My rather ADD approach to crafting (I try one thing only to get bored and move on once I've mastered the basics) means I'm always wanting to try new things and that I usually don't have the proper materials to start. Instead of just giving up, I usually find a way jury-rig, jerry-build* something that suits my purposes.
When I was assigned a jewelry making project in a highschool design class and I had very little money for buying beads (as I tend to want things like tigers eye, turquoise Czech glass...), I started making them out of newspaper. The results were so good (even if the process is a little... sticky and difficult) that I've made a couple more batches since then.
It's a simple process in theory--cut out stripes of newspaper, dip them in some diluted glue, roll them around a toothpick and slide them off to dry--the actual execution can be a little... disheartening. It's a simple process with many opportunities for it go awry. They do look rather nice when you're finished, so if you'd like to try making some of them on you're own you can follow my somewhat vague directions here:
(Sorry, no in-process pictures at the moment 'cause you're hands get completely covered in glue when you're rolling the beads, and my camera is not partial to glue.)
1. The first thing that you do is cut out strips of newspaper. I tend to go by the measurements of the columns because it's easier. In general, a good length for your strip is the length of one column on half the page (or the size of the newspaper when it's laying folded), or about 9-10 1/2" long. The width of your strip determines the length of your bead, so be careful. When you wind them up it'll get wider, so no wider than 1 1/2", which makes a very long bead, like these. For medium sized beads I usually take a column and cut it in half, so my strip is about 1 1/8" wide. Just make sure that it will actually fit on the toothpick, which is important. Oh, and make sure to taper the ends of the strip a little, so it wraps up nice at the end.
2. (You'll want to put down a large piece of waxed paper to work on.) Next mix up some diluted glue in a wide shallow bowl of some sort. (The lid to an old Gatorade mix container also works really well.) This is where the directions get a bit vague. The glue needs to be thin enough that you can rolls your bead up easily, but thick enough to actually make the paper stick. I use a straw with my finger suctioned over the top to fill it with water as a dropper to mix it in with the glue. If you try to just drop a little bit of water over the rim of a glass you will have trouble, honest. (That is, if you're anything like me.)
3. Now take a toothpick and smear it with a little Vaseline. I have a really old pot of it that I dip the toothpicks straight into then gently wipe off the excess, but getting a little dollop on a separate piece of waxed paper and twirling it through that also works well. The key word here is to gently wipe off the Vaseline. You just want to get the extra bits that are sticking off while keeping it slick enough that your bead will come off when you want it to. If you don't have enough you'll have an unusable bead permanently dried on a toothpick, but if you have too much your paper will slip-slide every which way and you'll go mad. You also probably won't be able to get it started rolling in the first place either.
4. Take you paper and dip it in the diluted glue, then wipe off the excess with your fingers. Too much glue is just like too much Vaseline, it will keep your bead from sticking just enough to roll it. Too little glue and it will start to dry as you're rolling it and it won't stick. If you find you don't have enough glue, you can always just dip and wipe it again. You'll get glue all over your hands at this point, so make sure to have a wet paper towel on hand.
5. Hold the now-gluey strip of paper with the right side towards you and carefully press the edge onto the toothpick. This is the point at which you will start swearing profusely. The strip has to straight on the edge of the toothpick or it will get a cockeyed and won't roll. With the strip pressed onto the toothpick, gently start to roll the edge under, keeping it steady any way you can (fingers, toes, elbows....). You'll probably get it wrong the first time, so try again. You'll probably also get it all too loose and crooked the second time too, so... well, you know. You want to roll it tightly against the toothpick or you won't get enough traction to finish rolling it up. If you can't get it tight enough to start, you may have a little too much Vaseline on your toothpick. If yours looks like mine you'll probably have excess glue being squished out the ends, but don't worry, it just means you're rolling it good and tight.
6. Once you have it all rolled up, wipe off the excess glue and slip it off the toothpick. If you used a lot of glue the layers of the bead might be a tad loose and movable, which may be a problem when slipping it off the toothpick, so be careful. If you're having trouble sliding it off you can hold the toothpick with the point against your work surface and use your fingernails butting up against the end of the bead to slide it down. If the toothpick is too slippery to hold you can use the gluey, wet paper towel to hold the end and slip the bead off that way.
7. Now just leave them alone to dry. While they're drying the top edge will want to peel away from the rest of the bead and dry sticking up. It's not a big deal, so just leave it until the bead is relatively dry, then take another toothpick and dab some straight glue on it to tamp it down. Some people use Modge Podge to seal their beads once they're dry, but I just use a light coat of undiluted glue to hold them and I haven't had a problem.
So there are my slightly fuzzy directions. I'm sure there are improvements to be made, but so far the system seems to be working for me.
*Please note that jerry-rigged is not a word. I know, I looked it up.
And on a side note, I now have footnotes on my blog. Makes me feel all McKinley-ish.
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