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And it is very easy - the hardest part is finding the right materials - but once you have them - it\'s really very easy.
And if you are a fan of making gorgeous things that have a large percentage of waste materials you might like to read a similar post which you can find by clicking here.
These are the shiny gems I made in my recent YouTube tutorial which you can find by clicking here if you haven't seen it yet.
The bases for these are made completely from recycled waste card and tacky glue but the junk is cleverly disguised with these beautiful embossed designs.
I'm always amazed at the durability of pendant bases made from junk card, but really, these tough little pendant bezels will surprise you if you've never made them before.
Any embossing and die cutting system, such as this Big Shot by Sizzix is a brilliant piece of kit to have in your craft room because it is so versatile.
And it is the main tool used to produce these beautiful pendants.
But if you don't want one - or can't justify the splashing of cash - never fear! My next tutorial will show you how you can make beautiful embossed pendants without an embosser!
Sounds weird I know, but you will love the simple trick I am going to show you next time.
If you would like to look at a Big Shot, you can visit my Amazon shop by clicking here. I stock my online shop with the resources, tools and materials similar to, or the same as, I use in my tutorials.
And I try to recommend things I have used. As I have never used anything other than the Big Shot, that is what I have in my shop, however, there are other brands such as Cuttle Bug that you might want to look at.
You will also find embossing folders in my shop.
You know those fancy embossing folders that seemed like such a good idea in the craft shop but you never used them? Get them out!
The more fiddly and fancy the embossing folder designs - the better for this junk jewellery project.
Whether you are using a chain, leather or cord, you will need something to thread it through. These are called bails and you can easily make your own from wire.
So all the experienced wire workers out there will cringe when they see my bails made out of entirely the wrong gauge wire (I used 24 gauge and should have used something thicker like 18 or maybe 20 gauge).
I learned how to make these bails for my junk jewelry from a lovely crafter on YouTube, called Candice.
On the video I made, you do see me and my clumsy attempt at making bails very badly with the wrong wire and wrong pliers - but, you should still get the idea of how to make them.
However - I have put a link here to Candice's video so you can learn from someone who knows what they are doing!
Thank you Candice - I don't know if you are still on YouTube but your video really helped me learn something.
So that's it people - go watch my video over on YouTube and have a go at making some junk jewelry!
Notice I say water resistant and not waterproof.Why would you want your beads to be waterproof?
Are you going to wear them in the shower or swimming pool? Hopefully not.
However, you may be wearing paper bead bracelets when you wash dishes or get caught in a rain shower and so having a water resistant glaze would be very helpful.
But making paper beads water resistant isn't the only reason to glaze them.
A good glaze also makes them super shiny and much stronger than if they are left unglazed.
So there are many good reasons to find out about glazing paper beads.
One of the questions I get asked the most is about glazing paper beads.
And I always tell people that I use various products, depending on what I have in my studio.
(You can see for yourself how I made some paper beads and then glazed them with Mod Podge Super Gloss Brilliant by going over to my YouTube channel.)
And by the way, if you have already made traditional paper beads and you want to have a go at making something slightly different to glaze, check out this blog post.
Whatever shape they are or whatever method you choose to make them, glazing paper beads is something that is worth spending time over if you want your paper 'jewels' to last.
The picture to the right shows two paper beads that I glazed with Mod Podge Super Gloss - Brilliant.
The bead on the right is as it was after the glaze was dry.
The one on the left had been soaked in water overnight for 14 hours after the glaze was dry.
It totally kept its shape, it did not come unravelled and when I air dried it for a couple of hours, it still had its glazed shine.
The only thing it appeared to lose was some of its rigidity. It also seemed to expand a little. Will update you if it shrinks after a few hours.
So I think it is safe to say, two coats of Mod Podge Super Gloss - Brilliant on your paper beads will keep them more than adequately water resistant.
Even one coat (which is what it is designed for) will be fine.
My first thought was, would I wear paper bead jewellery in ‘all situations’? Do I wear any of my jewellery in all situations?
