Saturday 3 March 2012

Recycled Metal Beads

Tomato Tube Beads 
  The best thing about this is that you are using up metal tomato paste tubes
which would otherwise go to landfill.

     Material list
Tomato paste tubes
tin snips or old scissors
rolling pin
long kebab skewers
silver foil and oven dish or old baking sheet or tin.
fabric paint
paintbrushes
embossing powders
glass seed beads (optional)
wire (optional)

First cut bottom and top of the empty tomato paste tubes


with tin snips or scissors


Cut along the side


 then wash and flatten with a rolling pin and cut out a length
 
the wider end on this is about an inch and a half wide
roll the metal onto the skewers

paint with fabric paint
dry with heat tool

working over the foil lined dish
roll over embossing ink pad


I use High Boss transparent

dip into the pot of embossing powder


I used Heat It Up 'Hologram'

set with heat gun
You can stop here and use your metal bead as is or

VARIATIONS
If you want something a bit more sparkly
re-ink and re-dip 2/3 times


heat gun again

get out some sparkly glass seed beads
put them ion a little line on the foil lined dish


 heat your bead again and roll it along the line of seed beads before it cools.
watch out they will slip and slide until the powder cools and sets them in place.


2 or 3 more dips in the powder


and another blast with the heat gun will set them.
If your not confident to try free styling it with the beads,
 try threading the beads onto wire
(this wire came off an extra special wine bottle!)
more recycling!


You can also use wire to thread the smaller beads
and wrap round


re-ink and dip in the powder and heat to fix.


Snip off the excess wire and remove bead when cool.


Another idea:

Altering the shape of your bead


 by bending the metal as you wrap it round the skewer

You can really play about with the shape

coat in paint as before and heat

I love the bubble effect that can happen when you add the paint generously


This is how it looks after the embossing powder is added
That wine bottle came in very useful again here
(even more re-cycling!)

The thin metal cork cover also makes lovely beads


silver on the other side

I got 2 good sized beads from this one
and used the black side on this one, no need to paint!
 a great base for the hologram powder.
A nice way to save the wire and metal from that 'special bottle' and make the beads into earrings!
You could also use, glitter, metallic threads, foils and other fibres,
just watch out! avoid ones that melt or will catch fire easily!

Use your beads to embellish, bags, shoes, hats or fabric journals and art quilts
Thread to make necklaces and bracelets, wire up to make brooches and earrings.
Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial have fun
 Yvonne x

4 comments:

Jan said...

These are beautiful and so much fun! I never would have thought to use a tube like that, I don't have tomato tubes but maybe a toothpaste tube would work? Another bead I have enjoyed making is to roll a piece of silk, I used sari silk strips in vivid colors. Wrap it with a smaller piece of kunin (acrylic) felt and glue the edge of the felt closed. Then hit it with a heat gun briefly. The felt will quickly melt, leaving a crinkly colorful wrap around the silk. Very cool. I could send you a photo of mine if you would like. You have been having some fun! Now what are you going to do with these? I like having them on hand to use as the muse strikes.

Yvonne Moxon said...

Hi Jan thanks for popping by Im glad you liked the tutorial, I guess any kind of thin metal would work, toothpaste tubes if they are metal also, ours tend to be plastic these days. I have never tried the silk / Kunin felt method sounds like more fun! I have a sheet of Kunin I bought at a show about 3 yrs ago, have never did anything with it, I forgot why I bought it opps! Now I know what Im going to do with it I would love to see some pictures of yours please do send :)
Yvonn x

Lynn Holland said...

Brilliant tutorial Yvonne.
Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.
Lynn
One I Made Earlier Today

TwinkleToes2day said...

Ingenious! Absolutely ingenious! You are amazingly clever :0))
Mo x

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