How to … Create Knobs from Little Wooden Beads
With these creations I solved two predicaments; I produced something useful from the accumulated beads for jewellery making and I refurbished a cheap and child-unfriendly looking wardrobe. This particular wardrobe was actually made of dark brown wood with white doors and gray plastic knobs.
I painted the brown cabinet sides with a roller soaked in a strong, gold colour overlay (2 layers) and I refreshed the white door with knobs made from wooden beads. Children like it because they are colorful and comfortable for their little hands.
You need: beads, brush, acrylic paint with a good overlap
Procedure:
- If you have selected unpainted wooden beads, first draw with a pencil some motif, e.g. Boar Bob.
- Place the bead into a cleaned paint cap so that it is easy to keep in place.
- With a solid and thin brush, start applying colours, beginning with the lighter ones first, before moving on to the darker shades.
- Once everything that is coloured on this side of the bead dries out, turn the bead and paint the part that has been resting in the cap.
- Now select all the other one coloured beads and place them on the rope.
Push the rope through the holes in the cabinet door. On the inner side of the door pull both ends through the beads and then tie them in a knot. In this way, the knob will look pretty from both ends. Moreover, the rope will be taut.
P.S.: In the case of a knob that is fixed into a single fitting, e.g. on a standard drawer, and has only one hole, position on the rope just one extra bigger bead. Then push both ends of the rope through a hole in the drawer. On the inner side pull both ends of the rope through the bead and then make a knot.
Creative stop
Choose paints that have strong overlays, such as Marabu Deco lacquer. In this way, the painting will be easier, as by applying only a single coat you will create vivid paintings, able to add tiny details at the end. These paints dry out very quickly.
Boar Bob and his friends have been published in November’s issue of the magazine Pogledi.
This post is also available in: Slovenian