Mosiac Paper Bead Tutorial

Saw these pretty little things at a holiday bazaar last year and wondered just how hard they could possibly be to make. As it turns out–they are delightfully simple…

and just look how adorable they turn out. I swear, I’m going to end up with 20 different bracelets because there are just so many bead combinations that work. If I was really clever…I’d give these pretty things away to all my friends. Think about that for a second. I could make a serious dent in the Christmas gift budget…I could.

But they’re so pretty.

Still, I should be thoughtful…

kind…

generous.

Nawww….

Here’s how to make the beads yourself.

First, start with a paper ad or pages from a magazine. I’ve seen the beads made from comics but the glossies were more my style…and not as messy as newsprint.

Cut the paper into shard shaped strips–about 4-5 inches long.

Curl the wide end with a pair of scissors–to get the roll started.

Next, just start rolling the strips up–pulling gently on the smaller end to tighten the roll as you go.

When you are nearly at the end of the strip, dab Mod Podge on the last inch or so and finish rolling. Smear the Mod Podge all over the bead and set it on wax paper or a plate to dry.

Scoot them around a bit as they dry to keep them from sticking. Adding several coats of Mod Podge will smooth out the paper lines so that they look more subtle. The beads on the right have only one coat and the ones on the left have two.

String the beads onto Clear Stretch Cord, alternating with whatever glass or metal beads you’d like. Tie ends together with a square knot. Hide the knot by gently pulling it inside one of the beads. Guard your Mosiac Paper Bead bracelet from getting wet–after all–it’s still paper at heart!

And there you have it. Gorgeous Mosiac Paper Beads that whip up in no time and come together with endless color combination possibilities.

Maybe you’ll be brave enough to give them away…instead of hording them all.

Maybe not.

Heh.

Flag Windchime

This pretty little wind chime is much easier to make than I would have thought.  And you know how I feel about doing really hard stuff–and calling it crafting.  Don’t like it one little bit. So, please trust me when I say this one is fun, fast and pretty dang easy…or it wouldn’t be here.

What you’ll need:

scissors

ruler

red, white, and blue craft foam

small hole punch

50 gold or star brads

30 small paper clips (ours were gold)

1 white hanger

24 white or clear pony beads

ribbon

13 bells (ours were 3/4 inch gold)

Instructions:

1. Cut out a 4 1/2- by 4-inch blue craft foam rectangle. Punch 4 evenly spaced holes on one of the long sides of the rectangle and 7 on the other.

2. Space the brads or stars evenly on the blue rectangle.

and affix them.

3. Cut out 7 red craft foam strips: three 1/2 by 8 inches, four 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches. Cut out 6 white craft foam strips: three 1/2 by 8 inches and three 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches.

4. Punch holes in both ends of all of the strips and thread paper clips through all the holes.

5. Attach the 7 short strips to the bottom of the blue square. Thread 4 paper clips through the holes at the top of the blue square.

6. Slide all the pieces onto the hanger–with 2 or 4 beads between–to form the flag.

7. Attach a bell to the clip on each strip.

8. Shape the hanger into a triangle shape and tie curly ribbon at the top.

Let freedom ring…or…

jingle…

if you please.

Either way.

Go USA!

Seed Paper Tutorial

I first heard of seed paper–or hand made paper that has real flower seeds embedded in the pulp itself and is actually plantable–about a year ago while browsing through a stationary catalog.  It was the coolest idea I’d ever seen–and so incredibly spring-y!

Well, who knew that you could make this funky stuff all by yourself? And dang we had a good time! These would be just perfect to include with a birthday or Christmas card–don’t you think?

First Step:

Making the Screen Frame

Here’s what you’ll need for the screen frame:

6-12 wide craft sticks–think tongue depressors

Craft glue

1 or 2 pieces of mesh or screen about 6″x6″

electrical tape

Glue four sticks together–like this.

Lay the screen over the sticks and glue in place.

Now glue two more sticks–one on the top and one on the bottom. Cut two more sticks and glue in place like this.

I rested a glass bowl over the frames to hold everything in place until the glue dried.

Your frame should look pretty much like this.

