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CrimefishPaper Charm Bracelet Tutorial

Published: 2011-11-09 23:07:03 +0000 UTC; Views: 38178; Favourites: 1530; Downloads: 3
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Description This is exactly how I make these:

My other paper bead tutorials:

And FAQ:

Paper Bead FAQQ.  Why do you make jewellery out of paper?
A.  Paper is my precious, and we wants it, precious, we wants it.  My sister showed me how to make paper beads when I was a child, and a couple of years ago, I remembered and felt like trying it again.  And now I'm an addict, YAY!  I love jewellery making using any and all materials, but I like the challenge of making a material as basic as paper look elegant.

Q.  How strong are paper beads? Don't they fall apart?
A.  This depends on if and how you seal them.  I varnish all my paper beads to make them hard, glossy, and long-lasting.  The Japanese are famous for making furniture out of paper.  It

There are plenty of paper bead tutorials on the internet! But few of them show how elegant the beads can look. There's nothing wrong with overt recycling, but I wanted to offer a different perspective.

Also! Most of the tutorials say only to use one strip of paper, which makes the beads much narrower than mine. Since the ones I've made here are chunkier, they may be more suited for use as charms or pendants, while the narrower variety may be best to string on thread or wire.

This tutorial assumes you've never made jewelry, and have crap instincts when it comes to what colours go well together. Although, I'm a beginner myself, so my advice may not be the best. I'm just describing how I do it. If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them.
Google stuff for a second opinion, or search on dA.

The findings I used here were all bought from [link] but I also get a lot of findings from [link] on ebay.

(Will probably replace this with the .png, if I don't get bored of editing the file first. It won't make a difference... until the next version of dA comes out and the background colour's different. Eww.)

Credit for the arrow brushes goes to ewanism.

Related content
Comments: 98

CriminalSpirit [2013-09-05 05:35:45 +0000 UTC]

Wow, I can't believe that's paper, it doesn't even look like it! I'd love to try this out! C:

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Happi-chan [2013-04-27 23:35:54 +0000 UTC]

Oh WOW This looks super cool!
I definitely have to try this out!
Thanks for sharing!

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RunePixie [2013-02-18 21:14:57 +0000 UTC]

I've never seen paper needs look this great. Thank you

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Lasago [2013-01-22 16:08:18 +0000 UTC]

I've tried it a couple of times, and i really liked the outcome! That is.. till I had to get the beads off the sticks... They just won't come off and if I force 'em, they get damaged... Am I rolling them too tight or something?

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Crimefish In reply to Lasago [2013-01-23 15:01:25 +0000 UTC]

There are a few possible reasons: As you say, you may have rolled them a little too tight. This, or you left them on the sticks too long while they were drying, so they got glued on. I try to remove them as soon as I'm sure the varnish is dry enough that they can be handled, then I put them back on, but gently so they're just sitting on top of the sticks, not shoved on tight.

I had the same problem yesterday when I tried using acrylic varnish instead of nail polish; it dries too quickly, so there's little time to remove the bead from the stick before it gets glued on. *SIGH*

If you continue to have trouble with it, I've read that some people use fishing line instead of cocktail sticks (and I've tried this, but there's nothing to keep the beads steady while I varnish them), and ideally I'd recommend using a metal tool (something like these, in fact: [link] ) instead of a cocktail stick, so the beads slide off easier. Cocktail sticks are just more readily available.

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Lady-Winterlace [2013-01-10 20:36:36 +0000 UTC]

Versy nicely written, and very good pics! Thanks for the nice tutorial. You make gorgeous beads.

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NightmareCupcake [2013-01-10 15:25:04 +0000 UTC]

So smart cute ^^

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WolfChild18 [2013-01-10 07:11:49 +0000 UTC]

Oh wow. Really pretty. Gotta try it when I have the time.

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Umbra-Exe [2013-01-10 06:29:25 +0000 UTC]

Wow, these are beautiful!
I would never guess they were made of paper!
I'd like to try this sometime... Thank you for the great tutorial!

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Kirasel [2013-01-10 06:07:13 +0000 UTC]

Wow. This is amazing...

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Libberachi [2013-01-10 04:39:25 +0000 UTC]

Oh my goodness, this is a really awesome idea! I'm definitely going to have to try this myself.

(Also, sorry about the five hundred fave messages from me. I accidentally added it to the wrong folder, and then DA decided to be a butt about it. )

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JaeTeaEll [2013-01-10 03:34:10 +0000 UTC]

I went to Michael's today and spent over $100 so I can start my own DIY jewelry... I regret it. Why didn't I find this sooner ; o ;
THIS IS SO AMAZING!~

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LaiciPlaysPiano [2013-01-10 02:24:30 +0000 UTC]

wow~ your really creative. and this way i can recycle my extra magazines. hehe

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DaVinciAirsoft [2013-01-10 01:51:09 +0000 UTC]

got to try this.

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AyaNyu [2013-01-10 01:50:03 +0000 UTC]

WOAH! I never knew that was how people do it * A *

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Crimefish In reply to AyaNyu [2013-01-13 00:45:59 +0000 UTC]

I don't even know if other people do it this way, for all I know I'm making a horrible mistake somewhere!

