How-to-make-beads-from-Polymerclay

2011-04-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

This is how I make the Mini Roses. The main idea is to make the blend sheet and shape it into petal cane. You can make a regular Skinner blend for this project, I just like how the the colors bend together, this way.

First, I cut strips of 1"x3" clay. Then make a blend sheet as shown. The things that I put on my Pasta machine are homemade sheet reducer. I made them from scrap clay in various sizes. The idea is to be able to control the size of the clay sheet. (Because you will fold the sheet in half and run it through, the sheet will spread and we don't want that to happen).

Fold the blend sheet in half, squeeze the sheet side way together and run it through the pasta machine. One by one I add the sheet reducer until I get the strip of clay to the size that I want. In this case, about 2" wide.

As you know, there is the other way to get the strip like this, but I just like it this way. Notice that I only use a small strips of clay. I don't like to make big canes, I feel out-of-control. :)

Cut the strip of clay in to 5 pieces and stack them as shown. Cut off both ends of the stack and squeeze each end till it pointed. Now you will get a log or a cane. Reduce the cane and shape it into a petal shape. Cut out several petal, 10 for each flower.

Stretch one of the petal out and roll it on to the small knitting needle to make the base for the flower. Make it plump like a pear shape. Then stick the petals on the base. Don't push the petals together, make them stick together lightly, that way the flower will look light and airly just like fresh flower. 4 petals inside and 5 on the outside and make the outside a bit lower than the inside row.

Add sepals and small stem with green clay.

2010-10-08T11:40:00.000-07:00

Auction for Ada - Round two

More information, visit www.silastones.blogspot.com
Thanks

2010-09-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

Auction for Ada

I am running an Auction for my daughter, Ada for 2 weeks starting on Saturday, September 25th, 2010 till Friday, October,8th, 2010. Please check out my other blog for more details.

2010-05-31T16:55:00.000-07:00

CUTE AS A BUTTON RING

I am re-thinking the way I do my work. I get bored easily so to do things over and over is not my cup of tea, but when it's time to do shows, I need a lot of goodies to fill up the table. So I decided to try this method. Nothing new, I am not re-invent the wheel, just different way to work. So I made rings out of some wire. (I will show you how later, I promise) Then made a round base, covered with some canes then insert the ring into it. You can use store bought ring blank, the one with round base. Here's how.

Materials

Black clay, ring base, several canes, copper mesh, circle cutter and plastic wrap.

1. Make rings from wire.

2. Run 2 sheets of black clay at thickest on PM. put on top of each other, cut out w/ cutter. Make several of those.

3. Cut small pieces of copper mesh, put them on top of the discs.

4. Run another sheet of black clay at thickest, cut out w/ round cutter. Put them on top of the copper mesh, press lightly make sure it stick together.

5. Put plastic wrap on top of each disc, cut out w/ round cutter, bake for 10 minutes.

6. Prepare the canes sheet, make sure they are big enough to cover the disc. Cover the discs with them, trim the edge, then decorate with other canes or what ever you want. Bake.

7. Turn the disc up side down, carve the deep channel with carving tool, deep enough that the ring can be embedded into it. Cover the channel with some clay. Press the ring into it, then cover with more clay, bake and put varnish on them.

If you have the ring blank with round base on it, just carve the circle out of the back to embedded the ring in it. The possibility is endless, you can make different shapes too.

Enjoy.

2010-05-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

Round beads with Chinese word in the middle

I bought the Metal stamps with Chinese word on them a while back from somewhere I can't remember (Sorry). They are not as big as I expected but using them this way might work out fine.

So, what you need is some Black Clay, stamps, plastic wrap, texture tool, copper mica powder, clear varnish..

1. Make a sheet of black clay. Run it through the thickest setting on PM.

2. Stamp the words on to the clay. Leave enough space in between words

3. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap over clay. This way when you cut out with the round cutter, the wrap will round up the edge of the cut out pieces.

4.Press the cutter lightly on the wrap, enough to see if the word will be in the center, then press the cutter down.

