Do you have bored children wandering around your house asking to watch TV every 5 minutes? Well, this craft will keep them busy for hours and it is pretty too:
Homemade paper beads! My children spent hours making these over the past few days (ages 4-6) and they are so easy. Just cut tapered strips of scrapbook paper, I used my X-Acto guillotine style paper trimmer to cut 6 sheets at a time, and give then bamboo skewers to roll them around and secure the ends with a dab of white glue. I put a bit of glue in a dish and gave them a tooth pick to dab the glue on the end. You can cut the pointy end on the skewer for safety if you like. It is a great way to use up old scrapbook paper but you can use colorful magazines too! This would be a great classroom craft too because it is so inexpensive AND it keeps the kids occupied. To make a more durable bead you could roll it on a clear inkpad and heat emboss it with clear embossing powder.
Don’t worry if the first few beads look awkward, they will get more uniform with practice, this craft is a great intro to quilling, a craft my 6 year old son now enjoys 😉 (However he sees it as a way to make high power spit balls LOL!)
Thanks for stopping by and till next time happy crafting!
The Frugal Crafter Blog 
these are adorable! And I have 3 kids 5, 7, and 8 and I know what we are doing tomorrow! lol…. thanks for the wonderful idea. Really appreciated. And this just might save my sanity for this summer! 🙂
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I made these beads one summer back in the mid to late ’80’s and again a couple of years ago when my ID necklace broke.
And I think I must have forgot to check out your blog last week because I’m seeing the wonderful tables you’ve made. You are truly a terrific artist.
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I am way beyond the age of retirement and know very little about computing consequently I do not have a website. I know even less about Blogs and how they work since I only came across this page whilst searching for the PAPER BEAD CRAFTING MACHINE as mentioned on Julie A. Bolduc – BEAD CRAFTER – site.
I have searched the internet for over two years looking for the same paper -bead maker it was one I had as a child where you just slotted in the paper strips and wound the handle. I wanted to buy one for my grandaughter. During my searches I noticed many other people looking for the same item and like me they were not having any luck in finding one. I had even tried Ebay. The only tool I could find was something that looked like the bottom half of a pencil with a split metal tube on the top which you then had to twist round to wind up the paper strips. However I could not believe my luck when whilst searching for some other item last week actually found a supplier of the actual Paper -Bead -Crafter. I know that there are lots of people who would love to know where they can buy one – they cost very little and would make lovely gifts. I do not know whether it would be correct for me to give the contact details for the supplier and so if anyone would like to have the information perhaps you would be kind enough to forward any enquiries and I will pass the information on. I live in the UK and so I am not sure what postage outside might cost.
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I think what you want is a quilling tool. You should be able to fine one in a craft supply store. It is a wand with a slit in the end that you slip the end of a strip of paper in and twirl the wand tho make the bead. This website has them. I’ve never heard of a machine but this way is quick and easy, the Klutz book company makes a kid’s kit called twirled paper that had a bigger wand to it is easier for kids to use. Here is the quilling supply store: http://www.quilling.com/
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