Winter Project: Meatballs

The second recipe for making paper beads involves using mushed up newspaper. After nearly slicing my thumb off with the exacto knife while cutting the paper strips for the paper beads, I was hoping this recipe might be less dangerous and as non-toxic as the paper beads.

Directions:

First, take some sheets of old newspapers, not glossing advertising pages, but regular newsprint newspaper. The glossy pages have an added coating that makes the fibers hard to break down.

 

 

Tear the sheets into small pieces or if you have a paper shredder, use that. If you do it by hand, wear some latex or vinyl gloves. As you can see above, the ink gets all over your skin which is fairly gross and somewhat toxic.

Place the pieces in a crock pot and add enough boiling water to cover. Let sit for at least an hour stirring occasionally which helps break down the fibers. When the fibers are completely broken down, it will look mushy without defined pieces.

This is much messier than the other paper recipe. Also, the ink on the paper makes it a little more toxic as the hot water will make it smell.

 

Once the paper is mush, drain and squeeze out the excess water. Again, wear gloves or the ink will get all over your hands. You can see the ring of ink in the above photo.

Add some Elmer's glue so the paper will stick together. If you've ever done papier mache this is the same concept. Traditional papier mache recipes call for flour as the adhesive, but since we'll be making beads (balls) using this mixture thickly, I'd be afraid the flour would rot before it dried completely.

Then start rolling...and rolling...and rolling. As you begin each bead, determine how big you want it, squeeze out excess water, press together, then roll in the palms of your hands for an even spherical shape. Try to smooth out any rough edges which will save you sanding time later. Again, if you don't wear gloves, the ink will end up all over your hands.

 

Set on a non-stick surface to dry. I used plates. Make sure the bead-balls don't touch.

Over the next few days as they dry, reposition each ball so it dries evenly and not just on the top or bottom.

It takes about four days for the beads to dry, but give it a few extra days so you are certain the centers are also dry and not just the surface. They turn almost white when completely dry. Little white meatballs.

Once they are dry, if there are any rough edges, sand them down for a smooth surface. This is a hassle. I'm not sure how one is to hold a tiny little meatball and keep it still while sanding.

Then using a small drill bit, drill a hole into each bead. This is also a hassle. Not sure how one holds a tiny very hard little meatball while trying to drill a hole in it. I nearly drilled a hole through my hand a few times.

 

Paint each bead. I thought painting them bright colors would make them look less like meatballs, but I was wrong. They look like meatballs that have been painted. They are, however, very lightweight which might be advantageous for something. This process might be fun for a three-dimensional sculpture project of some kind.

The photos I've seen online of these beads painted in earthy colors and varnished are beautiful, but I realized I don't have the patience for this project. Besides the rolling, sanding, and drilling, with the ink smell, paint and varnish it's not  non-toxic at all which was the point.

I still like the paper beads better. I just need to be more watchful when using an exacto knife! I've been making about twenty paper beads a night. They are adding up!