Paste Painted Paper Beads

I love the way these beads came out. If I had used red rather than orange, they'd look like little barber shop poles...

I painted these beads with tinted cornstarch paste. That gave me the ability to craw designs in the paint before it dried, which gave a nice texture to the paper. Plus it was a lot of fun! Here's how I did it.

I made a cornstarch paste by mixing 1/4 cup cornstarch with 1/4 cup water. Once it was well blended, I added another cup of water and heated it until it was thick. I stirred in a final 1/2 cup of water, then let it cool.

Once it was cool, I stirred in some acrylic paint in the color I wanted. Then I used a big, thick paintbrush to wet my paper, then painted a thickish layer of the colored paste over the whole page.

Once you're at that stage, let your imagination run wild to choose an implement to etch a design in your paint. I did these by drawing a silicone basting brush in diagonal lines across the paper. I did another page by scrunching up waxed paper and dabbing it over the paper.

Once the paper was dry, I ironed the back side at low heat before I cut and rolled it into beads. These strips were 3/4 inch at the wide end and 3/8 inch at the narrow end. I also did some 3/8 inch little round beads with the triangles that resulted from cutting the paper into blunt strips. My paper was 12x18 inches to start with.

Again, I encourage you to experiment in your own art. Don't be boring!

Granite Paper Beads

I just had to post a picture of these newest beads I listed on my Etsy site, because they might be my favorite ones yet! Can you believe this set of beads began life as a sheet of plain white paper? These beads are the result of the experiment I mentioned several posts earlier--the one where I was trying to imitate a restaurant wall I loved. To me they look like a polished granite countertop.

I used a mixture of blue and green paint to create that deep turquoise color, then I added some bronze paint and sponged it all over my paper. Then I cut strips that were 1/2 inch on one end, narrowing to 1/4 inch at the other end. The spacer beads are 1/4 inch triangles. I gave these beads four coats of the polycrylic gloss.

I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again... the wonderful thing about art is that it's ALL available to you. Any idea is open for trying. You may fail spectacularly, like when I tried rolling sandpaper into a bead. (Hint: that doesn't work!) Or you may create something beautiful. But the fun is in the experiment.