Making your own paper beads: what kind of varnish to use?

topic posted Sat, December 27, 2008 - 7:11 PM by  Randi
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Anyone? I've tried a long time ago to make my own paper beads, but only used mod podge to seal them. It worked in that they were sealed, but it didn't harden them in any way so they were still very fragile and couldn't hold up like say, a wooden bead.
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Randi
  • those are really great Randi, you should get a wall paper book one of the mural ones so your beads all come from the same image...or is that what your doing already?
    • I've just been using magazines, so no, none ever come out the same. I've not tried to use wallpaper but I don't know if it might be too thick. dunno though..
      • at least it would be self glueing.
        But the vinyl doesn't stick to itself very well
        so you would have to get a tube of
        vinyl to vinyl glue. That should work.
        You can get a small tube usaually at
        your local paint & wall paper store.
        sounds good.
        You could ask for expired pattern books
        and do something with those I bet.
      • new to posting but have been lurking and enjoying this tribe for a long while. We used to make them with left over church bulletins so that the color patterns could be repeated. Usually there are some to many left over after a service and they can't be reused, and they tend to have colorful fronts. You just have to know someone who goes to church or go yourself. I think we sprayed ours with spray varnish/polyurathane, but it's been along time since i made them. They key is wrapping them tightly when you make them, that makes them very stiff once the glue dries. And we did them around round toothpicks or heavy wire, not straws. You could probably use coffee stirrers if you wanted to leave a slightly larger hole and just cut them flush rather than sliding them off.

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