Paper Beads

During the 1990's, I taught myself how to make quilts. Also during the 1990's, I subscribed to a lot of quilting magazines. I discovered that the problem with having a lot of quilting magazines around the house was that I was spending too much time looking at pictures of other people's quilts and not spending enough time making my own quilts! I decided to sell the magazines at the neighborhood yard sale. I sold exactly one of them!

Not wanting to send the magazines to the landfill, I decided to cut the pictures of quilts out of the magazines and recycle the rest of the magazines at the neighborhood branch of the public library. While at the library, I checked out a book on paper jewelry making.

Making paper beads was a popular craft during the Great Depression and I thought a paper bead curtain between my bedroom and bathroom would be just fun to make.

So, I starting cutting the pictures of quilts into triangular and rectangular shapes. When rolled up, triangles make barrel shaped beads. If the ratio of the width of the base of the triangle to the height of the triangle is very small, the bead will be round. I also cut rectangular shapes

which make a cylindrical bead.

I inserted the cut shapes between the legs of a cotter pin and rolled the paper around the pin. It is wise to not roll the paper too tightly because that makes the bead difficult to remove from the pin. A spot of craft glue held it together. Then I painted a paper coating product over the surface of the bead to protect it.

I suspended the cotter pins on a vertical surface to let them dry. I used a cookie pillow for lace making held upright in a plate stand. I protected the surface with wax paper before inserting long pins each one holding a cotter pin with bead still attached. When they were dry, I slid the beads off of the pins. And repeated the process over and over, ad infinitum until I had thousands of beads.

I love the look of the beads made from pictures of quilts! The designs abstracted by rolling are interesting. You can see the pieces of the quilts and the patterns of the fabrics. You can even see some of the quilting lines! Although I am pleased with the beads, I decided not to make the beaded curtain.

So...I have thousands of beads and a lot of pictures of quilts. I may be making paper beads for awhile! Over and over ad infinitum!

The Dare of DIY... and Beyond

The best part of being an Etsy seller is all of the resources available to us from Etsy itself. In fact, it can be a little overwhelming to absorb everything and still engage in the business of DIY. Creative people have absolutely no problem engaging in activities related to the creation of things even when there are great unknowns about the technical processes and uncertainties about the outcome of the project. When it comes to our businesses, however, we expect there to be rigid step by step instructions that exactly meet our needs. What a shift in attitude from our normal way of being.

Tara Gentile presented a workshop in the Etsy Labs on 04/19 called "The Dare of DIY". If you missed this presentation, you can watch the video and download the worksheet at this Etsy Success Workshop Link. This is a must-see event for Etsy sellers as well as any creative individual. Shortly after opening my Etsy shop, I discovered Tara Gentile and all of her resources which are perfectly tailored to creative people and their businesses. Please become familiar with and subscribe to both of her websites where you will find a wealth of information and resources to meet your needs. At taragentile.com you will become acquainted with this amazing woman and her uplifting and motivating philosophy of creative living to help passionate people produce and profit. There are many, many useful resources on this site.

Be sure to download the FREE Spacious Goals Guide and Workbook while you're there. This tool will help you set goals as big as you can think and, best of all, to not fear your goals. After watching 'The Dare of DIY" workshop you may already be examining greater possibilities for yourself and your creative business. Why not put those goals on paper... And ACT on them!

Don't worry about the ACT concept because Tara has plenty of guidance prepared for you in her new book, Making Motion. In just seven simple steps she will help you take your goal and set it into action along a path designed for creative people toward a destination of successful fulfillment. I had the opportunity to preview this book and I am so excited about it, that I am offering it for sale on my blog. Just click on the title above or the button in the sidebar to download this e-book for just $8! It will absolutely be the best investment you can make to accelerate your dreams.

You'll find plenty of support for your exhilarating journey toward your spacious goals at Tara's scoutiegirl.com site where passionate creatives connect, converse and commune! This is where I discovered how Tara Gentile helps you "turn your big ideas into a creative life-well-lived through a generous helping of practical philosophy, a few kicks in the pants, and a signed permission slip to reach your goals!" Her words, not mine. I couldn't be more in agreement with them, nor could I be more grateful for the resources and knowledge shared!

WINNING! I've "Got it in the Bag!"

I have been taking my own bags to the store and everywhere else for approximately 30 years. I simply prefer having my own bags and simply prefer to not have a mess of disposable bags at home. It was a behavior that I developed during punk rock because I had noticed that people are very connected to luxury store bags. Funny. Even beyond the consumerism mentality of BEing your stuff, some people actually seemed to BE the bag the stuff came in!

Taking my own bag to the store has historically caused a LOT of problems. Being sensitive to the issues connected to retail loss prevention, I always surrendered my bag upon entering the store. However, it seemed sometimes that retailers were displeased that I didn't voluntarily advertise for them by displaying their mini-billboard bag logos out and about in public places. I began to accept the fact that having my own bag meant that I packed my purchases into that bag. Just because I have my own bag does not mean that I do not expect the same service as everyone else!

Good things are happening and environmental awareness has inspired a revolution of reusable bag-toting in America. The same stores that hassled me are trying to sell me their own brand of bags. Furthermore, entire communities have BANNED the use of disposable

bags. The recycling triangle is a lie. Most plastic bags, after their average 12 minute use end up in the landfills or littered in the environment. Now is the time to decide to use your own bag and to get used to it before the behavior is required.

I have an entire wardrobe of reusable bags, each one suitable exactly to meet my needs. This is my newest bag and already my favorite! I WON THIS in the Green Gifts Guide EcoMonday giveaway on twitter and couldn't be happier with it! The bag was designed by Aubrey Lenyard at Fashionable Notes who is a genius! Please browse this site for an amazing selection of beautiful and useful totes to stylishly assimilate into your everyday life!

I walk my green talk and walk everywhere or ride transit. I do limit myself to one trip per month to the grocery store in a passenger vehicle, however I do need to make numerous purchases of fresh foods in addition to that and carry them home on the bus. Look at the roominess of the Fashionable Notes market bag! This is my personal weight limit for a grocery trip and the bag still has plenty of room! It's study enough to handle all this weight and I like the Velcro closure on top to keep the items under control.

The bag is washable which is a BIG consideration because I an perpetually bringing sometimes messy food items home in totes. Another feature that is well designed is the length of the handles. They are long enough to comfortably fit over coat sleeves because my green lifestyle is an everyday occasion and not a fair-weather game. Plus the handles are long enough to shift the bag to rest against my back in case my purchase is heavy. Sometimes, I am lazy and wheel the cart around the store instead of carrying the basket which is useful in helping me gauge weight and volume of items.

My Eco Chic tote from Fashionable Notes is going to be my ideal companion for every outing requiring hands-free carrying which is seriously just about everything. Perhaps, I also develop attachments to my tote bags but it believe it's different from the collectors of store bags past. MY Bag is always about function, comfort and sustainable lifestyle. Now it can be more stylish, too! Watch for "EcoChic ME" at a farmer's market, public library or cultural event sometime soon!