Much Belated Paper Bead Update

I was scrolling through some of my past posts and came upon the one about paper beads. I described the paper beads as being somewhat water repellent due to the clear acrylic coat I put on them. Well it turns out they are a bit more resilient than I anticipated!

This summer I made a simple paper bead bracelet for myself. I enjoyed it for about a month before accidentally leaving it in pocket. And as things go when one leaves things in pockets they end up taking a trip in the washing machine. After discovering what I had done to my bracelet I was pleased to see the bracelet was more or less intact. The beads seemed to have lost some of their pigment and were less shiny but overall the bracelet was still wearable. I probably should have tried to put another topcoat on the top after the washing machine incident but as it usually goes I forgot about it. Until my bracelet got washed a second time.

SHOOT!

That my friends is when the beads started to noticeably degrade, we experienced some major unraveling and the hemp became quite frayed. For as many times as I've washed and dried other things left in pockets - lip balm being the main culprit, which is a whole other can of worms - I never seem to learn my lesson. So ruined bracelets and oily spots on clothing still aren't enough to get me to remember to check my pants pockets before I chuck them into the laundry bin.

The pictures of my bracelet are pre-washing. I'll have to make another for this summer.