“On a roll: Paper, glue twirl into beads”

Posted: 05 Sep 2010 12:15 AM PDT

Associated Press

Paper is turned into beads using a rolling tool, glue and sealant.

When you're done with that magazine, don't toss it.

Clever crafters today are turning pages into pretty: beads, bowls, baskets, photo frames, mirrors and more. It's all made by rolling strips of shiny magazine paper, junk mail and other paper trash.

Some of the paper beads you can buy in craft and jewelry stores are made by women in developing countries.

A non-profit group called BeadforLife, in Boulder, Colo., for instance, trains Ugandan women in paper bead-making, then buys their finished jewelry for sale in the United States. Besides beading, the Ugandans learn business and entrepreneurial skills.

Paper-rolling is also catching on among crafters in this country. Rebecca Douglas, 23, of Lansing, Mich., learned how to roll paper beads as a child living in Namibia and returned to the skill years later.

Paper beads can be made out of nearly any paper trash; Douglas prefers to use catalogs and other unsolicited mail.

"It's my quiet protest against junk mail," she says.

Another paper-beading fanatic is Janice Bautista, 52, who owns Aubrey's Beads shop in Glendora, Calif., and sells beads and jewelry online. She calls herself "the Paper Bead Princess" in the profile at her Etsy store, Janicemae, and posts a new use for paper beads daily on her blog, Paper Beads.org.

"When you're rolling it, you'll slowly see the beads come to life," Bautista says.

Get rolling

To get rolling, a few supplies help: paper, a rolling tool, glue or a glue stick, scissors and a water-based sealant, such as Polycrylic by Minwax.

Bautista and Douglas recommend recycling waste paper, and Bautista suggests experimenting with non-traditional paper, such as cat litter bags, which are sturdy. Rolling tools can be purchased at craft stores, but Bautista and Douglas recommend working with items in the home: a coffee stirrer, a toothpick, a pencil, even your finger. The larger the rolling tool, the larger the bead hole will be.

Bautista mostly relies on her tapestry needle, while Douglas uses her grandmother's metal, narrow-sized knitting needle, which she also uses to roll the rods for her spiral jewelry.

Many online sites offer paper-bead-rolling instructions, but it comes down to simply cutting a long strip of paper – preferably wider at one end – rolling it around the rolling tool (from wider to narrower end); gluing it; allowing the glue to dry, and sealing the bead.

Bautista says it's just about the easiest craft to teach.

Douglas suggests starting by hoarding junk mail.

"Start getting excited when you get catalogs in the mail for stuff you don't want," she says.

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