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AyaNyu In reply to Crimefish [2013-01-15 20:07:23 +0000 UTC]

Well this seems like an awesome way of doing it though ; ヮ ; b

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bear48 [2013-01-10 01:35:13 +0000 UTC]

cool job

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Me-O-Tojite [2013-01-09 23:53:40 +0000 UTC]

This is amazing. Well done and thank you for sharing. Trying this RIGHT NOW.

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Tsumugi-Chan [2013-01-09 23:10:03 +0000 UTC]

nail polish doesn't preserve well...
other than that this is a nice tutorial

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Crimefish In reply to Tsumugi-Chan [2013-01-13 00:17:18 +0000 UTC]

I'm sorry to hear that. Can you suggest an alternative? The only other thing I've read is used for paper beads is PVA glue, but I'm not terribly keen on using anything water soluble to seal jewellery, plus some varieties crack and yellow with age.

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phoebixfenikkusu09 [2013-01-09 22:58:18 +0000 UTC]

Holy cow... if you hadn't shown the paper first, never would have guessed that these were made of paper O_O amazing job with this!

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WindsweptSpirit [2013-01-09 22:47:26 +0000 UTC]

I would have never guessed that these are made of paper. Amazing! Completely worthy of a DD!

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SiofraTural [2013-01-09 22:41:12 +0000 UTC]

I never would have thought of making bracelets this pretty out of paper. Awesome idea!

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LeafyHeart [2013-01-09 22:11:04 +0000 UTC]

so creative! congrats!

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allyalltheway [2013-01-09 22:07:38 +0000 UTC]

these are so pretty!

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PhoenixDove1 [2013-01-09 21:06:59 +0000 UTC]

That's such a good idea! Great tutorial

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Silver-Kit [2013-01-09 21:05:45 +0000 UTC]

this is really cool... 0.o I need to make SOMETHING with this!

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pepperh2o [2013-01-09 20:41:05 +0000 UTC]

This is so pretty

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Lilmissbirdy [2013-01-09 20:17:37 +0000 UTC]

This is extremely well put together and very creative! Nice job!

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Hiland-Rose [2013-01-09 19:07:30 +0000 UTC]

Way to claim repurposing! I too enjoy working with paper and all knds of odds and ends. Loved your tutorial, the format and the images were very professional. The only suggestion I would make is that you redo your own nail polish, or take it off entirely for the photography. You have very pretty nails, I envy that It's nit picky, I know, but seeing as you could potentially publish this, it's something to consider.

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azteclink [2013-01-09 18:12:45 +0000 UTC]

this is amazing! this also reminds me of arts and crafts when i was in elementary school

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Fractaldragon [2013-01-09 17:38:53 +0000 UTC]

Very nicely done! Clear photos and clear instructions. Congrats on the DD!

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Lintu47 [2013-01-09 17:38:21 +0000 UTC]

Congrats on the well deserved DD!
Have a nice day!

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Eminora [2013-01-09 17:38:17 +0000 UTC]

Awesome! That's so creative - first time I'm seeing smthng like that

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UnicornReality [2013-01-09 17:16:35 +0000 UTC]

Wow, what a good idea!

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foxorian [2013-01-09 16:35:41 +0000 UTC]

I don't even wear jewelry and I have to admit this is pretty ingenious.
You could almost call them wooden by that point XD

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Sasiadragon [2013-01-09 16:05:15 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much for sharing! I've been wondering how to do these for a while, and this tutorial was easy to understand and very, very helpful. Thank you again ^^
And by the way, your bracelets are so pretty ^^

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LostGryphin [2013-01-09 15:19:13 +0000 UTC]

wow - amazing - I can't wait to try this out! Thanks for sharing!

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StandsWithAPencil [2013-01-09 15:12:03 +0000 UTC]

Congrats on the Daily Deviation! Totally deserved!

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VeritasInterlude [2013-01-09 11:49:00 +0000 UTC]

I've always wanted to try something like this : DDDDDDD I've done something like this before, but the method I knew was far too complex and costly; but this tutorial is so much easier and convenient
Thank you sooooo much! I'll try this out sometime You're amazing ; and congrats on the DD! You deserve it : DDDDD

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Zee-Who [2013-01-09 11:22:52 +0000 UTC]

Congrats on your Daily Deviation!

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Ninina-nini [2013-01-09 11:22:27 +0000 UTC]

Great tutoria with beautiful results! Thank you for sharing.

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pepapen [2013-01-09 10:06:59 +0000 UTC]

must try this sometime... thank you so much for sharing this!

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macpic [2013-01-09 09:31:01 +0000 UTC]

now that's recycling in its optimums beauty

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IbiteU [2013-01-09 09:12:03 +0000 UTC]

Oh my gosh, these are so pretty. Who knew you could make such pretty little beads using paper? Thanks for posting this and expect me to fave the other papaer bead tutorials you have.

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PeppermentPanda [2013-01-09 09:10:55 +0000 UTC]

Gratz on the DD~ Well deserve!

This is an amazing way to make a bracelet, I never thought you could do something like this with simple procedures. =o!!

I'll try it sometime~

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Flajdesz [2013-01-09 09:01:52 +0000 UTC]

Awesome! It's great as a gift for someone

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neat-colors [2012-12-13 00:19:04 +0000 UTC]

Great tutorial. I'll be trying this with some of my old magazines!

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Crimefish In reply to neat-colors [2012-12-13 01:28:27 +0000 UTC]

Oh, thank you! That's so good to hear.

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