Earth Day....A Day Late

This year our project took a little longer than one afternoon. We had to spread it out over a couple of days. We made beads out of newspaper. Our attempt didn't quite come out as I had envisioned, none-the-less...it's a pretty fun project and could be mastered over time to make some really beautiful things.

There isn't much too these. It's pretty simple paper mache. Just a little time consuming.
First you get a small pile of newspaper and pour boiling water over it until it's covered. Let it break down for an hour or so. You can puree them in the blender if you want. Squeeze most of the water out of it and then pour glue over the top. Enough that it will stick together. Then roll into tiny little balls. Let dry for a couple of days.

If you want super round perfect beautiful beads, sand them down. If you don't, then paint them. (I didn't sand mine down and I wish I had, it would have made them a little more stone like) Several layers of plain acrylic paint. When they are dry you can sand some of the layers off so the other colors show through. Varnish.

Drill a hole in the middle of them and make whatever your little heart desires. I made a pair of earrings and a necklace. Great project for kiddos. It's a good mess maker!!!!!