A few weeks ago I taught an art camp for girls ages 8-12.  It was two days of craftastic amazingness including Design your own Canvas Sneakers and Pom Pom Parachute Cord Vases.  We also made these beautiful hand painted  beaded key chains that I am slightly obsessed with.  They are just so pretty and there are so many ways to make them.   It was so much fun to see all the different details each person added to their key chain.  What I love the most about this is the process we used to paint the beads.  Read on to see how we did it.

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First, you’ll need some wood beads.  I got mine at Discount School Supply here.  I absolutely love these.  You get a 1 lb bag and all different shapes.  I also found these round wood beads on Amazon but haven’t tried them yet.  They look great though.  Once you have your beads, you’ll need a skewer, bowl, key ring, suede lace and paint to make the key chains.  I am in love with these tempera cakes that I scored as a hand-me-down a few years ago.  They are a bit pricey but totally amazing and last forever.  The fluorescent colors are gorgeous.  We use them for toddler play group on paper and every painting looks like a masterpiece because the colors are so beautiful together.

Once you have all your materials, slide some wood beads on a skewer, maybe 5 or 6, and lay the skewer across a small bowl or container.  It balances really well from the weight of the beads.

Paint polkadots, stripes, solids, whatever you choose, on each bead.  I like showing the natural color of the bead along with the bright color of the paint.  It gives such a nice feel.

The girls at camp were so focused painting their beads you could here a pin drop, at least for the first five minutes until giggling and joking commenced, after all, it was camp.  I love those silent moments when everyone is 100% engaged, even if they only last a few minutes.

We made all kinds of key chains with our beads inspired by this great project by Alisa Burke.  They all came out so pretty.  The girls added braids, feathers, bows and all kinds of cool details to theirs.  We placed the key rings on the suede lace, ran the beads and other embellishments and tied them at the end.  I just love them.  This is a great summer project and kids of all ages can do the bead painting.  I’ve done it with 4 and 5 year olds too and they loved it.  Thanks for following along and happy keychain making!