Paper Spheres

Today my work table is awash with circles made from card stock and cereal box packaging. I'm making paper ball beads that are so hip 'n' groovy. This is my version of the beads I saw at the Paper and Book Intensive in 2009. Each bead is actually a book with pages and a spine, but these books can also be used as beads to make jewelry, strung on a cord for holiday tree garland or hung individually as a decoration. If you recycle paper (and you know you should!), use post cards or the paper packaging from herbal teas for the card stock in the following project. Generally, smaller beads can be made with lighter weight papers like card stock and larger beads can be made with heavier paper, such as cereal box packaging. The finished beads are beautiful and only look complicated. Beware! If you wear these earrings around town, people will ask you to make them a pair!
Instructions to make a pair of earrings with one, 1" bead per earring (NOTE: The diameter of your circles determine the size of the finished bead/ball. 1" diameter circles make 1" beads...8" diameter circles make 8" beads...and so on):
Materials and tools: 2 sheets card stock (2 contrasting colors); 1-inch circle punch tool; bone folder; scissors; white glue; 2 head pins; 2 earring hooks
Step 1: Punch 10 circles of each color card stock for a total of 20 circles. If the circle hole punch tool leaves any ragged edges, carefully trim them now with your scissors.
Step 2: Fold each circle in half with the side you want to show on the inside of the fold. Fold as accurately as possible with the grain of the paper. Get a good sharp crease with your bone folder. All the folded circles should look like the letter "D".
For bead #1: Step 3: Pick up one "D" and apply glue to one of its outside flaps. Take a contrasting color "D" and press one of its outside flaps onto the glued flap. It should be stacked right on top, as flush as possible with the glued flap ("D" on top of "D"). Take your time here and hold it in place, allowing the glue to dry before you proceed to the next "D".
Step 4: Continue gluing, alternating colors, until you have a stack of 10 folded "D"s.
Set the stack of "D"s on your work surface and watch it open up into a ball shape. Magic!
Glue the last flap and affix it to the unglued flap of the first "D" to finish the bead. Try to line up the flaps evenly so you have a nice, even hole in the bead.
For bead #2, repeat Steps 3 and 4.
Step 5: Stick a head pin into each beads' hole and attach each one to an earring hook.