Welcome to my second instructable.

Banded beads are usually made of ceramic or stone. The one shown here are of acetate sheet and paper.

One of my best friend's birthday was round the corner. She loves banded beads. Unfortunately I didn't have time to go to the market and buy banded beads for her! So I made them in about 5 minutes as a gift.

Step 1: Tools and Materials

Tools:
1. Pair of scissors
2. Paint brush (size 02 and 05 recommended)
3. Transparent tape
4. Sand paper (80 grit, the one used to smooth wood)

Materials:
1. Acetate sheet (also known as "OHP sheet" or "Transparency sheet")
2. Drawing paper
3. Acrylic / Fabric paints
4. PVA glue

CAUTION : Be careful with scissors and sandpaper. Follow all the safety precautions while using them.

Step 2: Making the "Body"

Carefully wrap the drawing paper sheet around the paintbrush to make a tube.Once you are done, stick the ends of the paper using PVA glue.

Step 3: Cut the Acetate Sheet

Wrap the acetate sheet around the tube you made in last step

Carefully trim the rest of the sheet, using scissors. Leave a small margin (about half an incha) for pasting.

Step 4: Painting the Bands

Dip your fine brush into the acrylic colors and draw it rapidly across the strip of acetate sheet to make nice bands. Use as many colors as you please. Keep varying the thickness of the bands for that natural look.

Let it dry. With acrylic colors, it should take around 15 minutes.

Step 5: Painting the Background

Once the bands are completely dry, its time to paint the background.

I have used black and white as my background colors. I feel black and whites make other colors look better. You can use any other colors, as per your taste.

Paint the bands of different colors as wide as you want your beads to be. I wanted 1 inch wide beads, so I made the background bands about an inch wide.

Use your bigger brush (No. 5 recommended) to paint over the bands. If some colors merge, dont worry, its all part of the process.

Step 6: Your Name in Bead!

You can write your name in the bead too!!

Just scratch your name in the painted surface of acetate sheet using back of your paint brush! Write your name as it will appear in a mirror, laterally inverted.

Paint over the scrated surface using acrylic color

Step 7: Cutting the Strip

Cut the beads into smaller strips. I wanted to have 1 inch wide beads so, I have made about 1 inch wide strips. This makes it easier to paste the acetate sheet on to the tube we made earlier.

Step 8: Pasting the Painted Sheet on the Tube

Use the clear tape to paste one end of the painted sheet on the tube.
Paste the small piece of painted sheet on this tape.
Roll the sheet around the tube and again use transparent tape to join the ends.
Repeate this for rest of the painted acetate sheet.

Step 9: Trimming the Beads

Trim the tube using scissors. I have made one inch big beads.

Step 10: Sanding the Faces

Rub the flat faces of the beads on sandpaper to make them smooth.
CAUTION : Ensure to follow all the safety percautions while using sandpaper.

Paint on those faces to seal them.