Cute Paper Beads from Security Envelopes

Closeup on some of the beads I made. Cute, right?

I saw some cute little paper beads while browsing Craftster the other day and thought they were so cute and clever! http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=285330.0 I was instantly transported back to my childhood on one of those long summer days when you just have to whine, “I’m bored!” My dear packrat Grandma pulled out some old craft magazines (like 60’s or 70’s old) so I could find a project to do. I found an article in one magazine on making paper beads and spent the rest of the afternoon with a stack of junk paper, a bottle of Elmer’s glue and a plastic handled paintbrush (to wrap the paper around). I can still remember peeling the glue “skin” off my fingers and stringing the beads onto a piece of yard to make the most beautiful necklace I thought I would ever see.

Hit with that blast of nostalgia, and an evening with nothing to do, I decided to once again try my hand at making some paper beads. I loved the idea of using the insides of the security envelopes so I dug through the recycling and found a few. I used my rotary cutter to slice long strips of the envelopes, then tore the long strips into shorter lengths (the torn ends seal better than cut ones). I opted for glossy mod-podge instead of the classic Elmer’s and thought I’d be mature and apply the glue with a paintbrush instead of dipping and wiping with my fingers. I wrapped the paper strips around a thin DPN and slid them off carefully to dry.

I don’t know how I had forgotten all about paper beads for so long, but now I might just have to make a few more. I started thinking about cute scrapbooking paper I’ve seen and how they might look. I don’t really do much beading, though, so these are just sitting in a little box on my desk for now. I think I might just string a bunch of them together and toss them on my keyring with some pretty glass beads.

(p.s. I ended up giving up on the paintbrush about 5 minutes in. By the end of the night I was peeling off my extra layer of mod-podge skin with a little grin. What can say? Sometimes your hands are the best tool, even when it means getting a little messy.)