5. Peel off the wrap, and excess clay.

5. Texture the discs lightly if you want then cover the surface with copper mica powder. Apply it with your finger so it only stick to the surface, not in the words. Baked.

6. Prepare the base clay for beads. Make a round shape clay about the size of your thumb., press down to almost flat. press a disc on both sides, make sure they line up at the middle. This might need a few practice. Press the discs down between your finger, like so.

7. Make texture with a needle tools, then bake. After that, put a few coats of varnish on the disc. Mica powder do rubbed off through time.

I made a few beads and a flat disc with one side. Those I will use to make rings.

Don't forget to check out my project with "Ring a day" group on Flickr. We have to make one ring each day for a year (365 totals) and post the picture on Flickr.

2010-03-30T21:19:00.000-07:00

Square Flower Beads

I always looking for the way to use scrap clay. I don't have much because I don't make a lot of canes. Sometime my friends just gave it to me.

Now that we all know how to make flower canes, let's put them to good use. I also make some simple leave cane and tiny flower canes in different colors.

1. Cut small pieces from scrap clay pile, roll it into a log about 1 cm. in diameter and about 6" long. You can make it longer and bigger. I like to make smaller size beads. Twisted the log till you get a nice pattern.

2. Cut thin slides off the canes.

3. Put the can slides on to the log, either in random or in pattern. No need to cover the whole log. Press them down lightly. With both hands, roll the log back and forth till the slides blend into the log. Try not to stretch the log too much. You can press it inward while rolling.

4. Cut the log into 1" pieces. First pinch both ends down, then press the middle part down so it turn into a puffy square shape. Adjust the shape accordingly.

5. Poke the whole and bake.

Sometime I used a few solid color clay, roll them into fat snakes and make a log, then added the scrap clay. Add translucent clay will give some dimension to the background. Also make sure you have some flowers on both side of the beads.

I like this flat square and flat round beads because I use them to make bracelets and ankle bracelets. The flat bead will lay flat against the skin, make it more comfortable to wear than the round bead.

I am sure you have your own flower canes you can use for this project.

Happy claying :)

2009-12-12T20:49:00.000-08:00

Ebay auction - benefit Ada starts today. We received more than 80 items donated from Polymer clay artists around the world. Kathy Stuart had finally put some of them on Ebay today. Thanks Kathy. There will be more to come but check out www.ebay.com and put "benefit Ada" in a find box.

2009-11-24T18:01:00.000-08:00

Star - Christmas Ornament

I bought a necklace a while ago that has 2 star shape pendants, one gold, one silver. It has a face impression on it and the idea came after I made the snowmen; to put a hat on it.

1. Make a mold using 2 part epoxy mold

2. Using 2 sheet of white clay running at the thickest setting, put the pendant on top of the clay and cut around it.

3. Press the clay into the mold, using texture tools to make texture on the back.

4. Take the clay out, trim, and bake.

5. Using a small piece of wire, bend one end then insert a small white ball on there. The wire will help secure the ball to stay on top of the hat. Cut out 2 triangle from red clay and cut a strip of white clay about 3/4" x 3".

6. Wrap the red clay around the top part of the star, insert the white ball on the top, wrap the strip of white clay around the red, tuck in the seam, then texture the hat with needle tool of you choice.

7. Bake and decorate as will. You can use paint or glitter. I was using the diamond dust w/ glue. Rhinestone and crystal can be use to decorate the hat too. Enjoy.

Here are more ideas. Rhinestones on the left and Colts Hat on the right. make one with your favorite football color.

2009-11-17T21:49:00.000-08:00

Holiday Jar

I love baby food jar, they are cute. Just the right side to keep beads and things in there. Here's how I covered the lid with a holiday theme.

1. Clean the lid and roll out a sheet of clay, White or Red.

2. I am using a mushroom that I made, also cut a piece of wire about 3", curl up one end. The wire will hold the mushroom in place.

