Paper beads from an AtoZ.

14/03/2023 by UKMA 2 Comments

I watch a ton of YouTube videos, pretty much anything that the algorithm serves up, and I got served one from …what was her name? Argh. Problem is if I watch on the TV or the treadmill, if I am not in my account and signed in, I lose track. No matter how I try to remember a name, I may not. Anyway the point is this person used dictionary pages to make those rolled beads that were all the rage a minute ago. She used a bunch of stuff that I actually have, either from scrapbooking or from making the stitch markers for knitting, so I decided to have a go. There is a lot of drying time in the process so sorry if this drifts out over a few days. I wanted to use one of my many old London A to Z map books. The pages are thin, but a bit glossy, and they roll really nicely.

So mine is a mini and it is not big – about 3.3 x 6 inches. I cut a slice of a page. I saw a recognizable place name, Hackney, in the slice I cut, but it was in the middle of the sheet. The method involves rolling so it would be buried. I cut just past the name and reassembled the strip so the word I wanted was at the top.

I have like 1000 knitting needles, but they seem to have a bit of a bow in them, so instead I grabbed a couple of dotting tools that I got for rock painting (something that I liked the look of but never really pursued) and used them. They are straight and hand sized and they roll well. I also deviated in that I started a bit away from the end and kinda folded the excess over. Somehow that made the rolling easier. Different bead, you aren’t going mad – the Hackney one is also in process, cause ya got two ears right? Need two beads!

It is darn tricky, even so to get the tube to roll really straight – probably why MOST people use a kind of triangle of paper, so when it goes skew whiff it doesn’t matter much. Here is where it gets fiddly.

Part of why I chose this dotter to roll, is the large eyelets that I have a ton of fit quite nicely into the roll of paper to finish it off.

But I am getting ahead of myself. I want to say the original person used Glossy Accents to coat the bead. I don’t have any. I do have CRACKLE accents, which I can use for a step latter on, cause the crackle doesn’t matter. But to coat the beads it will – I swiped a bottle of Darling Daughter’s cheap clear nail varnish. And assembled some other bit that will work – I think.

I don’t have long pins but I have a bunch of short ones. Where I am now is with a short pin threaded thru one of the space beads (the domed ornate ones at the back) and the bead filled with Crackle accents. I need for the CA to stay inside the hole to done it, and we ll know Glossy/Crackle accents take forever to dry, so I’ve taped the pin part to the edge of the top of my desk LOL!

I can see the one is a bit wonky but, again TAKES FOREVER to dry so I was able to adjust. They are not dry and won’t be till tomorrow, but I will slip a shot in for WOYWW so you can see what it is meant to look like.

While they totally work as earrings, I also think they would be cute just on a thin gold chain and would make a sweet gift. I am sure other big cities have similar to the London A to Z so lot of options.

I will have to go on a hunt to see if I can think what the video might have been called and can find it. If I do I ill update with a link to the actual video rather than my kinda step-by-steps. You may have more of what SHE had than what I have so might find it easier to do it that way. Or just do what I did and figure it out from what you have on hand. Real jewelry makers will I’m sure have a ton of better ideas. If you do, share 🙂