How to Make a Newspaper Bracelet

You can make bracelets by recycling old newspapers.

Recycle the old newspapers you have lying around your house by turning them into bracelets. There are different ways to turn strips of paper into jewelry, and one way is to roll them into beads. Paper may seem like a weak material to use to make beads, but with the right technique, and the right materials, your paper beaded bracelet will last. Besides the newspaper, the materials you need can be found where craft supplies are sold.

Things You'll Need

• Newspaper
• Tape measure
• Pen
• Scissors
• Shoe box
• Glue stick or Liquid craft glue
• Paintbrushes
• Pencil
• Decoupage medium
• Elastic cord

Instructions

1. Take a half page out of a newspaper, or cut a full page down the center. Position the paper vertically in front of you and measure 1/2 inch high sections down the left edge of the paper with a pen.

2. Place the end of a tape measure on the marks you made, and use the edge of the tape measure to draw a straight line across the width of the newspaper page. Do this all the way down the page.

3. Draw the 1/2 inch high sections as triangles by drawing diagonal lines from the left end of the sections until they gradually come to a point in the middle of the section on the right side. Use the edge of the tape measure to make the lines straight. Do this with every 1/2 inch high section down the page.

4. Cut along the lines you drew across the page to give you 1/2-inch wide strips that look like long, thin triangles.

5. Mark notches that are 1/4-inch wide and 1/4-inch deep on the top edges of a shoe box or other cardboard box. Space the notches by at least 1 inch, and make sure they line up on either side of the box. Use a pair of scissors to cut out the notches. This is the drying rack for the beads.

6. Spread glue along one side of one of the newspaper strips, with a glue stick or with liquid glue on a paintbrush. Wrap the strip around a pencil or a wooden skewer, starting with the wide end and with the glued end facing out so it glues together as it you wrap it. Wrap multiple strips around one pencil, and place it on the drying rack for one hour.

7. Brush decoupage medium on the outsides of the beads to protect them. Wait one to two hours for the beads to dry, and slip them off of the end of the pencil or skewer.

8. Measure and cut a piece of elastic cord 8 inches long. String the newspaper beads onto the elastic so that you have 1/2 inch of elastic at the ends. Tie the ends together, and trim the excess elastic at the ends. Slip the bracelet over your hand.

References

• Paper Bead Crafts: Papers to Make Beads
• How to Make Jewelry: How to Make Paper Beads