3. Put the lid on clay and cut around it, like so.

4. Poke the wire through the clay before covering the lid, smooth the top and side, make sure there is no air bubble.

5. With Gleen clay, roll out small balls, make them into leaf shape, flatten slightly. With needle tool, draw several veins on the leaf. Stick the leaves around the lid.

6. With White & Red clay, make a twisted snake. Roll out tiny balls, stick 3 of then on to each leaf. Now you have holy leavf with berries. Isn't it cute?

7. Squeeze enough liquid clay on the top of the lid, sprinkle with glitter. I used the thing called Crystal dust. It is the tiny glass flake used by the florist. Squeeze a drop of liquid clay near the wire, put the mushroom through the wire. Liquid clay and wire will help stable the mushroom. Bake and enjoy.

Here are some more ideas.

2009-11-11T12:18:00.000-08:00

Making of the Snowman

I made these snowman beads a few years back. They are so cute for the festive earrings. They are about 1" tall. Don't wait till Christmas Eve when you decide to make them. I am so good this year, I even finished making my Christmas cards. Hum... may be I will show you how I draw and paint my card later. It was fun, but let's start with these Snowman.

1. Clean your Pasta machine and roll out a sheet of white clay. I used the small round Kemper tools to cut out 3 different size pieces. Roll them into balls and stack them together.

2. With small round cutter, make 2 small balls from Red clay. Flatten one to make bottom of the hat, flatten the other one lightly to make the top.

3. Make 3 thin snakes from Red, Green and Gold clay, twisted them together, roll into tiny, tiny rope. Wrap a piece around the hat.

4. Make 2 small balls from Green clay, stick them on the belly.

5. Roll 2 tiny Brown clay to make eyes, then a tiny piece of Orange to make a nose.

6. Make tiny scarf with a strip of Red, Green and Brown clay. Bake and enjoy.

2009-10-08T18:23:00.000-07:00

Fall Color Acorn from Fall Color Clay

Leaves are changing color and I was sitting at my clay table, not sure what to make. I had picked up a few brown acorns from neighbor's yard and want to make some out of clay but the color is so dull. I started mixing some dark-grey color into some orange and it came out really nice. Bad thing is I've never keep tract of my color mixing, just kept adding till I get it right.

1. Roll out a piece of clay into a ball then roll one side till you get a nice cone shape, put texture on it, lightly. Bake for a short time till the surface gets firm. ( I will show you my texture tool and how to make it later)

2. Make a small ball from darker color, flatten it then put it on top of the cone. This will be a cap so we need to texture it. I was using Kemper tool No. K24. Pressing the pointed tip around the cap.

3. Make a small ball to represent stem, bake.

4. White wash the acorn with white acrylic paint that has been dilute with water.

Some ideas: cute earrings with some kinna fall color leaves, or a pin with acorns dangling from it. I might try Rub n' Buff on it. Siver or golden acorn, sound good isn't it?

Cute acorn earrings with copper leaves.

2009-09-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

FLOWER EARRINGS
Now that I have a few canes made, I had so much fun coming up with the way to use them. Earrings are fun to make because it is fast and easy and sell well.
1. Cut out 4 slides from leaf cane. You can cut 2 thick one but I like mine puffy.
2. Put a small piece of clay in between 2 leaves, close the edge by pressing it with your fingers.
3. Poke a hole on the top, set aside.
4. Now we are going to make like a head pin with clay. First cut 2 pieces of wire of your choice. I used copper wire. Bend it down like so. Roll a scrap clay into a ball then press the wire in it. Now you can use any color scrap clay or using slides from the cane that is not so perfect. Set them aside. Make 2 more using the color that match the flower cane.
5. Now we are going to make flower. Cut 2 fairly thick slides from flower cane. You can stretch them if they are too small. Cut 1/2 way through the slides. Wrap it around the headpin in a way that it spiral up the wire.
6. Wrap some green color cane around the stem. Bake.
7. Using the clay covered headpins to make the loop on top of each leaf and flower.
8. Put them on ear wire of your choice.
There are so many way to use the cane. Hope you have fun with them.

