Magazine Magic
Welcome to SAMS Summer Camp week 4! You’re going to need magazines and glue this week.
There are three projects featured this week, but there are many more out there if you enjoy doing these.
Magazine Beads:
To make your magazine beads you will need:
- Glue
- 1 – 2 magazine pages with colors you like
- Scissors
- A sturdy straw or a toothpick
- String
You will want to cut the magazine into long, isosceles triangles. The more well centered the long point of your triangle is, the more symmetrical your beads will be.
The size of your triangles can vary from half a page long to a full page long depending on how thick you want them to be.
The small beaded necklace I’m wearing in the picture was made with half page length triangles.
Wrap the fat end of your triangle tightly around your straw or toothpick and continue to roll the rest of the paper tightly until only the tip of the triangle is left free. Add a dot of glue and seal the bead shut. Gently slide the bead off of your straw or toothpick and set aside to dry.
Repeat until you have enough to make a necklace or bracelet of your desired length.
See our helpful “How-to” video to see how its done and pick up some tips.
Magazine Coaster:
To make a coaster you will need:
- 12 to 15 pages from a magazine in whatever colors you like best
- Glue
- A heavy book
- A pencil or chopstick
Tear each of your magazine pages in half vertically so you have 24-30 long half-pages.
One by one fold each half-page in half again, then fold the raw edges up 2 cm, folding again and again until you have a long strip. Add a long line of glue to the open flap of the strip and press to seal. Press under a heavy book for at least an hour so it can set.
Using a pencil or a chopstick, take your first strip and wind it tightly around the end. Make sure you coil tightly as this will be the basis for your whole coaster. Uncoil it and add glue to the side of the strip that is on the inside when you wrap it and coil tightly one more time. You can hold it while it sets or you can find an interesting way to sit it between two heavy objects, in a cabinet door, or in an almost closed drawer to hold it tight while it dries. When its ready, choose your next strip and line up one end with the exposed end of your coil. Wrap the strip around to prepare its shape, then un-wrap and add your glue, and re-wrap the strip and put in your drawer/cabinet/book wedge to hold it as it dries.
Repeat until all your strips are used. Your strips may not be uniform in width and that’s OK. Make sure that the top of your coaster lines up evenly. It’s okay if the bottom is uneven.
To see how all of this looks in practice, check out our handy “How-To” video to see it in action.
Magazine Scrap Letters:
This is a great project for eager little hands – especially ones who love tearing paper and using glue.
Click here for a PDF with detailed instructions on how to do this simple craft.
Don’t forget to visit Ashley outside of St. Margaret’s this Wednesday from 2-4 pm to pick up magazines, seeds and compost, string, and other prizes and craft supplies.