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