Handmade Jewelry Using Magazine Pages: Bold Paper Statement Pieces
Introduction
Vintage magazines contain a treasure trove of materials for handcrafting jewelry. Their glossy pages and arresting graphics transform into stunning statement pieces when cut and incorporated into pendants, beads, and paper mache.
This guide covers how to transform inexpensive old magazines into beautiful wearable art. Learn techniques like decoupage, bead rolling, and quilling to make bold rings, necklaces, and earrings from discarded periodicals.
Benefits of Using Magazines for Jewelry Making
Magazines offer many advantages for jewelry crafters:
- Easy to procure very inexpensively or even free
- Provide a vast palette of colors, patterns, graphics, and typography
- Printed photos, illustrations, and text become focal elements
- Make eclectic jewelry instantly infused with era-specific nostalgia
- Allow repurposing what otherwise may be destined for the landfills
- Durable coated magazine paper withstands rolling, cutting, and decoupage
- Take on a whole new context turned from flat pages into dimensional jewelry
- Offer inspiration browsing forgotten content and advertisement imagery
Must-Have Tools for Crafting Magazine Jewelry
These basic supplies assist transforming magazine pages:
- Craft glue – Adhere layered paper and collage pieces
- Scissors – Cut intricate shapes or long bead rolling strips
- Hole punch – Quickly punch stringing holes into paper components
- Jump rings and findings – Connect paper elements into finished jewelry
- Brushes – For decoupage and gel medium
- Corner rounder – Takes edge harshness off of squares and rectangles
- Paper awl – Precisely punch holes without tearing delicate paper
- Paper crimper – Adds attractive edge details for interest
- Decoupage sealer – Protects and seals completed paper pieces
Techniques for Crafting Magazine Jewelry
Explore these techniques to turn magazine pages into stunning jewelry:
- Decoupage – Adhere paper collage atop jewelry bases using glue and gel medium
- Paper beads – Roll magazine strips into sturdy paper beads perfect for necklaces
- Quilling – Roll thin strips into intricate paper coils shaped into flowers, animals, or abstract designs
- Origami – Fold magazine pages into cranes, stars, or other miniature geometric origami art
- Silhouette Cutting – Cut around magazine imagery to feature the images atop contrastingpapers
- Layering – Layer complementary cut or torn magazine scraps building up dimensional pendants
- Resin coating – Seal finished magazine collages and components under a protective resin dome
- Inclusions – Embed small meaningful words, photos, or graphics from magazine pages within resin jewelry
DIY Tutorials: Making Jewelry Using Magazines
Follow these tutorials for beautiful magazine jewelry results:
Magazine Photo Pendant
Supplies:
- Magazine or printed photo
- 1-inch pendant tray
- Craft glue
- Gel medium
- E6000 glue
- Bail finding
- Jump ring
Instructions:
- Cut out a printed magazine photo to fit a 1-inch pendant tray.
- Spread a thin layer of gel medium inside the tray. Press in the photo cutout.
- Brush gel medium over top the photo to seal it into the tray.
- Once dry, embellish edges with decorative paper edge trimmings using craft glue.
- Coat the pendant fully with 3 layers of decoupage sealer, allowing drying between layers.
- Glue bail finding onto dried pendant back with strong jewelry E6000 glue.
- Attach a jump ring to bail to finish the magazine photo jewelry pendant.
Quilled Magazine Paper Jewelry
Supplies:
- Magazine or scrapbook paper
- Scissors
- Craft glue
- Keychain finding and jump ring
Instructions:
- Use scissors to cut magazine paper into long 1/4 inch wide strips.
- Roll strips into tight coils using a quilling needle tool, toothpick or skewer.
- Arrange coils into floral shapes, circles, hearts etc. Use craft glue to hold in place.
- Glue completed quilled paper designs onto cardstock backs cut into jewelry shapes.
- Once dry, brush with 3 coats of decoupage sealer, allowing drying between coats.
- Glue a keychain finding onto the back with strong craft glue or E6000 adhesive.
- Attach a jump ring through the top of the finding to create wearable quilled magazine paper jewelry pendants.
Rolled Paper Bead Bracelet
Supplies:
- Magazines
- Scissors
- Craft glue
- Clear nail polish
- Stretchy cord
- Bead tips
Instructions:
- Use scissors to cut magazine pages into 1/2 inch wide strips.
- Roll strips tightly around a round object like a pen or pencil to shape into beads.
- Seal bead seams together with craft glue and let fully dry.
- Paint beads with clear nail polish and allow to dry to strengthen paper beads.
- String paper beads onto elastic cord. Finish ends with bead tips or knots.
Inspiring Jewelry Designs Using Magazines
Take inspiration from these beautiful ways to give magazines new life through handmade jewelry:
- Puzzle piece resin pendants embedding tiny cut up snippets of text and imagery
- Large hollow riveted metal rings wrapped with strips of magazine text as adjustable statement rings
- Pendants created from layered vintage cake decorating magazine cutouts sealed with decoupage
- Necklaces made from interconnected origami boats, boxes, or knots folded from glossy ads
- Chunky bangles decoupaged with overlapping retro travel brochure clippings sealed with resin
- Kaleidoscope beads filled with strips of colorful stacked magazine pages visible through clear resin
- Long fringedstatement earrings cut from perforated magazine pages hung from simple ear wires
- Whimsical charms of forest animals and florals shaped using quilling techniques on magazine pages
- Hand-rolled paper beads made from alternating magazine and sheet music strips
Tips for Elevating Your Magazine Jewelry
Take your magazine jewelry to the next level with these tips:
- Choose fun retro color palettes by selecting coordinating hues from dated magazine pages
- Incorporate vintage hardware like typewriter keys, game pieces, or trophies into mixed media magazine jewelry
- Create visual interest playing with positive and negative space in cutouts
- Ink the edges of magazine cutouts using distressed inks before adhering for vintage flair
- Layer varying opacities of papers and traceable materals for shadow effects
- Leave an undecoupaged window for peeking through form layered dimensionality
- Arrange pieces following principles of design like repetition, balance, contrast, and alignment
- Finish raw paper edges with corner rounders, decorative edge scissors or hole punches for polished details
Conclusion
With creativity and skill, discarded magazines transform from lifeless pages into wearable works of art. Their vibrant imagery, patterns, and typography take on new vibrancy shaped into jewelry.
Making paper beads, origami, and quilling from magazine pages provides satisfyin meditative work of the hands. Or boldly decoupage clippings into statement rings, cuffs, and pendants for unique art jewelry.
Give worn out periodicals renewed purpose. Follow principles of upcycling, saving beautiful materials from the landfill. Let your inner green artist see potential rather than waste.