You gotta love free right? Take a look at the lovely beads you can make today:

Nice huh? And they won’t cost you a penny to make because I bet you have all the supplies you need in your craft box: permanent markers (I’m using Promarkers), scissors, round or needle-nosed pliers (grab them from your hubby’s tool box if you don’t have your own) and a heat (AKA embossing) gun. Check out the short (3 1/2 minute!!!) video to see how it is done:

For those of you who prefer written directions here you go:

1. Cut plastic bottle into strips.
2. Color one side of plastic with permanent marker.
3. Wrap it into a tight coil with pliers and use the pliers to hold it securely. Make sure you wrap it with the inked side facing inwards.
4. heat it for about 20 seconds (or until it shrinks and holds it shape.)
5. Use your fab new beads on your next jewelery project!

Here are the earrings I made:

My kids loved making these too. I precut the strips and let them color and wrap them. The held the pliers while I used the heat gun. Please supervise young children when doing this craft 🙂