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Description
Some beads I made using this method:

You can use:
tiny pictures of your fandom, friends or family
tiny printed poems, or song lyrics
your own artwork, or your favourite artworks
washi paper, scrapbook paper, dollhouse wallpaper
the paper strips you can buy for making origami stars
whatever else your beautiful squishy brain can think up.

I used this exact size because I needed them to fit on a
bracelet, but a bigger one makes a good charm or pendant.
Play with the dimensions however you like, and just
remember how wide you cut the outside end of the paper,
so that you know how wide to cut the picture strip.
(Also the thicker the bead, the longer the picture strip.)

Your results will vary depending on the materials you use.
My clear nail polish was old and congealed, and worked
GREAT; then I started using a new one, and it was so thin,
it soaked into the paper and darkened the image.

If photos or plain paper get darkened in patches by the
varnish, that may look horrible; but other stuff will just look
like you put a photoshop grunge texture over it. It'll add to
the pattern, instead of ruining it.

So... yeah. Experiment!

If you can find a varnish that doesn't make the ink on
printouts bleed, the possibilities are pretty much endless,
e.g. a charm bracelet that's also a family photo album.

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

Description
Some beads I made using this method:

You can use:
tiny pictures of your fandom, friends or family
tiny printed poems, or song lyrics
your own artwork, or your favourite artworks
washi paper, scrapbook paper, dollhouse wallpaper
the paper strips you can buy for making origami stars
whatever else your beautiful squishy brain can think up.

I used this exact size because I needed them to fit on a
bracelet, but a bigger one makes a good charm or pendant.
Play with the dimensions however you like, and just
remember how wide you cut the outside end of the paper,
so that you know how wide to cut the picture strip.
(Also the thicker the bead, the longer the picture strip.)

Your results will vary depending on the materials you use.
My clear nail polish was old and congealed, and worked
GREAT; then I started using a new one, and it was so thin,
it soaked into the paper and darkened the image.

If photos or plain paper get darkened in patches by the
varnish, that may look horrible; but other stuff will just look
like you put a photoshop grunge texture over it. It'll add to
the pattern, instead of ruining it.

So... yeah. Experiment!

If you can find a varnish that doesn't make the ink on
printouts bleed, the possibilities are pretty much endless,
e.g. a charm bracelet that's also a family photo album.

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