Apart from my wedding ring and the silver stud ear rings I wear in the winter months (because I have lost way too many dangling earrings caught on winter scarves!), I never keep any other jewellery on all the time.
I would guess most people take off their jewellery to shower, bath or swim, whatever it’s made of.
So I don’t think paper beads need to be waterproof - water resistant will be good enough for most people’s needs. That means you don’t have to expose your lungs to the horrible fumes that you get from oil based products when glazing paper beads.
And if you get the Glaze on your fingers, it will wash off without the harsh solvents that oil based varnishes need.
Well, of course, you don't have to, BUT, they are paper and as such, they would eventually get damaged without some kind of protection.
My reasons for glazing paper beads is because it makes them more durable, more attractive, it makes colours pop more and as I said earlier, it makes them water resistant.
If you listen carefully, on my video, when I have glazed all the beads and let them dry, you can hear how much harder they are after glazing when I tip them from hand to hand. They sound like plastic beads and they become nice and shiny.
Although I don’t show it on the video, I did make my beads into a bracelet to give to someone who has been really kind to me since my dad died.
If you want to see the technique I used to string the beads, let me know in the comments section underneath the YouTube video that goes with this post.
if you look at the picture below, you will see a close up of the knot I made in the stretchy thread I used to string the beads, you will see a blob of glue that I put on the knot to secure it.
(No, it's not some glistening snail like creature crawling out of a bead!)
What I want to know is, how do other people make more dainty, but secure knots in stretchy thread?
I find that the slippery rubber stretchy thread kind of resists staying knotted unless I glue it.
I would be really pleased if you could let me know by leaving a comment underneath the video over on YouTube.
I use this brilliant little macro lense that clips over the camera on my phone..
I’m so impressed with it that I have found a similar set to the clip-on lens set that I’ve got and put in my Amazon shops.
And if you are glazing paper beads of your own - you will also find the Mod Podge Super Gloss - Brilliant In My amazon shops along with other glazes that I recommend.
What are you waiting for? Get glazing paper beads today!
I'm sorry I haven't been here for so long but my 92 year old dad fell ill in the summer and
my time was taken up with looking after him right up until he passed away a few weeks ago.
So I have been very busy with family commitments and now, with taking care of my mum.
But I'm getting back into the swing of working now so here I am with another project. So if you want to know how to be creative - stick with me!
You don't have to read that post or watch the associated video first but I would highly recommend you do so that this one makes more sense. You can find the blog post and video link by clicking here.
I remember very clearly when I didn't know how to be creative but longed to be
Digital technology has made it so easy to explore our own creativity in ways we could never have dreamed of before the invention of computers and their pixels.
This project is a little different to my other - ‘how to be creative' - ones where I use scrap cardboard and paper etc to make physical objects such as jewelery.
In the previous project, I used an actual physical process that utilised milk and food colouring to create fun abstract images that I captured with my camera before tipping the coloured milk down the sink.
But don't let that put you off reading the post and watching the video. Especially if you are longing to know how to be creative.
Once you see the potential of your computer as a tool for developing the fun abstract art you have created outside of the computer, you may want to think seriously about getting some photo editing software and exploring how you can use it way beyond editing photos, to make art, in the most obscure ways.
You can see in the images above, I improved the photo I took while I was sloshing around with milk and food colouring.
With just a couple of clicks in Photoshop I had cropped out the edge of the dish and enhanced the colors leaving me with a 'painting' that no one would ever guess was milk!
I created the base image using food colouring in milk, took a photo of it, downloaded it to my computer and then used Photoshop to enhance it and add other elements using brushes (think of brushes as digital craft stamps that you can create to add designs to your milk painting.)
Images like these will never make it into the Royal Academy but, that is not what we are aiming for here, we are aiming for having fun and exploring possibilities without being 'good' at making art - don't ever forget that! I have seen many really awful paintings in prestigious art galleries that are only there because the artist has made a name for themselves. It doesn't matter what they produce, their admirers will lap it up.
