How to Make Beads From Flour
Mix some four and water together and you can make fashionable, one-of-a-kind jewelry. This is a great project for families to do together. When you are finished making the beads, you can paint them all one color, use many colors or paint pictures on them. When you are finished, string the beads together to create a necklace, bracelet or keychain.
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Things You'll Need
- Flour
- Salt
- Bowl
- Water
- Skewer or long sewing or beading needle
- Cookie sheet
- Oven
- Oven mitt
- Cooling rack
- Acrylic paint
- Paint brush
- Lacquer
- Beading wire, cord, hemp or elastic
Instructions
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1
Combine 4 cups of flour and 1 cup of salt. Mix the two together in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
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2
Add 1 ½ cups of cold water. Mix the ingredients to incorporate them together.
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3
Place the bead dough on your counter top or marble cutting board and knead the dough for 10 to 15 minutes. Knead until the dough becomes flexible. You can test the dough to see if it is ready by picking up some of the dough and bending it. If the dough stays together, it is ready to form into beads. If the dough falls apart, continue kneading until it does not fall apart.
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4
Take small pieces of the dough and form them into the shapes that you want. You can make the beads into circles, squares, ovals or any other shape. Add enough dough to make the beads the size you want for your project.
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5
Poke a hole through the center of each bead with a long skewer. Carefully push the skewer in so you don't ruin the shape of your bead. If you don't have a skewer, you can use a long beading or sewing needle.
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6
Place the beads on a cookie sheet and place them in the oven. Bake the beads at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 to 3 hours. Check your beads during the last hour of baking time to see if they are done. If you don't see any moisture and the beads feel hard to the touch, the beads have baked long enough.
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7
Put on an oven mitt to remove the beads from the oven and cookie sheets. Place the beads on a cooling rack. The beads are hot and will burn you if you don't protect your hands.
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8
Paint your beads after they are cool. Dip a small paint brush into acrylic paint and decorate them as you desire. If you are going to add several coats of paint, allow each coat to dry thoroughly according to manufacturer's directions.
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9
Paint the beads with a coat of lacquer. This will give your flour and water beads a glossy or matte finish depending on the lacquer you choose. Allow the lacquer to dry according to manufacturer's directions.
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10
String the beads to make your jewelry. You can use beading wire, cord, hemp or elastic to hold your beads.
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