2009-09-24T15:43:00.001-07:00

PINK FLOWER NECKLACE

This is the slide show of how I put my necklace together. I used the flower canes that I made and came up with different variety of beads. Using the scrap or left over to make accents beads, you will get matching beads to help pull the design of the necklace together. I used copper wire to make those small flowers and wrapped the together.

The finished necklace is not the same as the original design shown here. The way the second bead was hanging is not quite right.

I have a few more details to add to the necklace. Hope you get the idea.

2009-09-17T10:43:00.000-07:00

EASY FLOWER CANES

I used to wine about I don't like to make cane. I think it is because I was afraid to make mistake and made some not so perfect cane that I can't stand to look at. This flower cane method is easy (for me) and I get the same result every time. My friend, Jackie, sent me a box of scrap clay. I sort through it and found a small stack of white layers clay between brown clay. I played with it and came up with the idea of using skinner blend log instead of white clay. And here it is.

1. Roll out a sheet of skinner blend. There are many combination you can choose from. Keep one end white and other end dark. For example; white- yellow,-orange, or, white-pink,-red or white-fuchsia-purple. Since the dark color will be in the middle of the cane, make the sheet with more light color than dark. My log is about 1/2" dia. and 6" long.

2. Cover the log with Brown or Black thin sheet of clay

3. Press the log down and even the size. Keep it within 1" wide, until you can put it through the pasta machine at the thickest setting. (I am using Imperia and it might be a tad bigger than most). Cut in 1/2 and stack on top of each other. Cut into 3" pieces and cut in 1/2 lengthwise.

4. Roll a tiny snake with Brown clay, fill the gap on the top of each section with it (see the picture). This will help round up the top of the petals.

5. Squeeze the other end together, then start to put each petal section together. Fill the gap of each section with a tiny snake clay like before.

6. Stack the petal sections into a round, donut shape, fill the middle with some left over cane. I like the simple jelly roll with lots of color. Gently squeeze the flower cane so all the sections came together. That's all. Now you have a cute and easy flower cane.

I used these canes for many different way and I will show you how to use these cane to make cute earrings soon. Thanks for watching. Any question or comments are greatly appreciated.

2009-09-16T15:07:00.000-07:00

EASY LEAF CANE
1. make a big sheet of skinner blend from GREEN, YELLOW and WHITE. Rolled it into a bull's eye with the Green inside and white outside.
2. Wrapped it up with a thin sheet of Brown clay. You can use Black if you like. My jelly roll is about 1/2" Dia. x 10" long.
3. Flatten it between your fingers, then pressed it down with the brayer, trying to keep it the width at the same size till it is thin enough to pass through the pasta machine at the thickest setting.
4. Roll it through the pasta machine. You will get a long thin noodle like sheet. Cut in in half or in a manageable size.
5. Cut the noodle into 3" strips, then cut them lengthwise in the middle.
6. Now cut a piece of thin sheet from a brown clay about 1/2"x 3". This will be the stem.
7. Squeezed one end to make a point.
8. Squeezed the open end of the leaf sections, the one that show green clay, leave the other end round as it is.
9. Lay the vein section and one leaf section together, like so.
10. Stack up the other leaf section, overlap each other a little bit.
11. Now be patient and lay the rest of the leaf sections on the other side, try to match them as best as you can.
12. Squeezed the canes lightly but try to retain the shape of the leaf. Reduced as needed. Easy, isn't it.
From the same technique, I will show you how to make cute flower cane with it. Please come back in a couple of days.
What do you think?

2009-09-03T11:38:00.000-07:00

Shell Texture earrings

This is not a new technique but since I have not written any tutorial for a while, it is kinna rusty. Ada's friend went to Florida and picked up a bag full of broken shells. These shells have rich texture from getting beat up by the weave, sand and time. I made molds out of them and start using them for texture.

After baking I painted them with acrylic paint (yellow Ochre). Using my finger, I dabbed on the paint and pressed on to the pieces lightly, so the only raised part will cover with paint and the groove will not. First paint it with paint that has been mixed with a little bit of water, then added with almost dry paint. You will get more depth that way.

