Paper Bead Lanyards

How many times do you look at a craft and say, "Oh, I could do that?" Sometimes you are right and sometimes you are wrong. I think I was right this time. A couple women at work have name badge lanyards made from paper beads. I remembered making those kinds of beads a long time ago, so I decided to give it a try.

You will need old magazines or slick paper advertisements, glue or Modpodge, tooth picks, small beads (not seed beads), bread thread, and a lanyard clip.

First, cut lots of isosceles triangles from the magazines or ads. Look for colors that you like. I made triangles with a 1 inch base and a height of 6 inches. If I did it again, I would make the base 3/4 inches

There are two ways to do the next steps. The first way makes a sturdier bead, but it is much messier. Method  1: coat the triangle with the glue (I watered mine down a bit) or Modpodge.

Then start to roll the triangle on the toothpick. Keep the center tip centered.
Method 2: Don't apply the glue or modpodge until the bead is completely rolled on the toothpick. Give it a good coating.

Now the beads need to dry. I poked holes in a box and then put the toothpicks in the holes. Eventually you will need to remove the beads from the toothpicks. I found it helpful to carefully push the bead up to the end of the toothpick to dry. If you don't, you may need to twist and turn the bead a bit to get it off the toothpick.
The beads will take several hours or overnight to dry. 

Now you can sort you beads by color and decide the pattern you want to use for your lanyard. Cut your bead thread long enough for a lanyard. (I made mine around 32") First put on the lanyard clip and slide it to the middle of the thread. There are two ways to keep it in place. The first one I threaded both threads through one bead.

In the second one, I made a little circle of black glass beads and then threaded both threads through one bead. (In order for the thread to go through the beads easier, coat each tip with clear nail polish and allow to dry.)

Then-- just decide on your pattern with the paper beads and the glass beads. When the lanyard is long enough, secure it with a knot. Apply a couple dots of glue to the knot. When dry, clip the threads close to the knot.

Here are some close ups of the beads.