didn’t like, they won’t to be seen on the bead.

 

unikatissima Magazine Paper Beads
Here my beads are drying on a wire because I cut about 80 paper strips and I don’t have enough toothpicks or plants for the drying process ;-)
This time I used a water-based craft glue that glues fast but dries slowly.
This is great because I could varnish my beads easily with the excess of the glue which made them shine and when my fingers eventually got sticky I could wash the glue easily away with water.

 

unikatissima Magazine Paper Beads
I have not yet finished, but I find my paper beads beautiful, a little bit like made from Jade.
We will see what they will become :)

 


Links:
Paper Bead Designer

Peyote Bead (Beaded Bead)

Here at unikatissima:
Paper Beads Roller
Entries containing the words ‘paper’ and ‘bead’

Paper Beads Roller

unikatissima Paper Bead Roller

In a sense I always found paper beads great, but in another sense it always makes (made! ;-)) such a mess, so that I didn’t often made some.
Then I found the paper bead purses (ooooh…). (The link doesn’t work no more, look instead for the Google image search result for ‘paper bead purse’.)
And on the website of the paper bead purse designer I found a video showing how to use a paper beads roller that you can buy at her website (this link doesn’t work neither, but there’s still the video).
Great idea!
She also describes very good how to apply the glue and how to use the glue excess as varnish for the bead.

A little more research found me an instruction on how to build a self-made paper beads roller.
Another great idea! ;-))

I wasn’t sure whether I want to make sooo many paper beads and additionally I thought that I don’t need no crank, so I simply put everything together and the result is my spontaneously made paper beads roller ;-)

And that’s what you do:

 

unikatissima Paper Bead Roller
Cut your paper strips for the beads (I used a page from a travel brochure) and take two big needles, two toothpicks (they have to be smooth!) or – as I did – two little metal skewers.

 

unikatissima Paper Bead Roller
Join both needles (toothpicks, skewers…).
It would be enough to wrap some tape around, but I didn’t want to become my skewers sticky after taking away the tape, therefore I wrapped a broad strip of paper around and taped that.

 

unikatissima Paper Bead Roller
Slip the end of a paper strip between both skewers (if you use triangular ones, slip in the broad end) and begin to wrap on the bead.
On the photo you can see the paper strip that holds together my skewers.

 

unikatissima Paper Bead Roller
That’s how it looks shortly before you’re finished with wrapping.
You can’t see no glue on this photo because I can’t wrap with one hand and take photos with the other – at least not without dripping glue everywhere ;-)

 

unikatissima Paper Bead Roller
When your bead is done you can easily remove it.

 

unikatissima Paper Bead Roller
I was amazed at how fast and easy everything worked and I had much less mess than before ;-)

 

unikatissima Paper Bead Roller
The hole of the bead is split into two holes because my bead roller consists of two halves.

 

unikatissima Paper Bead Roller
I then simply ‘stirred’ the hole with a toothpick so that only one big hole remained ;-)
(By the way, the instruction for this bead is scheduled for tomorrow ;-))

 

Have fun wrapping paper beads! :))
and if you want to try some other bead shapes check out the Paper University.


Links:
Paper Bead Purses
The link doesn’t work no more, look instead for the Google image search result for ‘paper bead purse’.
Paper Beads Roller Video
Paper Beads Roller Video
Self-made Bead Roller (How to use a bead roller) => scroll down to ‘Hand Made Bead Roller’

Different Paper Bead Shapes (Recycled Paper Beads)

Google search result for ‘paper bead howto’
Google image search result for ‘paper bead howto’
Google search result for ‘Papierperle Anleitung’
Google image search result for ‘Papierperle Anleitung’

Here at unikatissima: Entries containing the words ‘paper’ and ‘bead’

Woven Button Coaster

craftstylish Woven Button Coaster

Isn’t it great?
Up until now I thought that you have to use really beautiful, extraordinary buttons for button crafts, but if you make the button coaster common buttons are enough and it looks wonderful even so!

My list grows longer ;-)

 


Links:
How to Make a Woven Button Coaster
via: Tutorial: Woven Button Coasters

Here at unikatissima: Entries with the tag ‘button’

Cardboard Stampede

DesignSponge Ann Wood Cardboard Stampede

A nice reader send me the link to the cardborad stampede.
She told me that she has made a horse already following the tutorial and that you can even let gallop the horse over your desk when you use a photo holder in place of let them go up the wall.

Many thanks again, I find the horses really great!


