Art Paper Beads

I thought I'd write a bit about why I call my creations art paper beads instead of just paper beads. Many people make paper beads from recycled magazine pages or other papers they have lying around. That makes funky beads, but it's not what I'm interested in. I see creating my paper beads as more of an artistic endeavor.

I start by choosing a base paper. This is often a sheet of scrapbook paper I find interesting, but not always. I made some beads yesterday from pages of a Latin dictionary (pictures eventually forthcoming!), and I bought some sheet music to make beads from. I do use magazine pages sometimes, but they're carefully chosen for color.

For most of my paper beads, I alter the base paper. Sometimes I add line drawings with markers. Sometimes I do a watercolor wash over the whole paper. Sometimes I combine different papers into one bead.

At that point, I cut the paper into strips and continue as you would for any paper bead. I'll write a how-to about that another day. But by the time I start to turn the paper into a bead, I've already begun turning it into a work of art. I may begin with found paper, but it's not random. It's carefully chosen and altered for its artistic value.

That's why I make a distinction between paper beads and my art paper beads.

Seeing Spots

I love these white polka-dot beads I made last night. I did these with white polka-dotted scrapbook paper (not the cardstock weight!)cut into one-inch strips. I tapered the strips by 1/4 inch on each side, so the wide end is one inch and the narrow end is 1/2 inch.

I rolled the beads on coffee stirrers. That was a new experiment for me, and I liked the way it came out. I put a bit of polycrylic on the stirrer, then rolled the bead. I coated the last inch with polycrylic before I finished rolling, then gave the whole thing a coat and stuck the stirrer into a styrofoam block for drying.

Here's the fun part--once the first coat of polycrylic was dry, I used a thin glaze of metallic silver paint over the whole bead. I let that dry, then gave the bead a second coat of polycrylic. I let that dry overnight.

This morning I cut off the ends of the coffee stirrers, leaving the part glued inside the bead there for stability. I sanded any rough spots on the edges and used a few dabs more polycrylic on the newly exposed ends.

These beads would look great strung with black spacer beads and worn with a black-and-white outfit. They're fun and funky, and the silver glaze gives them just a bit of bling!

A New Year, A New Start

OK, I'm jumping the new year gun by about a week, but that's what happens when I get excited about something.

I'm starting this blog to write about one of my favorite subjects--creating beautiful art and jewelry from bits of paper. I love making art paper beads and then using those beads to create larger works of art.

Check back frequently to find how-tos on bead-making as well as thoughts on the act of creation and the need to make space for beauty in your life.