Ask Ollie
Rolled Paper Bead Jewelry
Here's one to try together!
Turn old magazine pages into shiny beads you can wear or hang on your keys!
Reviewed by our team.
Safety first
- beads are a choking risk for children under 3, keep away from little ones
- scissors are sharp
- toothpicks and skewers have sharp points
What you need
- Paper, 10 to 12 magazine pages or colored sheets
- Kid scissors
- Glue stick
- Cotton swabs, a few, for spreading glue (optional)
- Plate or tray
- Ruler, 1
- Toothpicks, a handful, or skewers
- White glue, a small puddle
- Yarn, 50 cm (20 inches)
How to do it
Grown-up prep: Collect old magazine pages or colored paper. Keep finished beads away from children under 3, since they are a choking risk. Remind kids that toothpicks and skewers have sharp points.
- Cut long, skinny triangles from your paper.
- Lay the wide end of a triangle on a toothpick.
- Roll the paper tightly toward the pointy tip.
- Dab glue stick on the tip and press it down. Ask: What do you think would happen if we skipped the glue?
- Slide the bead off the toothpick.
- Roll more beads until you have twenty.
- Paint some beads with white glue, then let them dry. Ask: How do you think the glue will look once it dries?
- String your beads onto yarn and tie the ends.
- Show off your jewelry, or make more! What pattern will you try next? Ask: Who would you like to make a bead gift for?
Play it again
- Color story: make beads in only two colors and string them in a repeating pattern.
- Size swap: cut triangles of different lengths to make tiny and chunky beads.
- Gift set: make matching bracelets or key rings for your friends.
Kids loved this? There are more where it came from.
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