Paper Bead Necklaces
Continuing with our homemade gifts for Christmas commitment, the kids and I tackled paper bead necklaces. I was pleasantly surprised at how much my kids liked this activity. I thought that it might be too difficult, but they took to it easily and it occupied them for quite a while! We had the best conversations sitting at the table making these. It was definitely a kid friendly activity 
Here is what you need:
old magazine with colorful pages
bottle of school glue
scissors
something to wrap the paper around (we used the handle of a paintbrush)
string or jewelry cord
beads (whatever you like)
spray can of gloss coat (can find at any craft store)
Select a page with lots of color and cut little triangular strips out of it like so.
Add a line of glue to the back of one of the strips. Don’t go all the way to the end because it will squish out.
Wrap the paper around the handle of the paint brush, starting with the largest end. As you wrap, make sure the tip of the strip ends in the middle of the bead you are making. This makes the bead fatter in the middle and tapered on the ends.
You should end up with several little rolls that look like this Leave them on a plate to dry.
Once the glue is dry, you can spray the beads with the glossy clear coat to seal everything and make them a bit firmer. When that dries (I recommend overnight), you can string them along with some shiny beads to make a necklace. I love the end result and would totally wear it! The possibilities are endless. You could use all one color of paper. You could use longer strips to make fatter beads. You could add other elements to the necklace like wood beads or silver hoops. Pretty cool and the kids can say they helped make it!
P.S. My six year old took the last photos. I think she did a great job! I set her up and told her how to hold the camera. Then she took charge and told me what to do…lol! Pretty sure she’s a natural!
