How to Make Jewelry From Plastic Tubing
That hollow plastic tubing for sale at your local hardware store may not seem like a jewelry finding at first glance but, when trimmed into short sections, these colorful plastic pieces can be combined with a little creativity and some beads from your collection to be transformed into beautiful pieces of wearable art.
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Instructions
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Cut plastic tubing into beads. Use wire cutters to snip sections of tubing. Regulate the lengths of your beads so that they're the same size or of a couple different lengths. Be sure to cut straight on, since trimming at an angle will cause sections of cord to be exposed on your finished jewelry.
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Select other beads to go with the tube beads. Choose other brightly-colored plastic beads, as these will coordinate best with the appearance of the tubing. Make sure to get beads that are large enough not to slip inside the hollow middle of the tubing pieces. Use chunky beads, such as spheres or cubes, in order to create contrast with the long, thin shapes of the plastic tubing.
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Decorate the tube beads with paint. Use acrylic paint to make designs on plastic such as polka dots, stripes, or symbols like stars and hearts. Use a fine-tipped paintbrush or toothpick for small details.
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String tubing and beads on cord. Use the thickest cord that you can to avoid the appearance of tubing hanging loosely below the cord. If using clear plastic tubing, take advantage of this feature by using colorful cord.
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Add lengths of black tubing to other beaded jewelry products. If you're going for a more understated look than one featuring lots of colorful plastic tubing pieces, use black tubing to fill out bead and pendant necklaces. Long, black beads make great understated "filler" beads in these kinds of designs, and working with black tubing allows you to customize length.
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