Paper Bead Flowers

This idea involves effort. Turn back now! I first learnt how to make paper beads as a cheap way to amuse children. I put some thought into how I could use them in making earrings and this is what I came up with:

How It's Done:

You will need:

• 2 sheets of glossy magazine paper
• A pen
• A ruler
• Scissors
• Craft glue
• A paintbrush
• Varnish 
• 2  4-holed Buttons
• Soft wire
• Basic hooks (See Vocab Tab)
• Wire Cutters (See Vocab Tab)

Method:

First the beads:

Chose the magazine pages in the colours you want. The stripy effect is going to happen with the rolling unless you manage to find a page of solid colour. I purposefully chose colourful pages for mine. The colour pen you use will also affect the colour of your beads so you can either use that to your advantage or measure them out on the back of your chosen pages.

Along the top of the magazine page measure and mark intervals of 1cm. Do the same along the bottom but start off 0.5 cm from the straight edge. Now join your marks together so that you have long strips that taper to a point. Check out this picture before you start to make sure you have the right idea: 

Once you've drawn your strips cut them out and we'll get down to the tough part. Take a strip of paper and roll it around the back of your paintbrush. If the end of your brush isn't round and narrow find something that is. Ideally you need something that's around 20mm in diameter. I used the end of a chopstick. Start rolling from the broad side of the strip and end with the point in the middle. Keep your rolling tight and neat. Add a touch of glue to the end to hold it in place. Making the beads is time consuming and can get pretty frustrating but you can look at this one for some motivation:

Once you have made 48 of these you can give them a coat of varnish and breathe a sigh of relief (but turn your face away first because they're pretty sensitive to wind).

Now for the earrings:

Start by making a loop with your wire and threading it through one of the button holes. Next thread 4 beads onto the wire, thread it through the next button hole and pull tightly so it makes a petal. Twist it a couple of times so that it holds the shape. Continue this process for the rest of the flower and to finish off twist the end of your wire around your loop. Once your flower is complete attach the earring hook to the wire loop and bam, you have an earring!

Rating:

Patience Required: 8/10

Making paper beads needs a lot of patience but one you get the hang of it it's kind of relaxing. It'll also give you an understanding of why people who sell anything made out of paper beads charge so much for such basic materials. 

Durability: 3/10

I made mine with copper wire so anything sturdier than that will improve this score. They do get bent out of shape by hugs, hair brushing or any kind of vigorous movement but can be restored just as easily. They also come with all the natural limitations of once-varnished paper.

Cool Factor: 7/10

They are big and beautiful!