How to Make Painted Paper Beads

Painted paper beads are a great twist on traditional paper beads, because you have more control over how your finished beads come out. You never have to worry about finding paper with the colors you have in mind, because you can create your own. This is especially great if you want to create a piece of jewelry to go with a specific outfit–with painted paper beads, you can make beads in the exact colors you need.

There are two methods of making painted paper beads. One is to paint the paper before you cut and roll it into beads. The other is to paint the beads after you’ve rolled them. They produce very different results, and each has benefits and drawbacks. One method or the other will probably be right for you and your intended paper bead project.

Painting the paper before you make your painted paper beads is the less time-consuming method. It usually results in beads which have beautiful swoops and swirls of color, though you can also make striped beads with this method.

You may paint your paper in any colors and patterns you like. Remember that the specific pattern you paint in won’t be visible on your finished bead. Be as creative as you want, but keep a few guidelines in mind.

Using four or five colors in a similar color family will result in a more interesting painted paper bead than painting your paper in one or two colors. Try painting swirls of dark red, then adding swirls in dark purple, then a lighter red and a lighter purple. You may want to finish by painting some swirls with a metallic paint. This gives your finished beads some sparkle.

Remember that when you cut your beads, each vertical strip will make one bead, so you should aim to have color variations within that strip. If your paper is the same color from top to bottom in one area, your bead will be a solid color.

If you want to experiment with striped beads, alternate two (or more) colors in thick horizontal stripes on your paper. You may want to divide your paper horizontally into quarters and paint the first and third quarters one color and the second and fourth quarters a different color. If you keep your lines straight, you will end up with perfectly striped painted paper beads.

Once the paper has dried, you can make your painted paper beads as you would make any other paper beads. If you used the swoops and swirls method, you should end up with paper beads that look marbled with beautiful variations in the exact colors you wanted.

Making painted paper beads by painting the beads after making them is more time-consuming, because you must paint each individual bead. However, it gives you the opportunity to paint very specific patterns on your beads, such as polka-dot beads. This method gives you more stark color contrasts, rather than the marbled look you get with the other method.

Make your paper beads from any paper you want, but don’t coat them after you finish rolling them. When you’re ready to paint, slide a bead onto a toothpick to hold it steady while you paint. You will have to paint one color, then let it dry before you add another.

Try painting your bead in a bright base color, then adding polka dots in white or black. Or try painting your bead in alternating stripes of color. You can use acrylic paint and a thin paintbrush. Alternately, you can paint your beads with nail polish. Look for the tiny bottles of trial-size nail polish to build a collection of different colors.

Once your painted paper beads have dried, coat them with your usual paper bead finish, such as polycrylic gloss.

Reference:

• www.associatedcontent.com/article/5591866/how_to_make_rolled_paper_beads.html?cat=24