Here is my list of the important skills and tips you need to have to roll the very best paper beads on Earth. If you master these, and read over the next few weeks to get all the secret tips I have used, then you will be the very best bead roller on Earth.
Why am I giving away long held trade secrets? I am getting old and the arthritis in my hands hurts too much to work 1500+ beads a week then make them into about a dozen or more necklaces a week, like I used to.
AND (a non-paid political announcement)...Why am I giving away long held trade secrets? I am getting old and the arthritis in my hands hurts too much to work 1500+ beads a week then make them into about a dozen or more necklaces a week, like I used to.
I have to keep working as a teacher because in our area, school teachers no longer get health insurance when they retire even though we have a 30-year retirement benefit. So after 30 years of working, I am way too young to get Medicare or Medicaid or whatever so I'm just going to have to slow down and do beading as a hobby these days and keep my insurance producing job as number priority #1. (I'm also pretty much non-insurable with my health issues: breast cancer, IIH and all - please, I hope Obama's health plan works! It is my only hope.)
SO...
It's time to pass on the information for someone else to pick up the business and run with it!
So here are the biggies as I see them:
1. cut the paper quickly and accurately - get the right equipment, don't use scissors and rulers, get a scrapbooking paper cutter (like Fiskars) at the least and a huge big 40-inch professional paper cutter at most. Use super strong magnets to hold the paper in place (you can get the magnets at science shops or places like www.thinkgeeks.com)2. cultivate places to get regular supply of your favorite papers - keep costs down, don't keep BUYING paper!
3. roll the beads tight on a small wire like a cheap clothes hanger wire from the dry cleaner, to get a very small center hole so you can use in the very smallest accessorizing bead with them without the beads falling through your paper bead.
4. Use cheap Elmer's glue - you only need to glue the very end as you finish rolling. Too much glue is the devil's workshop! And keep your fingers clean - leave a damp cloth by your side to regularly clean so you don't leave glue hunks and dirt on the next bead!
5. use high gloss poly-acrylic for dipping your beads in (buy 1 gallon at a time at a large paint store and pour small amounts off to get it at a better cost!). Poly-acrylic drys quickly and is very durable and you can stand to breathe it while you work. But if the colors on the paper you are using are water soluble, then you will have to use lacquer. Lacquer may yellow ever so slightly but the colors will not run as you dip them in - but be careful of inhaling the fumes. Use only in a well ventilated room.
6. use toothpicks (round ones) to dip your beads with. Spraying the beads is just to costly if you are going to try and make money in the business. Dipping is very cost effective but a bit more labor intensive. Toothpick can be re-used many times - also buy in bulk and save money.
7. The biggest hint of all: drum roll please.... put a dab of petroleum jelly in the palm of your hand and roll the end of the toothpick in the jelly - just lightly coat it, then put on your bead and dip it in the poly-acrylic, spin it quickly with two fingers to get the excess off, flip it upside down and poke it in a Styrofoam board (get large sheet at Home Depot and cut with a box cutter to about 1'x1' pieces). Now you can let your beads dry until it is convenient for you to take them off the toothpick! I have left them for days and with the petroleum jelly coating, they always pop up quickly and cleanly!
8. Keep like beads together in ziplock bags until you are ready to do your project to save having to search through piles for them later.
9. Another big hint: nobody really wants to pay for the beads what they are worth for all the labor you put into them. But take a few minutes and string them into a necklace or bracelet and now they will pay the money!
Just come back and get some hints for designing your creations!
Now go make some beads and have fun! Practice, practice, practice! Remember how long it took you to learn to ride a bike - no go practice some more!