Now wrap the whole frame with electrical tape, making sure to cover all the exposed wood.

Second Step:

Making the paper pulp

Here’s what you’ll need to make the pulp:

4-6 pieces of used white computer paper, construction paper, art paper,  newspaper or junk mail

small flower seeds

water

hemp twine (optional)

ground cinnamon (optional)

dried petals (optional)

Tear the paper up into 1-2 inch pieces…

and put it in the blender. Pour in enough warm water to cover the paper.

Blend until paper turns to pulp. It looks like white oatmeal.

If you want to add cut up pieces of hemp twine–now’s the time. Whirl it up.

Have your seeds ready–but don’t add them yet. Do not put your seeds in the blender. I probably didn’t need to say that–but you never know. Ok, now fill a 9×13 glass Pyrex dish half full with warm water. Spoon enough pulp into the water to make it like a thin soup.

Now add about a couple teaspoons of the seeds. Add the crushed, dried flower petals and a sprinkle or two cinnamon–if you want.

Stir it all together.

Step #3

Making the seed paper

Dip your screen into the pulp solution. Move it around like you are panning for gold or something, until there is enough on the screen to cover it.

Push pulp from the edges of the frame onto the screen with a spoon or table knife.

Kinda like this…

Carefully tip the frame over–pulp side down…

onto a towel.

With another towel, press down on the screen to sponge out the excess water.

Press for about 1 minute.

Now gently lift off the frame. If you have to coax the paper off the frame just go slowly–nudging with a table knife if you need to.

Let your paper rest on the towel until it’s dry enough to move. Transfer to a pan and allow to dry all the way–overnight is best. If you’re in a hurry you can use a blow dryer set on low.

Once it’s completely dry, tear it carefully in half.


Poke or punch a hole in the top somewhere–more in the middle than mine is–and loop twine through the hole–to use as a bookmark.

Once you are finished with it you can tear it into pieces and plant it in loose, moist soil–about 1/4 to 1/2 in deep.

Now then…don’t you feel clever?

Silk Tie Easter Eggs

Well, we’ve found our absolute favorite Easter egg dyes…

of all time.

No tablets, no food colors, no cups, no drips, no stained fingers or clothes, no spilling—

I could go on and on. But seriously, the best part about this method is that everything you need is right in your kitchen and closet…or worst case—the thrift store. Who would have thought that an old ratty, out of date silk tie could be the gorgeous answer to the annual Easter egg dying ordeal?

Your whole family is going to love this.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Eggs

Silk ties–look for a tiny tag at the small end of the tie. It needs to say 100% silk. Seriously, this doesn’t have to cost a mint. We picked all these up at the local thrift store–for just a few bucks.  The thinner the fabric the better the transfer. If you’re raiding the closet, please be sure to get your man’s permission before you start cutting things up.  ;} Oh, and if your tie is from China–don’t eat the egg. They have different standard for their dyes and many are not safe. SO, in that case just enjoy the egg and toss it out after Easter. Got that?

An old, white T-shirt–cut it into squares big enough to wrap around the eggs

String

3 Tablespoons of white vinegar

Pot of water

Vegetable oil

Now then…

Cut open the tie at the back and take out the facing fabric. All you will be working with is the actual colored silk.

Cut the silk into pieces big enough to cover the egg…

Wrap it around your egg. Don’t get to0 nutty about this step, just do the best you can.

Now, roll the egg up with the T-shirt fabric.

The idea is to press the colored silk right up against the egg.

The bald kid and I had a competition to see who could wrap their eggs the purtiest. I totally won.

He’s such a sillyboy.

Anyway…

set the wrapped eggs in a pan of cold water with the vinegar mixed in. Make sure the water completely covers the eggs.

Boil for 20-25 minutes.

Remove the eggs…

and allow them to completely cool.

Now the fun part—unwrapping the eggs to see what you’ve got.

Rub a tiny bit of vegetable on your masterpieces and see how pretty they look.

Even the subtle ones are beautiful.

If you’re like us–you’ll want to make a million more–because it’s so easy and there’s just no mess. You can use the fabric more than once–if you’re so inclined.

Think of the possibilities.

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