How+To+Make+Your+Own+Beads!

Beads! Beads! Beads!

How to make your own beads!

Beads have been around for basically as long as humans have been. There are thousands of ways to make beads. Because most people do not have a furnace hot enough to melt glass, or kilns that reach 600 degrees, so here are some ways to make beads at home out of basic household materials! And for those who like to reuse, there are many ways out there to make beads out of old bottles, scraps of metal, paper, flour, etc.

One way of making your own beads is out of flour and water! This is a simple recipe and is guaranteed to have a spot in the family cook book!

Ingredients :

4 cups of flour 1 cup of salt 1 1/2 cups cold water Food Coloring (optional)

Step 1. Mix flour and salt Step 2. Add water and mix well Step 3. Kneed your bead dough for about 10 - 15 minutes. The dough should be flexible and fun, but not fall apart when you bend it. Step 4. Time to make your shapes! Make your dough into ovals, circles, squares, pretty much whatever shape you want! Step 5. Make holes in your dough! Take a skewer, or even just a regular headpin, and make a hole in you bead. Step 6. Bakin' Time! Bake your beads in the oven at 250 degrees F for two to three hours. Check on your beads A LOT! (it's cool to see how they develop...) You know that they are done when there is no moisture left in the beads and they feel hard. Step 7. Remove the beads from the oven when they look ready, and then allow them to cool down a bit. Step 8. Paintin' Time! Once the beads are cooled down, pick out some colors and paint them, yu can make stripes, spots, solids, splatter painted ones, ones with flowers, etc.! Step 9. Step nine is optional, though i recomend it, after you let the paint dry, you can take a coat of varnish and make your beads all nice and shiney! If you like your beads the way they are then you're done! =)

How To Make Your Own Beads Out Of Recycled Newspapers

Step 1. All you need to do for this step is find some old newspapers. Step 2. Rip your papers into long narrow strips, and put the paper in a large stock pot. Step 3. Fill the pot with water. Not too much water just enough to cover the top of the paper Step 4. Allow the paper to sit in th pot for about an hour. DONT boil or cook it. Step 5. You can stir the paper around a little bit, to help break it down, all you have to do then is try and drain as much water from the paper as you can. Step 6. Gulein' time! Take your glue ( it can be any kind, as long as it dries clear ) and add it to your paper. Dont use too much glue! You only need enough to hold the paper together. Step 7. Rollin' time! Roll the newspaper into balls, whatever size you woul like them. While you are are rolling try and squeeze out as much moisture as you possibly can. Step 8. Now, all you have to is keep them really dry for 2-3 days, rolling them every few hours. Step 9. Take a piece of sand paper and smooth down the rough edges. Step 10. The last thing you have to do is take a drill, and drill holes through the center! Step 11. If you like your beads the way they are, then great! But, most people, on step 11, paint their beads with just some regular craft paint. Then, add a coat of varnish.

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