Making paper beads from old magazines is a great birthday party craft for girls. This was a popular craft project back in the 60's and 70's and has become popular again with kids, tweens and teens of all ages. These fun paper beads are made from rolling up triangle pieces of old magazines and then stringing them together to make a necklace. They are a great craft for birthday parties and a fun way to recycle.
The beads are made from long triangle shapes of paper such as colorful magazines, tissue paper, craft paper or newspaper. They are rolled around a wooden dowel and then glued. Once dry they can be strung on string or floss to make a beautiful necklace. Let the party guests make their own beads and then take home a necklace as a party favor.
Old magazines with colorful pages
Glue
Clear Nail Polish
Needle
Thread
Small wooden dowel (to wrap the pieces of paper around. Can be done without the dowel, but it make it easier and less messy.
Tear out colorful pages from old magazines.
Cut out a long triangle shape from heavy cardstock for a
template so the beads will be uniform in shape. The length
of the bead will be the size of the widest point of the triangle. For
thick beads make a longer triangle shape. For thinner beads make the
triangle shorter. Vary sizes for interest.
Place the template on the magazine - make sure the point of the
triangle is over a colorful region of the magazine - trace and
cut out.
Starting at the wide end of the triangle tightly roll it towards
the point. Place a drop of glue on the backside of the
point and glue to the rolled up bead. Using a small wooden
dowel to wrap the magazine pieces around make the process easier and less
messy. Simply slip them off the dowel to dry.
Make the beads shine with a coat of clear nail polish. This also makes them almost waterproof and will make the last longer. For extra fun use clear nail polish with glitter in different colors.
When the beads have been made use a
needle and thread to string them together to make a necklace or
bracelet.
Experiment with different shapes of triangles for fun results.
Here is a great step by step video from the Potomac Bead Company on how to make paper beads.
More fun homemade crafts and activities for kids birthday parties. Have some fun making flip flops, tutus, homemade play dough and more! Great for a party activity and later for the kids to take home as a party favor to remember all the fun they had at the birthday.
Flip Flop Craft
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