All mothers deserve something nice for Mother’s Day. By making paper beads with recycled magazines and newsprint flyers, you can make gifts that Mom’s are guaranteed to love. The best part is that they cost next to nothing.

Before starting the craft have a look at the beautiful Murano glass beads that have been made in Venice, Italy for hundreds of years by skilled craftspeople.  Like our paper beads they come in a variety of colours and abstract patterns.

Craft One: Paper Bead Necklace

YOU WILL NEED:

  • Colourful paper from glossy magazines or any other pretty scraps of paper
  • Ruler
  • Small piece of cardboard
  • Scissors
  • Glue stick
  • Glass or plastic spacer beads
  • Narrow ribbon that is long enough to slip over your Mother’s head
  • Pencil

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Before starting to make the paper beads, cut out a tracer from the cardboard.  It is shaped like a long triangles that is 1 ½ inches or 4 cm. wide on the bottom and 6 ½ inches or 13 cm. in length. See photo 1.
  2. Use this tracer to cut out enough triangles from the glossy magazines to make the project. You will need at least 12 paper beads.
  3. Run the glue stick along the back of the paper triangle except not on the wide end that will be on the pencil. 
  4. Starting with the wider end of the triangle on a pencil, slowly roll it up to the pointed tip. Slip it off the pencil. See photos 2 and 3.
  5. String the necklace by starting with a glass spacer bead and then alternate them in between each paper bead. Tie a knot with both ends of the ribbon. See photo 3 for completed craft.

Craft Two: Picture Frame

YOU WILL NEED:

  • Coloured newsprint flyer
  • Heavy cardboard that measures one inch wider all around than the size of the picture being framed
  • Glue stick
  • White glue
  • Clear nail polish

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Look at directions for making paper beads in craft one.
  2. Make many beads.
  3. With the area for the picture measured off on the cardboard, start placing beads around the frame and gluing them down. I found it easier to work in a pattern.
  4. Once the glue is dry, coat the beads with the clear nail polish.
  5. Place the picture in the centre. See photo 5 for completed craft.

You can choose a picture of yourself, your family or even a favourite one from a holiday to place in the completed frame.

[Photographs by Linda Dunbar. Reproduction prohibited]