Upcycling: beads of paper
Old newspapers and magazines can be turned into jewelry in a few simple steps. By winding narrow strips of paper on a skewer, beautiful individual pearls are created.
Step 1: Prepare strips
For the paper beads, the first thing to do is to cut strips or narrow tapered wedges. The wedge shape is necessary if the beads are to become bulbous. If you want elongated beads, you can simply cut strips of the desired width. On one side of the magazine paper I mark depending on the desired bead width 1 to 1.5 cm wide strips. On the opposite side, I then make a mark at half the chosen bead width (0.5 or 0.725 cm). Connect the dots together. This results in a wedge-shaped strip, in which two sides are exactly the same length.
If you want to make many pearls, you should mark your stripes, put several sheets on top of each other and go to a copy shop. There are larger cutting machines that allow exact cuts and you can usually use free of charge. By precisely cut strips, the beads are accordingly straight. However, it also looks good if the stripes are not cut so accurately. As a result, the colors on a magazine sometimes produce surprisingly beautiful patterns.
Step 2: Turn beads
Next, the paper strips are wrapped on a shish kale stick. A toothpick does it too. The longer the strips, the larger the diameter of the bead becomes. The diameter can also be changed by laying two to three wedge-shaped strips on top of each other and then winding them on a wooden skewer.
Step 3: Cover the papers after turning the bead
At the end of winding, the tips of the lower strips should be cut off. Only wind up the paper top end to the end. This will cover the other ends and the finish will look better. Strip the paper tip over a glue stick and glue it in place.
Step 4: Seal with clearcoat
If you want to make sure that the pearls go down the spit again, without pulling them apart like an accordion, you can pull the strips completely over a glue stick in advance. This holds better, but is a sticky matter when winding. Alternatively, I simply mix some wood glue with a little water and brush in the finished rolled pearl. Then she will certainly hold. After drying, the beads can be brushed or sprayed with clear lacquer. They thereby become really solid, shine more and look much nobler. In addition, they are water-repellent and thus survive a proper downpour or splash water when washing. As a replacement for clearcoat, I have also used nail polish.
