Paper Mache Jewelry

Paper Mache Jewelry

Cut a drinking straw into several pieces. Cover each piece with paper-mache, leaving the ends open. After the beads dry, decorate them as you wish and then string them onto a piece of yarn.

For smaller beads, roll up balls of paper-mache. Push them onto a knitting needle or a nail. When they dry, paint, then shellac them. Remove the knitting needles or nails and string the beads with a needle and thread.

Use elastic thread if you want a bracelet that stretches to fit over your hand. You can make a bracelet over a tin can. First tape waxed paper or foil over the can. Then mold the paper-mache around it. This can be as wide as you wish, but should be at least one-fourth-inch thick.

After a day or two, carefully remove the bracelet from the can. Let it dry for another few days, then decorate it. And for a ring, put a blob of wet paper-mache over the jewel on an old dime-store ring and let it dry. Earrings can be made the same way, using old earrings or new earring backs (called fittings) which you can buy at a hobby shop.

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