Roar VBS: DIY Paper Bead Bracelets & Necklaces

Lions and zebras and elephants, oh my… Roar VBS is quickly approaching!  This year’s safari-themed VBS is sure to be an adventure your kiddos will cherish for years to come!

I’m so excited to share these DIY Paper Bead Bracelets & Necklaces! They’re a fun, frugal craft for elementary (and older) kids!

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The Roar VBS curriculum includes letting kids make one paper bead each evening (so by the end of the week they have 5 beads, which they can string into a bracelet). Purchasing 50 pre-cut strips from Group costs $4.29. While this may not seem like a lot, these paper beads are SO EASY to make yourself for WAY less money! Instead of making one bead each night of VBS (to have 5 per kid by the end of the week), we’re going to make all our beads on night 1 as the evening’s craft. We’ll seal them after the kids leave, then they’ll put together their bracelets/necklaces another evening.

I tested several widths of strips. While 1/2″ wide strips make neat smaller beads, it’s much more difficult to work with these thin strips. The best size I tried was 1″ wide strips. Regardless of what size paper you use, you’ll want your strips long and skinny. Using my instructions below, an 8.5″x11″ sheet of paper will cut ~16 strips (1″ wide triangles by 11″ long) and a 12″x12″ sheet of paper will cut ~24 strips (1″ wide triangles by ~12″ long).

Supplies:
–Scrapbooking paper or magazines
–Paper cutter
–Plastic straws
–School glue
–Baby wipes
–Wax paper
–Permanent marker
–Ribbon (if making necklaces)
-Elastic string (if making bracelets)
–Pony beads

Sealant supplies (optional):
–Fishing line
–Masking tape or painter’s tape
-Lots of newspaper, plastic tablecover or plastic dropcloth
–Polycrylic (glossy)

Instructions (prep work before VBS):

-Cut sheets of scrapbooking paper or magazines into 1″ wide triangular strips by following the steps below.

-I first trimmed about an inch off a 12″x12″ sheet of paper (I found this was necessary to be able to cut the angled strips). If you’re using 8.5″x11″ sheets of paper, this step isn’t necessary.

-I then laid the piece of 11″ tall by 12″ wide scrapbooking paper on my paper cutter. I moved the entire sheet so that it was at the 11″ mark at the top of the paper cutter, then angled the page so that the bottom right corner of the paper was along the edge of the cutter. (In other words, the strip I was about to cut was 1″ wide at the top tapered down to a point at the bottom.) Cut that strip.

-To cut the next strip, I kept the left edge of the paper at the 11″ mark but straightened the paper back out. (In other words, this strip will be 1″ wide at the bottom and tapered up to the top.) Cut that strip. Repeat the process above, scooting the paper over 1″ at a time, cutting one strip with the paper at an angle then one strip with the paper straight.

-Group’s packs suggest 5 strips of paper per student. However, I’m planning to cut ~10 strips per student. (For price reference, Group charges 8.6 cents per strip of paper. Cutting them yourself from the paper linked above costs .4 cents per strip of paper. Yes, that’s less than half a cent per strip!)

Instructions (at VBS):

-I’m first going to show the kids a video about women across the globe who make these beads to support their families. I think this will give the project much more meaning to the kids. There are several short videos on YouTube explaining the significance of these beads to women and their families.

-Give each student a piece of wax paper (at least 12″ long) and a plastic straw. Have them write their name on the piece of wax paper using a permanent marker.

(Side note: I tried using a bamboo skewer instead of a plastic straw to make a smaller bead. However, it was very difficult to get it to roll tightly. I’d definitely suggest using a standard size -or slightly wider- plastic straw.)

-Let each student choose 1 strip of paper. Tell them to lay it face down on their sheet of wax paper (white side of the paper up) with the 1″ wide end of the sheet close to them, then lay their plastic straw on top of the paper.

-Put a strip of school glue starting about 2″ from the wide end of the paper, going all the way down to the tapered point.

-Roll the paper around the straw. Roll slowly to keep the paper centered. The glue will ooze out as you go and that’s ok! Use your fingers to roll the paper tightly around the straw and smooth the excess glue to coat the entire outside of the bead. This part will be a little messy, so you’ll want baby wipes handy so kids can clean their hands after making the beads.

-Slide the bead off the straw and lay it on your piece of wax paper.

-Repeat the process above until your students have enough beads (or you’re out of time).

-Your beads can be totally finished now if you want them to be! The school glue puts a light coating on them so they’re hard to the touch (though I think they would squish/flatten if you really tried). If you want a more long-term/waterproof sealant, you can dip them in polycrylic (see instructions below). I was VERY HAPPY with the quality of the beads once they were dipped in polycrylic, but I’m not sure whether I’ll have our volunteers take the time & energy to seal all the beads.

Instructions (for sealing beads):

There are several ways to seal the beads. You don’t have to use a sealant at all – the school glue puts a light coating on them. However, the beads will be MUCH more durable if you seal them. The polycrylic sealing method below is the most durable I found, and it was simple to do.

-Give each student a piece of fishing line that’s approximately double the width of their beads (if they have 6 beads, 12″ of fishing line is plenty). Ask students to put one bead on the fishing line, then tie a knot around it. Add the rest of the beads to the fishing line. Put a piece of masking tape or painter’s tape at the top of the fishing line with the student’s name on it.

-Hang all strings of beads (grouped by VBS crew).

-Cover the area below your beads with several layers of newspaper, plastic sheeting or a disposable tablecover.

-Dip each strand of beads into the polycrylic. The polycrylic does have an odor, so I would NOT do this step while the kids are around. Make sure the beads are fully coated (you may need to poke them under the poly using a straw). They don’t need to stay in the liquid for a long time, just long enough to get coated.

-Remove the strand of beads from the polycrylic. Hold it over the polycrylic tub for a few seconds while some of the excess polycrylic drips back into the tub.

-Hang the strand of beads up to dry. Make sure it’s hanging over your newspaper or plastic – there will be some polycrylic dripping!

-As soon as the beads are dry to the touch (I let mine dry about 1.5 hours), remove them from the fishing line and lay them back on the student’s sheet of wax paper. You may have to gently break the beads apart. DON’T let them fully cure on the fishing line or they’ll be difficult to break apart! (After 1.5 hours, my beads were dry to the touch but still very easy to break apart.)

-For necklaces: Let the students string their beads onto a piece of ribbon, mixing in pony beads with your paper beads.

-For bracelets: Let the students string their beads onto a piece of elastic string, mixing in pony beads with your paper beads.

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