I’m always up for a cultural craft, especially if it results in pretty jewelry.
Bonus if the jewelry is gorgeous enough for my kids to give away! I have seen lots of necklaces made out of paper beads, and so I wondered just how hard it would be to try our hand at making some. It turns out it’s not that hard at all, we just watched a video on how to make Afribeads and had a great afternoon rolling beads and talking about African culture.
1. The first thing to do is find an old magazine, a bottle of glue and some clear fingernail polish or Mod Podge. Then, you slice the magazine pages into strips at a diagonal angle. The wider the base, the bigger the bead.
2. Then, find something thin and round to roll the paper strips around, a caramel apple skewer would work wonderfully. Aurora helped roll the beads. Each one needs to be tight and even to give the best design.
3. Next, a drop of glue goes on the end of the strip to secure it. Then, the entire bead is coated in clear nail polish or Mod Podge and then set aside to dry.
4. Once we rolled a couple dozen, Grayson strung them onto a string using a pattern.
I always like to work in whichever academic skills the kids are focusing on into our crafts. So, he and I played a couple color matching and pattern problem solving games while we constructed the necklace… which turned out beautifully!
Aurora really enjoyed the entire jewelry making process, and has plans to make many more necklaces. I think this will be a fun hobby to encourage her in, and if she makes enough of them she can hand them out to friends as homemade Christmas presents! I really want to cultivate a culture of intentionality in our house. Everything we buy, do, say, give, or receive ought to be done with thoughtfulness for all involved, and I think this is one way even the youngest family members can be a part of that.
