How to Use Acrylic and Plastic Beads for Art
Acrylic and plastic beads provide an excellent medium for a variety of art projects. This project is a mosaic created from flat bottomed plastic or acrylic beads in a variety of colors. A mosaic is made up of many small pieces of color that are arranged in a pattern that forms a design or picture. By attaching the beads to a framed plate of glass, the finished project will suggest a piece of beautiful stained glass.
Things You'll Need
- 8" x 10" piece of white paper
- Drawing pencil
- 8" x 10" double-sided "float" frame
- Masking tape
- Black fine-point permanent marker
- Glass and bead adhesive
- Detail paint brush
- Flat-backed plastic or acrylic beads in a variety of colors
Instructions
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1
Create a drawing or design on the white paper using the drawing pencil. This should be a very simple line drawing similar to what you would find in a coloring book. In fact, if you are not comfortable creating your own design, you can use a coloring book drawing if you prefer.
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2
Tape the drawing, design side up, to the underside of the glass in the double-sided "float" frame. A float frame is a picture frame that houses two panes of glass that are stacked on top of each other. An image is generally placed between the panes of glass so that both sides of it are exposed and the image appears to be "floating." For our purposes, the frame will not be opened and the beads will be attached directly to the glass so that sunlight can shine through the finished project.
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3
Trace the lines in the drawing on the top pane of glass with the black permanent marker. Remove the drawing and the tape from the frame when you are finished.
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4
With the frame laying flat on a table or work surface, glue the beads to the top piece of glass by applying glass and bead adhesive to the flat side of the beads with the detail brush and gently placing the beads in the desired location on the glass. Use the beads to fill in the colors in the line drawing, creating a mosaic picture.
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Leave the completed picture on a flat surface and allow the glue to dry undisturbed for 24 hours.
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6
Display the finished mosaic in a window so that the sunlight can stream through, giving a stained-glass effect.
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Tips & Warnings
Since the beads will be seen from both sides, be sure to purchase flat plastic or acrylic beads that are the same color on all sides and do not have any kind of metal backing.
For safety sake, do not remove the glass from the frame when adhering the plastic beads. This will make sure that any rough edges of the glass are protected within the frame.