They could sneeze paint onto a canvas and it would be applauded. They learned how to be creative and so can you, in your way. So don't get caught up in that art snob mindset or judge yourself harshly - just enjoy the process and use whatever means you need in order to express yourself.
I created this image from scratch in Photoshop using brushes I created very easily myself.
This whole image is made using the gradient tool and three custom made brushes.
I mainly use it for creating arty images from scratch.
And you can do the same with Gimp without forking out for Photoshop if you don't want the outlay.
Take the praying monk in the image above - I didn't draw him, I am not capable - but did my inability to draw or paint stop me from expressing my artistic idea of having a praying monk in my painting?
No, because I used my creativity to overcome the 'can't draw or paint' barrier.
I used my camera to take a picture of a concrete garden ornament (the monk) sideways on and then I turned it into a digital stamp (known as a brush in Photoshop terms) and I can put this monk into any painting I make.
Now that I have the stamp (brush) saved in my Photoshop brushes palette, I can make it any size or colour I want.
Have I cheated? No, Have I been creative? Yes. Because creativity is about finding creative ways to express yourself. Creativity is not limited to be 'able' to paint or draw 'properly'.
I have stamped them in various colors all on the same document so you can see what I am talking about. I can make these brushes whatever size, colour or opacity I want to and I can overlay them on any photo I have taken of abstract art created with milk and food coloring (or paintings created in any way).
The reason I make my own brushes is because of copyright. For example - the tree brushes I used in the top image are not my design. I got them either free with a Photoshop magazine or from a free clip art website.
So if, for example, I wanted to make a greeting card to sell, even though these brushes were free, it doesn't mean I can use them on stuff I am selling.
So I like to create my own brushes to be safe from violating anyone's copyright.
And for many people, the biggest barrier is that feeling of not being able to paint or draw 'properly'. It's the same with any creative field. Take music for example, I can't play an instrument because I have never learned.
But with today's technology, I can make music by using software such as Garage Band. Ok, I may never be a Beethoven or a John Lennon but I can still dabble around and explore my musical creativity and learn how to make some very catchy digital music.
I may even get inspired to learn an actual instrument!
You need to just do something with some kind of medium to get yourself started on that journey of discovery.
And food colouring in milk is one of the best ways to get going because it is cheap to do and it is fun. But do read my previous blog post and watch the video to find out what else you need because there is a very simple 'secret' ingredient that you need to add for the real magic to happen.
If you don't have Adobe Photoshop and you don't want to pay for it (it is expensive) there are other options that you might like to explore.
There is the free, open source design software called Gimp. I have used this but don't currently have it on my Mac. I had it on an older Mac years ago and it was brilliant.
I had trouble downloading it this time so I just ordered a Gimp DVD from Amazon for just over £7 and it arrived today. I will be able to keep you updated about using Gimp to create art from your milk paintings once I have installed it on my computer.
And Gimp works pretty much the way Photoshop does.
You just need to experiment with it and learn by trial and error just how creative you can get.
You can find out about Gimp on their website
There are DVD copies of Gimp for Windows and Mac in my US and UK Amazon shops, but not sure how long they will be there or how good they are.
I'll let you know when I've tried mine out.
Amazon.co.uk shop - click here.
Amazon.com shop - click here
A less expensive alternative to the full version of Adobe Photoshop is Photoshop Elements which I also have in my shops.
But please bear in mind I have not used the newer versions of Elements and so I cannot say what they are like - do your research before you buy!
UK readers, please bear with me as I am only just now stocking my UK shop with the products I have had in my US shop for some time - but it won't be long before you too can buy most of the products I use in my videos.
I hope I have given you some idea of how to be creative when you think you're not.
Using milk and food colouring is a very inexpensive way to play with colour, as opposed to buying paints and canvases. It's very non-threatening too because when are creating swirls and cells, if you see images you love developing in the dish, you can take pictures to capture the designs forever.
But, whatever happens when you play, you will be tipping your art down the sink eventually and no one will ever see it unless you show them the pictures.
