Crafternoon: Recycled Paper Jewelry

As you may know, I'm quite crafty. ("She's crafty! And she's just my type!") I enjoy taking random things and making them into something new, and better yet if it's something that was just going to be thrown away or recycled, anyway. Because, really, much as I hate getting rid of stuff, the sting is much less if you end up turning your trash into treasure. 

Enter the recycled book necklace! You simply destroy a book, add glue, eat lollipops, and then wear your creation afterwards. (Note: magazines work, too.) 

You will need

Shown: LOTS of paper strips

For this project, you will need:
- Old books or magazines that you don't mind destroying
- Lollipops (or other dowel-shaped objects)
- Glue
- String - hemp cord and elastic both work well
- Jewelry clasps (optional but very useful)

 

The Why

In my many years (eh, about 5) working in libraries, I have seen so many books - so many books - get weeded. Weeding is an essential part of library life, and yes, we do try to funnel old titles to the Friends booksales when we can, but sometimes things are just too far gone for that. Ripped pages, coffee stains, stuff you know that nobody will buy... why not upcycle?

The How

First, you find a book that you can't do anything with. 

This copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets has seen better days. In fact, it's missing a cover, and the first few pages. I know that it's practically blasphemous to do anything at all to this series, but please note that I am not getting rid of Harry Potter. I have replaced it with a shiny new hardcover. Don't hate.

Lollipop for scale and flavor.

Anyway. Rip out a few pages of the book, and put it into your trusty paper cutter, and cut into long, triangular strips. I try to make them about 1/4" wide at the wide end, and maybe half that at the narrow end. You don't *have* to make them triangles, but this way they roll up into nice tapered shapes instead of cylinders.

This is when you bust out the lollipops. In my vast experience (and I have done this program several times), a lollipop stick is the perfect size on which to roll beads. A pencil is too fat, a kebab skewer is too pointy, a lollipop makes for a perfect bead size while also providing a delicious snack. I got Tootsie Pops because they're delicious and also gluten-free and peanut-free, for our friends with allergies. (And they're delicious.)

 
So: Place your paper strip under the lollipop stick, and hold it there (DO NOT GLUE IT ON). Roll with your fingers, kinda twirling the stick, so it wraps tightly into one adorable little bead.  










Keep wrapping, you're doing great!


When you get it to the end, secure with a bit of glue - glue sticks work well for book pages, while good old Elmer's works better for shiny picture book or magazine pages. You might need to hold it there for a few seconds.




OMG, it's beautiful. See how you can kinda see the fact that there are printed words on it? You can tell it's made out of a book, but not necessarily which book, so go ahead and use up all those copies of 50 Shades of Grey, nobody will even know. (Except, maybe not with the teens. And, um, I don't like touching copies of that one. So many not that particular title.)

Now, slide the bead off the end of the lollipop. Voila! Beads!
Repeat many, many times.

When you have a bunch of beads, it's time to string, which you can do just like any other beads. I like to use hemp cord if there's time to make a necklace, but I've found that it's often easier to assume you'll only have time to make a bracelet, for which elastic cording works much better. 

 

Variations

Harry Potter beads are awesome for many reasons, but if you want color variety, you might want to turn to old picture books or magazines. Again, it doesn't really matter what is on the pages, because you'll only be seeing the colors of the edges of the paper strip. 

So this strip at left (made from an old National Geographic Kids magazine)...


 




Turns into this bead. Neat!

Notes

This jewelry is not waterproof. Which is obvious, in hindsight, but seriously, make sure you tell your crafters this or someone's hard work will be destroyed when they go to wash their hands. You can make it waterproof by coating each bead with Mod Podge after creating it - either by painting it on with a brush, or by dipping the beads into the jar. Of course, this adds the additional time of letting everything dry, so I don't usually bother with this at the library, but I do let everyone know that it's an option.