Expert: MaryAnn F. Kohl - 11/12/2003

Question
Hello.  My daughter and I have been trying to make bendable/flexible "beads" by cutting pieces of plastic tubing and gluing various decorative materials (wrapping paper, contact paper) over them.  We want them to be flexible because my daughter has low muscle tone;  we are going to thread them onto curvy straws for table or other decorations.  

We are having some problems choosing the right way to go about this because we can't always get the paper to stay glued on.  Do you know if there's a better material/fabric to glue onto the tubing?  Or, is there a better base to use instead of plastic tubing?  We looked at some nylon sleeving at a surplus store, but I didn't think material would stick as well to it.

I realize I may not have explained this question clearly, so please feel free to ask me questions about the situation.  Any help you provide would be appreciated.  

Answer
Hi, Any. This is a bit out of my area...but I'm thinking that if you use scraps of adhesive contact paper, you will have excellent results. Also, I think that mixing some white glue and water (Elmer's glue), and then "painting on" scraps of colorful art tissue paper will be lovely. It dries quickly and sticks easily.

My email is:
MaryAnn@b rightring.com
Feel free to write me some more questions about this if you like.

MaryAnn Kohl
author of art books
www.brightring.com