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Thanks so much for stopping by! I believe that everyone can have a beautiful home without spending a fortune! One of my favorite things to do is find creative ways to re-purpose things I already have on hand, or have picked up at yard sales and thrift stores. Join me as I share with you some of my favorite ideas for crafting and decorating, as well as travel adventures, and fun things that I pick up on my treasure hunts! Much of my work is influenced by my love all things French, nature, and of course shabby chic! I have gotten so many creative ideas from you very talented bloggers out there, and I hope that I can be an inspiration to you as well!

Monday, January 25, 2016

Fun Jewelry Project

Hi everyone, hope your week is off to a good start!
For those of you who battled the latest winter snow storm over the weekend, I sure hope you are staying safe and snug indoors!
As for me, I've been keeping busy playing in my craft room.
So I thought I'd share with you my project that I completed for DecoArt.
The challenge this time was to create something using unconventional materials.
So, I put my thinking cap on, and came up with this:
 Can you guess what I made this necklace out of????
Paper!  Yep, I made the beads from pages torn from magazines, as well as scrapbooking paper!
 This project brought back some sweet memories from when I was a little girl.
I could hardly wait for summer vacation, as it meant I could catch up with Carol Duvall and her craft show on tv!  I'm not sure if her show was broadcast all over the country or not, but one of our local Detroit stations aired it each weekday for many years. Carol is from Michigan, by the way.
Back then (geez, I feel so old saying that!!), we didn't have Michael's or Hobby Lobby to run to for our crafting supplies.  
Oh no!
And we certainly didn't have the variety of crafting materials available like we do now.
So, Carol was a real pro at turning things like egg cartons, pringles cans, plastic jugs and more into works of art!
I remember first seeing the paper beads on her show when I was a girl, and could hardly wait to make my own!  Of course, back them, mine didn't turn out quite like these!
 Anyway, if any of your would like a mini tutorial, just let me know!
Basically, you go from this.............
to this............... 
 to this.......

 And, voila!
A handful of paper beads just waiting  to be turned  into something pretty!
I thought it would be fun to paint them (since of course a prerequisite of the project involved using DecoArt paint) to look like turquoise beads.
And for added interest, I mixed in some beads that I made from printed floral paper.
After painting, I coated all of the beads with a product (from DecoArt) called
"Triple Thick", which gives them a super shiny, hard glass like finish.
 I also mixed in little silver beads.
This is actually two long necklaces that I made, so they can be doubled over for multiple looks.
I can even wear them as bracelets by winding them around and around my wrist!!
 It was a fun, though very labor intensive project.
 The stringing part was super easy, but the making of the beads did take alot of time!
I can't wait to wear them!!

12 comments:

Row homes and Cobblestones said...

Wow Donna I love your paper beads. Very pretty necklace. I'm going to show this to my Grand Gabby for inspiration. I purchased her a couple of large jewelry making kis and tools and she's been busy making pieces, In Philadephia we got 30 inches of snow!
xoxo,
Vera

peggy gatto said...

Awesome, beautifully made!!!

Rose L said...

I have seen so many lovely things made with paper beads like this! I also saw some made with rose petals. I am told they smell wonderful.

Butterfly 8)(8 Bungalow said...

Donna, It's amazing! To be honest, I thought it was turquoise at first. Then when you asked to guess, I thought some sort of plastic. Amazing and so pretty! Talk about magazines! :) Love it. xoxo Su

Celestina Marie said...

Good Morning Donna, WOW I love your wonderful bead project turned into this gorgeous necklace. I just had to smile as I remember the Carol Duvall show too and watched her all the time. I think she was on in the early mornings or afternoons. It was always inspiring as a young girl to watch. I remember some of the Decorative Artists she had on and then later in life I met them in person with The Society of Dec. Painters. Small world.

Love the color of your beads, the different sizes, textures and variety. This process is something I would love to try. I have always used triple thick as well. I can see TT making them like glass beads. Are they hard to slide off the stick after using the glue and glaze?

Thanks for sharing this project. Love it.
Have a great week ahead! xo

Bente said...

Wow, it looks beautiful. I made the same pearl a while ago, but in white.
Hugs

Trisha said...

So pretty! I used to watch Aleene's Creative Living and still love to make bread dough roses using tacky glue and white bread. It's funny the things that stick with us!

~Trisha

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Really pretty and I love the texture you get with paper beads!
hugs,
Linda

Okio B Designs said...

I can't believe those are paper beads. I never, ever would have known if you hadn't said. Beautifully done.

Jeanine

handmade by amalia said...

This is brilliant, Donna! I could not believe that the necklace was made of paper.
Amalia
xo

Felecia Cofield said...

Hi Donna! Sorry I haven't visited in awhile! You are such a clever lady! The beads look absolutely real! Such a pretty necklace! Thanks for sharing how to do it! Have a great day! Blessings from Bama! P.S. I tried to leave a comment on your Venice trip but it wouldn't let me. Looks like ya'll are have a great time!

Musings from Kim K. said...

I adored watching the Carol Duvall show with my mom and Grandma. Such a beautiful necklace. The colors are perfect and the pop of silver is perfect!