Of course, working on the images on computer, as I outline in the video, is a more expensive way making art and it won't be for everyone but if 'how to be creative' is something that burns away at your soul, then you'll probably be keen to explore all options - have fun and don't forget to watch the video!
But it's really easy to create images like the one below even if you are not an artist, cannot afford to buy paint and are afraid of failing.
Watch the whole video and by the end, you will see how you can spend hours dabbling around with a few cheap items you can buy from the grocery store.
There is so much snobbery in the art world - click here to read a previous post about THAT! - and I believe it prevents us ordinary people from getting lost in creativity because we are afraid of getting it \'wrong\'.
Guess what? There is no \'wrong\' way of making art.
There is only the fun of creating - and the fear of getting it \'wrong\' absolutely kills that creativity.
Don\'t let that be YOU!
You have as much right to explore your creativity as anyone who has been to art school or is so highly acclaimed, their stuff is exhibited in the best galleries across the world.
If you can\'t sing like Barbara Streisand or Beyonce - does that mean you shouldn\'t sing?
So if you can\'t paint like Michael Angelo, does that mean you should never, ever try to paint like you? No. Of course it doesn\'t.
I doubt if anyone is ever going to ask you to paint the ceiling of a fancy church anyway.
There is nothing so daunting as sitting there with some expensive paints you have just bought, and a canvas you don\'t want to mess up.
In the video you will learm how to use the cheapest, most basic items from the grocery store - milk, food coloring and a secret ingredient that really makes the magic happen.
You will need a camera that can do close-ups - you can probably use the camera in your iPhone - I haven\'t tried that myself but I\'m sure it would work.
And if you live in a place where you would have trouble getting food coloring, visit my amazon.com supplies page where you will find links to products you can order.
But most people should be able to get EVERYTHING they need for this project very cheaply from the grocery store.
so watch the video and get creating today!
If you have learnt how to create abstract art by watching the video - leave a comment on YouTube and let me know how you got on.
Back then, I was one of the makers getting paid to supply step by step guides for subscribers.
Eventually, the website got bought out by someone bigger and the guides that all us makers had supplied (for very little pay!) were put onto YouTube and are still being shown on there to this day, including my original ideas for how to make charms out of cardboard.
Since I first created these charms, I have seen lots of people adopting this method and it seems to be quite popular.
So for those people who have not seen my original step by step tutorial on how to make charms out of cardboard, I decided to make a video showing what I did.
You can see the video on my YouTube channel Rainbow Lane by clicking here.
And click here to see a previous post about using scrap card to make jewelry.
Whenever I want to learn something, nothing frustrates me more than long drawn out videos that take ages to show the crucial information.
I usually click off and find another video that is shorter and more to the point.
So I keep this in mind when I make my videos. I try to show you what you need to know, quickly and easily as I know your time is precious.
That's why my video on how to make charms out of cardboard is fairly short and as easy to follow as possible, without me actually being right there with you.
I also try to help busy crafters who don't have easy access to craft shops, or have time to spend online sourcing the supplies I use in my videos, by sourcing the products and putting links to them on my Amazon Craft Supplies page.
Yes you can! Those images are my own designs and are available in my Etsy shop.
Whether you use my images or your own, it\'s so easy to make some really impressive little charms by using cereal box cardboard for the main material. And if you were going to throw the box away, that means your supplies for this project are partially free - right?
And what could be better than craft supplies that are virtually free and at the same time, save even a teeny bit of rubbish from landfill!
Let me know how you get on learning how to make charms out of cardboard and leave me a comment below the video on YouTube.
So you may be really pleased to hear about how you can make one of these beautiful paper bead bracelets using rubbish that would usually get thrown away.
You will need a couple of other supplies but the main material used in these beautiful low budget craft ideas is scrap paper.
If you are new here, you may want to check out this video for other low budget craft ideas, but don\'t forget to come back and try out this one!
And if you prefer to go straight to the tutorial to see the ideas I am showing you in this post, click here to go to YouTube.