Links:
cardboard stampede w/ ann wood

Here at unikatissima: Plaster Photo Holder

Sneaker Customizing

Beru Betto Customized Sneakers

Somehow I really love painted shoes and so I was thrilled about the tutorial for self customized sneakers.
As much fun as spraypainted shoes ;-)

I think that I won’t do this because first I have too much shoes already and second they somehow don’t match my style, but who knows? ;-)


Links:
Sneaker Customizing Tutorial
Part 1 and part 2

Here at unikatissima: Spraypainting Accessories

Luxurious Fascinator

Corvus tristis Luxurious Fascinator

It would have never occurred to me to make such fascinators by myself, but then: Why not? ;-))

My hair is very soft and thin, therefore my fascinator should be at the most half as luxurious, but I think I will see what I can do there :)


Links:
Luxurious Fascinator (Positively Fascinating)

via: Baby’s First Fascinator

Clothesline Sewing – A Fabric Bowl

CraftStylish Clothesline Sewing-Sew A Fabric Bowl

After having presented clothesline crochet and clothesline knitting I have now ‘clothesline sewing’ ;-)

The point here is to take a cord and at the same time cover it with fabric and coil a basket from the whole thing just as with the ‘real’ basket coiling.

I find the little baskets absolutely cute, but I have a sewing machine so old that it doesn’t even have a zig zag stitch and I won’t do this by hand! ;-)


Links:
Clothesline Sewing – A Fabric Bowl (How to Sew a Fabric Bowl)

via: craftster: Coiled Fabric Bowls!
via: craftster: Rainbowl! Rainbow Coiled Bowl and Coasters

Here at unikatissima:
Clothesline Crochet
Clothesline Knitting or Filled I-cord
Coil a Basket

Furoshiki

unikatissima Furoshiki

Once when I took a look at instructables I found the instruction Paper, Plastic, or Furoshiki? which fascinated me: Japanese use since a long time a cloth to wrap all sorts of things, as well to transport as to decorate them. And the Japanese Minister for Environment created an initiative to reduce waste to propagate Furoshiki as an ecological wrapping.
When making a little research I found even more Furoshiki folding instructions.

 

unikatissima Furoshiki
On the photos I wrapped four apples in a dishcloth – I just didn’t have a bandana or an old pillow case ;-) at hand.
In principle the dish cloth can be used but the knots get too big and it’s simply not the real McCoy.
Wikipedia says that the ‘real’ Furoshiki cloth are from cottom, rayon, nylon, a fabric called ‘chirimen’ or silk, in either case they are thinner and thus better to be knotted.
Also the sizes seem to be of a great variety, sure, you’ve always something different to wrap ;-)

Anyhow, I will try this more often :)

When researching I found also a nice idea: to wrap a gift for someone into an interesting cloth and include a printout of the diagram of the Japanese Ministry of the Environment.
I like this ;-)


Links:
At instructables: Paper, Plastic, or Furoshiki?

Furoshiki Techniques

Wikipedia entry for ‘Furoshiki’ (English) (I haven’t found a German entry)

Initiative for waste reduction (‘Mottainai Furoshiki’) of the Japanese Ministry of the Environment
Furoshiki folding diagram of the Japanese Ministry of the Environment

Blog entry with the nice idea about wrapping a gift

Google search result for ‘Furoshiki’
Google image search result for ‘Furoshiki’

Elastic Polymer Clay Bracelet

craftster Elastic Polymer Clay Bracelet

I found at craftster a fantastic instruction: how to make cute teapots from bulbs and polymer clay, how to make great candle holders from bulbs and polymer clay, how to make a genie lamp from bulbs and polymer clay (although she doesn’t say how to get a genie into the lamp ;-)) and how to make an elastic polymer clay bracelet from the left overs (ok, somewhen I had to come to the point ;-)).
Sheer lunacy! :)


Links:
Elastic Polymer Clay Bracelet (Trash to Treasure fun with lightbulbs!) – the instruction for the bracelet begins with the words ‘Ok, time for dessert.’

Spaghetti Scrap Scarf

Circe Spaghetti Scrap Scarf With I-cords

Again something to use up your stash: the Spaghetti scrap scarf.

In fact it is nothing else than a lot of I-cords that are connected in different ways.
And I find that it looks great! ;-)
There is another Spaghetti scrap scarf, but you can best see how different they can look when checking the ravelry pattern (unfortunately with registering only).

I have already begun to knit I-cords but unfortunately I find it nothing but boring, so I doubt that I will ever make such a Spaghetti scrap scarf.
But who knows? ;-)


Links:
Spaghetti scrap scarf ‘recipe’ (Qui aime la pasta?) (French)
Another Spaghetti scrap scarf (Encore une écharpe avec des i-cords) (French)

First found at ravelry:
Spaghetti scrap scarf (with i-cords)

Here at unikatissima:
Entries with the tag ‘stash’