Paper bead love

This crafting lark is all very well but its very distracting. I like so many different crafts I feel like a butterfly, fluttering between different projects, barely landing in any.

I am actually finishing a few things this week, which is a bit of a change. Including the fab Attic24 bower bird, which I can now see at as I sit in the lounge in the evening, when I’m doing more crochet. Its so nice to have something that you have made yourself that is unique and that looks good. I feel I made real progress with my crochet in that project, but it was tough going at times. Worth it though, every minute of the effort.

But I can’t be content with just finishing stuff, my inner butterfly is demanding I play with my new paper beads that I got from the USA. A lovely lady called Shannon who runs the Etsy shop The Paper Bead Boutique sent me my order of some fabulous handmade paper beads last week, together with a tool so that I can make my own more successfully.

Aren’t these beads gorgeous!

I also ordered and received this fab tool, which I have yet to try out,

An experiment in making paper beads

I tried first of all using strips of paper and a knitting needle. I wrote up the method I used in a picture tutorial, not because I am an expert, but to remind myself of how to do it again. It might also be useful to someone else 🙂

It was much trickier than I thought – these were my first attempts. They’re not very good.

It was difficult to get them even.

With a bit more trial and error, I managed to make some longer ones, getting them even this time.

I decorated these as described in the tutorial, then made a pair of paper bead earrings.