If you are here to find out where you can buy the tools I use in the video, scroll down to the end of this post to find the links.
It\'s always tricky giving friends and family handmade presents. We all know that fine line between something that looks handmade because it\'s so badly done and something that is handmade but also very pretty and wearable.
These little bracelets are brilliant if you are looking for low budget craft ideas for making presents or, even to make stuff to sell at craft fairs.
The beautiful beads on the right were made from this small, flimsy paper bag that many people would throw away. And they make gorgeous, delicate bracelets.
Most people are shocked when I tell them that the bracelet I have given them is made from the paper bag their birthday card came in.
The beads actually look like they are made from china if you finish them properly with a few coats of glaze.
And if you are someone who doesn\'t have a ton of money to spend, a well made hand crafted gift is a great alternative to a shop bought present.
I would be touched if someone spent their precious time making me something.
I never throw wrapping paper away, even if it is torn. You only need a very tiny area of the wrapping paper to make these beads - watch the video to find out why.
The technique I show you for how to use the wrapping paper to make paper beads means that you can use any kind of printed matter as the base for the beads.
So that means you can use old bank statements, letters, junk mail - anything that comes in a standard page size with a rectangular shape, or that can be cut into a rectangular shape as you see me doing in the video.
The paper bead rolling tool I use is my own design. I manufacture them myself and sell them online at a very reasonable price.
I also design and sell the printed templates which you can buy online and download to print off but for those who don\'t have a printer, I have designed some paper bead strip template stencils that you place on to top of your paper and draw inside.
The stencils come in one sheet with four different size stencils on it.
Buy the 3mm Easy Beady paper bead rolling tool - £7.00 - ships worldwide.
Please note the special free offer below, when buying both tools together.
Buy the 5mm Easy Beady paper bead rolling tool - £8.00 - Ships worldwide.
Please note the special free offer below, when buying both tools together.
Buy the Easy Beady paper bead strip stencil - £5.99 - Ships worldwide.
Please note the special free offer below, when buying both tools together.
Multi size sets available.
Just click on the free offer link and you will be taken to my etsy shop. I ship worldwide.
Come back soon because I will be giving you details of the new paper beading products I am adding to my range in the very near future.
All my Easy Beady products are designed to make paper beading easier and quicker.
For those people who don\'t have access to a craft store or who don\'t have time to search around online, I have created this page where you will find some of the products I use and some other products that are similar.
However, I do urge people to shop around to find the craft supplies they need - my Amazon page is there to give you suggestions if you don\'t know where to get your supplies.
I hope you enjoyed it and are fired up with some low budget craft ideas - see you next time with more crafty ideas for you!
It\'s versatile - you can do so much with alcohol ink from all the standard craft applications to practically anything you can dream up.
But alcohol ink can be messy - so wear gloves unless you want heavily stained fingers!
This project is one of my latest ideas for using alcohol ink with aluminium foil. I have explored this before and my videos showing how to make my \'Moon Glow\' pendants have been some of my most watched, most popular videos on YouTube.
To see my previous posts using alcohol ink, click on the links below.
Alcohol Ink Pendants - Faux Dichroic Glass
If you want to see the video tutorial I made for this project, you can see it by clicking here. You can see how I got the beautiful results for the paper bead tile bracelet using black ink.
All I had was the idea (while running on my treadmill which is my ideas machine!) but I didn\'t really know how it would react on the aluminium foil.
You can see that although I only used black alcohol ink, the tones that developed when I used the alcohol ink blending solution on the aluminium foil are absolutely gorgeous.
I made two different sheets for this project but the sky is the limit really, you could blend whatever colors you want in as many combinations as you want to get all sorts of colorful effects.
...but don\'t know where to get supplies, you can visit my craft supplies page on Amazon.
I try to link you to the same products I use or, the closest I can find.
Once you have made yourself a selction of colored foils, you can experiment with making card tile beads in different colors to contrast with your hand-inked foils.
