Making Paper Beads written and samples by Wendy Kerr
Don't have the beads to go with your current project? Why not make your own!

What you need...
Text weight paper
Inkpads
Beads
PPA (Perfect Paste Adhesive) or glue
Clear Nail polish or Perm Enamel

How to:
Cut a length of your paper to 1/2"
Wrap around a thin paintbrush to make the bead base.
Secure the flap with PPA or glue
With a thin paintbrush, brush PPA on the INSIDE of your bead as well as the top and bottom to help secure.
Paint and decorate as desired.

You can also decorate your paper before wrapping it; Direct to Paper (DTP) with inkpads, color with markers, just about anything!
When done, coat with clear nail polish or Perm Enamel to protect your work. I always go over my attached beads as well, to prevent them from coming off.
Experiment with: different paper widths and length, paints, inkpads, markers and more!

Left: Made by DTP with a Stained Glass Dye Inkpad; DTP with gold and brown cat's eyes; painted with sheer gold acrylic paint; attached beads to top and bottom with perm enamel; coat entire piece with nail polish.

Right: Painted with yellow metallic paint; tap a silver leafing pen around; before leafing pen dries, apply one coat of nail polish - this will feather out the silver; let dry; paint with perm enamel to seal.

Left:  1" strip of paper, cut bottom 1/2 of paper strip at an angle to make a point (see picture above); DTP with stained glass inkpad; color edges of paper - one side silver, the other purple; Make purple squiggly lines and dots along paper; wrap to make bead; color top and bottom of bead with silver leafing pen; add a few small silver beads.

Right: Same as at left, except cover with a layer of Perm Enamel and add clear beads to the entire beads; once dry add more Perm Enamel to prevent beads from coming off.

Left: Paper cut to 1" and cut at an angle; paper colored with metallic green Marvy Marker; ends colors with a silver leafing pen.

Right: Same as at left, except covered in clear beads and covered with Perm Enamel

  Close up of right bead -> 

Decorative paper scraps, angle cut with 4 layers of Thick Embossing Powder.
*HINT* The EASY way to add Thick Embossing Powder and heat without burning your fingers:
Wrap and secure your bead as told above. Place bead on the tip of a paintbrush handle and apply CLEAR embossing fluid. Dip the bead into your jar of thick embossing powder.
Heat your bead with your heat tool to melt powder WHILE twisting the paint brush.
While still hot, dip back into your embossing powder, take out and heat again.

Faux Lamp Work Beads! (An original idea, Wendy Kerr)

This paper bead looks almost exactly like a lamp work bead! It look almost 45 minutes to do, but is very pretty in person. 

I started with a scrap of HEAVY ivory handmade paper, angle cut. Made as usual, secure ends.
Roll onto a blue pearlescent Brilliance inkpad.
*Use hint above* Cover with *4* layers of thick embossing powder (or UTEE). Roll into clear beads and heat to embed beads into melted powder. Add 2 more layers of embossing powder.
Let cool for a moment then sparing sprinkle COPPER embossing powder onto your bead and heat. It is important to remember to ROTATE your bead while heating.
Add copper embossing powder on end at a time and heat. Add 2 more layers of CLEAR thick embossing powder. Set aside and let cool.

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