Old Supplies, New Designs: Microbeads

Old Supplies, New Designs: Microbeads

By Jane Swanson

Microbeads present a rainbow of options in bringing a shimmering quality to your scrapbook pages. These tiny beads can be used to cover just about anything for a crystallized effect. Creating with them can be a test of all your crafting skills, though. Here are some guidelines to follow to help you achieve microbeads success.

• Double-sided tape is the most-used medium for application. This tape comes in different-size widths and full sheets. Remove the liner from one side and apply to the front of item to be decorated. Then remove the other side of the liner and your surface is ready for beading.
• When covering a shape with the adhesive it is helpful to keep the backing in place while trimming the excess.
• Use a die-cutting tool such as a Sizzix or a machine that your local scrapbook store has available to cut alphabet letters or small intricate designs.
• Use a bead tray to keep the bouncing beads under control. Pour a generous amount of beads directly onto the sticky surface and press with fingers or use a brayer to sink the beads into all areas of the adhesive.
• Clear beads can be used to cover any sticker or photo and allow the image to show through in a glimmering way. The use of colored beads can create endless combinations of creative accents.

For the letters on the "FRIENDS" layout, I used a sheet of double-sided adhesive and ran it through a die-cut machine at my local scrapbook store. I adhered the individual letters to a strip of white cardstock by removing one side of the liner. Then I removed the liner from the front of one letter at a time in order to avoid one color spilling over onto another. The tag was made by angling ¼" strips of double-sided adhesive and removing the liner one color at a time. I punched circles from adhesive and adhered them to metal circle tags before removing the top liner and spilling a generous amount of beads into the exposed adhesive. The effect was a smooth and shiny texture that created a unique sparkling page for my daughter's album.