If you want to make really gorgeous hand-crafted items from card, inks, and aluminium foil, (like the necklace below) watch my video to learn the basics of how to get started.
You can experiment with using junk card from food packaging if you don't want to buy craft materials. Aluminum foil is really inexpensive to use because you get so much on one roll!.
The main investment is in the inks, the blending solution and the Glossy Accents glaze.
If you do have a go at this project, don\'t forget the take care of yourself and the surfaces you work on. Alcohol ink is strong smelling, it stains skin and work surfaces so be sure to use rubber gloves, a face mask and plastic table cover.
If you are fed up with measuring and drawing out triangles - the paper bead templates in this kit will be perfect for you. And the two paper bead rolling tools that come with the kit save you even more time because they are easy to use; when used properly, the tools will result in paper beads that are firmly wound and come off the shaft of the tool with ease.
If you have landed here and you haven\'t see my video over on YouTube where I use the paper bead templates in a project, click here to go see the video. But don\'t forget to come back to see where to get the kit.
And if you have landed here from YouTube and want to know where to get the paper bead templates and paper bead tools, click here to go to my Etsy shop.
For links to the individual products, see the Etsy links at the end of this post.
Looking back, I can\'t believe how I used to spend hours measuring out dots along the top and bottom of sheet of paper and then go through the boring job of making the lines. So I started making my own paper guides to copy but it was still time consuming.
Then I thought how brilliant it would be if I had a sheet containing all the template sizes I use regularly - but all I did was dream about it.
Eventually, because I needed to speed up the part of my paper bead making workshops where people create their own strips to hand color, I spent ages trying to make a sheet of four paper bead templates that I could reproduce without massive expense. I wanted my students to be able to use the paper bead templates in the class and then take them home.
And that was how my paper bead templates were born.
The four templates on the single sheet have base sizes of 1inch, 3/4inch, 1/2inch and 1/4 inch.
To use the them, you simply turn the sheet over, run some strips of removable sticky tape down in between the templates and then gently stick the sheet to whatever paper you are using for your paper beads.
Whatever your chosen bead strip size, you simply lightly draw inside the relevant triangle template with a very sharp pencil (and it must be lazer sharp) in a color that will be easy to see for cutting.
You can repeat this across your paper, carefully positioning the sheet to maximise the use of the paper's surface area.
The 3mm tool is used to make beads with a smaller hole that will take finer threading materials such as beading elastic or cord. The 5mm tool is used to make beads with a larger core hole to take a thicker threading material such as the bracelets used to make European Style jewelry. The 5mm tool is ideal for people wanting to make beads that have the same shape and look as beads seen on Pandora bracelets but with a teeny fraction of the cost!
Please note - you will need a separate paper template to make European Style beads like these.
You can download the template from my Etsy shop.
The prices for the items are:
3mm Easy Beady paper bead tool - £7.00 plus p&p
5mm Easy Beady paper bead tool - £8.00 plus p&p
Paper bead templates - four size sheet - £5.99 plus p&p
Easy Beady paper bead making kit containing all three items above - £15 plus p&p
And once you get going, you can really let your creativity run wild dreaming up ways of making junk mail look really pretty! You can make gorgeous handmade gifts that people will love and wear, instead of putting them in a cupboard feeling annoyed that you gave them some second rate homemade tat!
You can even make beautiful pieces to sell at craft fairs or online. Once you have bought these tools, the costs of making beads is reasonably low because you can use throwaway magazines, brochures, booklets, even books to make your paper beads.
Have a look at these previous posts to see what sort of jewelery you can make.
And remember to visit my craft supplies page on Amazon to get many of the products I use in my projects plus lots of other crafting supplies.
Have fun making beads - the Easy Beady tools and paper bead templates really do make your crafting life much easier - I know, that\'s why I designed them - happy crafting!
Those of you that have seen my latest craft ideas on Youtube may be here because you would like to make the exact same necklace using my craft printables.
So to get the craft printables you need to make the boho necklace I designed for the video, click here to go straight to my Etsy shop.