Spellbinders Glimmer Backgrounds

I have a project to share that is a bit outside the box! Spellbinders has a new collection of sweet and modern foil plate backgrounds - I used mine on a jewelry set! 

Here's the Modern Lines design that I used:

...and here are the paper beads I foiled! I used them to make an adjustable bracelet - of course I failed to take pictures while I was working on these and I don't have any more of these strips to recreate this specific look, but I did take some pictures later to show the process!

 If you feel inspired to try some paper beading, I have a post with more information here to help you get started! The strips I used for these were 11" long, and tapered slightly, but not to a point... that shape gives them the wide band at the center which is a perfect little canvas for the foiled stripes.

I love the shine of the silver foiling on these gel printed beads - each one is perfectly unique! I created links for the bracelet, and had a couple left for a pair of matching earrings. (The pearls came from Spellbinders too  - they were part of a rosary chain that was on clearance in a recent sale. Looks like that item is sold out now.) The bracelet is about 8" long with a little extender as well - I will plan on tucking the set into my Etsy store, so if you love it, check for it there soon!

Here's a quick explanation of how the foiling works on these beading strips. I have some shorter ones here in a triangle shape... I heated my Glimmer machine up, laid down the plate and foil, and then laid the tip of each strip onto the foil to emboss.

Here's the finished result, and I could have flipped the strips around the other way to foil the full length as well - I just did the tips this time, and you'll see the effect below.

I used a tool from PaperBeadRollers.com to roll up the strips, gluing them at the end to secure the shape.

Here's the finished bead - just having the foil at the tip gives me a pretty pattern at the center of the bead, which I like.

The beads will be sealed with a wood hardener, which strengthens and waterproofs them, and gives them a shiny gloss.

Hope this fun little project inspires you to try something new with your foiling plates (or to grab a new one if you'd like to recreate this look!)