hey i was wondering....when you melt the plastic together, are you just using the heat from the tip of the glue gun or are you actually gluing it together? i getting it a little confused.

I am working in Honduras with a women's group to try and offer ideas for income and I was thinking this would be a great idea, except I have no idea how to do it. Would someone be able to give me a step by step instruction?

do you out the pliers in the hole?

are you using just water bottles?

I love this idea. What a great way to recycle bottles into beautiful beads. I'm trying this!

I have just seen this for plastic bottle beads and it say it is an idea by Verdilak, but I posted the original on Indestructibles first. I also have an idea on called plastic bottle medallions.

I did these with my blowdryer and they turned out great! I can't wait to make more!

wow!! those beads are real pretty...i wanna make em except i don't have a heat gun. is there an alternative that can be used instead?? please help!!

Fantastic fun I wana go make them now but stuck in work groan!

this is such a cool idea! i have a buncha different colored permanent markers and they would be perfect for this!!

I have been looking for recycle craft projects.. Thanks for sharing.. Very generous!

I've been looking for something like this, since i wish to start a business that used recycled goods as jewelry (which i encourage others to do also, to clean up this planet) i was wondering if you mind me using this technique with the items i wish to sell?

this is so cool!!...love it thanks>>:)

much easir way than that, just put them in a pot of boiling water. then when you pull them out just punch a hole thru.

This would be a great way to get beads for a beaded curtain! Glad I found this site and these instructions! I will be a regular!

I learned how to make these from a friend but she used a votive candle to melt the plastic. It works really well. Just don't get it too close to the flame...the bead will catch on fire! But you can just blow it out. Experiment a little and you get the knack in no time! It's fun!

can't wait to try this, my daughter will love it... wonder if it would work with a plastic bag???

I tried it with the blow dryer and it worked. I mean, my bead were not perfectly melted but at least they stayed rolled-up

awesome! that is something i can do!

Hi all...Just discovered this site through Stumbleupon and I am in recycling heaven. I loved this idea as it was close to something I have been thinking off, recycling those pesky plastic drink bottles (I am a diet drink addict!!). Luckily I was just finishing up a bottle and so it didn't even get rinsed, just chopped up. I tried the boiling water method and found I didn't even need to roll the plastic into a bead, 8 times out of 10 it did it in the water on it's own. I will need to experiment a little more but I have just made about 20 beads and it took me less than 2 minutes...the ideas are flowing.

wow! this is a great idea! i think i'll either try the hairdryer or the boiling water cos i too lack a heat gun... wish me luck!

I went ahead and tried this tutorial without the heat gun, and I just boiled some water and rolled up a strip of plastic, and with my oven mitt on, and the pliers holding it (rolled plastic) together, I dipped it into the boiling water for about 10-20 seconds, it doesn't take long at all for the "melting" part. it takes longer to roll them up. :) Good luck!

kewl!!!

i really f***ing (can i say bad words on here?) love this idea. recycled all the way!!!

When I read Toyboxes comment, I lol'd. Outloud. I could see a little khandi girl with a heatgun going "WANT SOME NECKLACES?!?!" Anyways, Im going to try this with boiling water to see if it works. Thanks for the tutorial!

My friend and I made a whole bunch using a lighter. You have to be careful not tu burn the plastic and make it all icky, but it works pretty well. We're using them as an altrernative to kandy to hand out at raves. lighters are way cooler and easier to carry around than a heat gun, too.

:D Wow! i need to try this. I'm wondering if heat guns are sold anywhere? like Walmart? xD

u r brilliant, love ur idea

That is friken sweet. I love it. Now i have to go try it.

Love it! Thanx! What a cool idea. Now off to find some plastic bottles ; )

Thats soooo cool! I'm so gonna try that when I get a chance!

This is AWESOME. I can't wait to try it. As we speak, I'm trying to locate my heat gun. Thanks for posting this!

I don't think I have a heat gun...what else can you use?

Heat guns are fairly cheap. You can pick one up at a craft store with a coupon and get it even cheaper. It's probably in the section with the embossing items. You may be able to use a hairdryer, I haven't tried it yet.

Very cool, I'm making the newspaper beads Rob and Corinne made a while ago right now :) This is a neat alternative. Once I get a hold of a few bottles I'll try it with my hairdryer to see how that works! (I, too, am sans heat gun). Keep it up!

I dn´t have a heat gun , so there would be nice to find an alternative, or else, where do you buy one of those? The bedds look cool though, I guess you could make them out of colored plastic too. I´ll try this out one of these days.

I can already tell that this project is going to get me into trouble!

heat gun, huh? So, would a blow dryer work? is that a dumb question? *ponders* yes, that was probably a dumb question, but still, i'm curious...

...A cool tutorial, turn your plastic into beads and make jewelry. Fun for you, fun for your kids too!...

much easir way than that, just put them in a pot of boiling water. then when you pull them out just punch a hole thru.