Years ago, (like 15 years ago) my dad - who's quite creative - showed me how to make beads out of paper. I remember thinking this was pretty cool and I think I made a few but that was the extent of it. So here we are now and I'm finding that paper beads are showing up on lots of craft and jewelry blogs; kind of like leggings and long sweaters making a come back right now. Hello 1980's!
Anywho, I was visiting several of the blogs I like recently and I came across the paper mache earrings over at Infarrantly Creative. Wow - she has some great ideas on her site and the tutorial for these earrings is very clear and easy to follow. Since I've been playing with making paper beads lately (more on this in a future post) I knew I had to try her spin on them.
A couple of things from my experience with the process:
- She doesn't give a measurement for the water. My 'it has to come out perfect' OCD kicked in here so I checked the comments section to see if anyone else had mentioned this (no one had) and I even contemplated emailing her. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, and I just followed the directions. Note: the amount doesn't matter as long as it's enough to hold a packed cup of newspaper. So, I probably used about 1 3/4 cup.
- The ink from the paper came off onto my fork, tongs and stainless steel All Clad pot (obviously, I don't have designated craft cookware yet). Not to worry, it all came off with minimal scrubbing.
- One packed cup of newspaper makes a lot of beads; 30-40 depending on how big you make them which makes this an uber economical craft. It was going to the bead store that increased the expense.
I'm having a Valentine Cookie Exchange Party this coming Sunday and guess what the ladies are getting as a favor? A little Valentine bling to take home with their cookies!
Those turned out UH-MAzing! The ladies at your cookie exchange are gin to love them. thanks for sharing with me. I will feature on my blog soon!
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