Hand-Painted Wooden Beads

For this project, use unfinished or bleached wood beads in you favorite shape or size. You do not want any stain or varnish on the beads you are going to paint.

STEP 1. Put you beads on toothpicks or bamboo skewers (I prefer skewers) before you begin painting. This allows you to paint all sides of the bead without getting your fingers full of wet paint. If the holes in the beads are too big, wrap some masking tape around the skewer until the bead fits snugly.

STEP 2. Have at the ready a tall drinking glass, piece of Styrofoam or block of florist’s oasis in which to stick your skewers while the paint is drying. Get out your acrylic paints. Have a small glass or dish of water and some paper towels handy. Use a piece of aluminum foil if you want to mix paint to create a specific color. If you mix a special color, paint several more beads than you think you’ll need for your design. It is difficult to match a specially mixed color when you need “just a couple more beads.”

STEP 3. Use small brushes for painting: size 1 or 2 for the base coat, size 1 to 0000 for design and detail work. The shape of you brush depends on the effect you want to achieve: flat for the all-over color, round for stippling, and round liner for design and detail work.

Evenly paint each bead with 2 coats of your base color. Wait 15 to 30 minutes for the first coat to dry before painting the second coat. Wait until the second base coat is dry before painting a design on you bead, usually about 30 minutes.

STEP 4. You can plan you painted design or work spontaneously-whatever works. Look through clip art, design, and other books and magazines for inspiration. Painting your designs does not necessarily require special talent, just patience and practice. I stippled gold paint over the red (left), then painted a design in black (right).

STEP 5. If you make a mistake when painting your design, wipe it off with a damp paper towel before the paint is dry. Be careful not to wipe off the base coat. If the mistake is very small, use the tip of a moistened toothpick to fix it. Otherwise, you will need to paint another coat of the base color on your bead and start over.

STEP 6. You can also use nail polish to paint wood beads. There is a wide variety of colors and styles of nail polish that can give your beads some interesting effects. Paint your beads with 2 coats of acrylic paint- white if you’re going to cover the bead completely with a colored nail polish, or the color of your
choice if you’re going to use a “specialty” nail polish (for example, a colorless or pale transparent polish with glitter, which is what I used). Make sure the acrylic paint is completely dry before applying the nail polish (wait overnight or at least 8 hours). Brush the nail polish onto the bead in a smooth, even coat. You may need more than one coat of nail polish to create the effect you want. Allow the nail polish to dry at least an hour between coats. After you have finished painting your beads, let them dry overnight or at least 8 hours. Leave them on the skewers.

STEP 7. Finish your beads with 2 light coats of acrylic sealer. I prefer a matte-finish sealer. Allow the first coat of sealer to dry about 30 minutes to an hour before applying the second coat. Be sure to spray the beads outdoors and avoid breathing the fumes. Again, allow your beads to dry overnight or at least 8 hours before taking them off the skewers and using them in your designs.

Jill Bartel
LAPIDARY JOURNAL, December 2000

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