Origami Earrings and Crane Chain

When I was little, I was always so impressed by the box of 1000 red and gold cranes that my Japanese neighbor folded for her wedding. I had set a goal for myself to make 1000 cranes for my wedding, too, but in the meantime, I just fold origami cranes for fun.

Today, I found some pretty patterned scrap paper that I used to fold two tiny origami cranes to make earrings out of. I cut two squares from the paper, 1 inch by 1 inch each. After making the cranes, I attached them to some jewelry wires with coordinating seed beads, and then I hooked them onto earring hooks.

crane made from 1 inch x 1 inch paper; smaller than a dime after folded

2 cranes coated with clear nail polish

Another fun project I enjoy making with cranes is crane chains. I make a bunch of cranes that I string along with beads and attach to a wooden chopstick or skewer. I have a bunch of crane chains hanging around my room!

About a year ago, I also made some origami star earrings:

I used the leftover jewelry wire and a few seed beads to craft some swirly earrings, as well:

<3 Mandy

Magazine Paper Bead Jewelry

A couple of years ago, my sister bought me a magazine paper bead bracelet from the deYoung Museum. It's from a company called Mzuribeads that gets handrolled beads from women in Uganda to make recycled fair-trade jewelry.

I love my bracelet and wear it all the time, and I wanted to buy another one. However, I did not see any bracelets being sold anywhere.

So I decided to make my own.

To make my necklace, I rolled up long triangular strips of colorful (and recycled) magazine paper into tubular beads, and then secured their shape with a dab of glue, a coat of mod podge, and a top coat of clear nail polish. After allowing the beads to dry, I strung them onto a piece of thread with seed beads to make a long necklace. Depending on how many times you wrap the necklace, it can be a long necklace, a double-stranded necklace, or a multi-stranded bracelet.

I've made a few of these as gifts and for myself, and I love the look they add to outfits. I gave one of these to my aunt, and my cousin bought a similar one in Africa for her, as well!

These necklaces are very easy to make, and they only take about an hour (plus drying time).
<3 Mandy