I’ve always wanted to try making paper beads but have never gotten around to it. Today our contributor Shannon from Oh Creative Day is teaching us how to make them by upcycling old picture books. Delutter, cute craft – win win!

Making your own paper beads is a project perfect for any season. If you’re facing the long, lazy days of Summer holidays, this is a perfect activity for staying cool and out of the heat. If the temperatures are dropping and you just want to stay snug inside, this is a great indoor activity too. Making paper beads is also a great way to recycle paper and fashion them into a creation of your own imagining.

How to make your own paper beads

You will need:

Craft glue (Mod Podge is a great choice)
Paintbrush to apply glue
Scissors
Skewer
Paper
Baking paper

If we have picture books that are too battered and tattered to donate to charity, we use them to make paper beads. The paper weight is just perfect!

How to make your own paper beads:

1) Cut your paper so that you have a wide end leading to a pointy end. You will end up with long, triangular strips.
The wider you cut, the bigger the bead.
It’s a good idea to cut all your strips first. Once you introduce the glue, your fingers will get pretty sticky. Be sure to cover your work space with newspaper or a plastic tablecloth and have a damp cloth nearby for your sticky fingers.

2) Paint glue onto one side of your triangular strip of paper. This is the inner side of your bead.

3) Curl the wide end of your triangular strip around a skewer. Use your other hand to spin the skewer so that you can wrap the paper around itself.
Don’t wrap too tightly- you need to be able to slide the bead off the skewer!

Use extra glue to stick the thin end down. Slide the bead off the skewer and coat the outside of the bead in glue.

4) Lay your beads on baking paper to dry.

Once your beads have dried, you can do so many things with them.
Thread them onto pipe cleaners or yarn to create jewellery.
Use jewellery wire to create different shapes and thread the beads onto the wire.

So many possibilities!