With Black clay, I was using rub&buff (Amaco) and it picked up the details real well.

Hope you like them.

2007-12-17T21:59:00.000-08:00

PENDANT 101

Many have asked me to show how I made my pendant. Hidden Magic or what ever you want to call it, here's how.

I was using Barbara McGuire's rubber stamp sheet as usual. I always get the best result because the stamp has deep groove, perfect for this technique.
I hope it is clear and easy enough for you to try and make your own.
I will finish the necklace and will post on my other blog www.silastones.blogspot.com
Enjoy.

Now the question about the copper mesh sheet. My pendant is quite big and flat, sometime i can bend it after baking so I was afraid that it might snap. (Bend& Snap; you get it, right) So I put the copper mesh in between as a reinforcement for the pendant. Any thin mesh sheet will do. I just have copper mesh . Also the Fun wire is good for reinforce the part that sticking out or a loop. Fun wire is the flexible wire covered with plastic, so it bake right into the clay.

Another mistakes that I made were sometime, after covered the color sheet with black clay, I cannot tell which side was the front side , or with the round pendant, I cannot tell which way the skinner blend was going. A small mark on the black clay would not hurt.

Instead of Skinner blend sheet, you can put layers of clay instead, so you will get Mokume gane effect on your pendant. Look up our French clayers, they have different way to play with this technique. And you, yes you, don't be afraid to try something new, something different and don't forget to share. :)

One more thing. Before you start shaving the raised parts, let the pendant sit for a while after stamping. It will be easier to cut if you let the clay firm up a bit, or put it in the fridge for a while if you cannot wait that long. I kept my studio cool, because, as a woman with Menopause, I always feel warm and I have cold hand (with warm heart, of course).

The Skinner blend sheet has been through the Pasta machine at the thickest setting. My PM thickest might be thicker than most. I am using Imperia PM, that's why put 2 sheets together to make sure I have enough clay to shave off. Run Black and White sheet seperately through the thinnest setting, then put them together and run back through PM again. Depend on what kind of PM you are using, you might try to run them through the secon thinnest setting.

2007-07-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

HOW TO MAKE A NECKLACE

2007-06-30T15:30:00.000-07:00

Polymer clay beads - using 5 colors clay

2007-06-12T13:32:00.001-07:00

STEP #1 Roll balls of clay in different color. I use Gold will be use for accent color only because it is so soft.

Step #2 With pasta machine, roll a sheet of Black, cut it in half. Roll a sheet of White, then put it between 2 sheets of Black, press down lightly. Cut thin slides from the stack, wrap the ribbon around the beads.

Step #3 Cut some of the Black&White ribbon into small pieces, stick them on the beads, in pattern or randomly. Roll each ball lightly to press the ribbon or small pieces down.

STEP #4 Make a small snake of clay, cut into tiny little pieces, roll them into small little balls and flatten them with your fingernail. Stick that flat circle on to the ball. Like so.

STEP #5 See how many different way you can use those Black&White ribbons, and the tiny polka dots.

STEP #6 Add more details with tiny dots and tiny snake of Gold or contrast color. For example, put white dot on black dot. Like so.

I press the beads down lightly in the picture.

Here are one of the finished bracelet. I strung the beads on the stretchy cord with a copper spacer beads.

I wonder how many different beads I can make for just using 5 color clay. What do you think? Up to the challenge, anyone?

2007-05-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

SKINNER BLEND GANE
Here is a twist from Dominique's extruded clay technique. Roll out the skinner blend jellyroll until it was about 5 mm in Dia. Cut in to 4-5 pieces, lay them next to each other, with a brayer, press down lightly until it flat.
With a stamp sheet of your choice, stamp on the clay, make sure you get a good, deep impression. With the thin blade, slice off the relief portions to reveal the colors underneath. Isn't that surprisingly pretty?
Don't forget the keep the scrap clay and make the matching beads for your pieces. Enjoy ;-)

2007-05-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

2007-05-24T19:13:00.000-07:00

LAVA BEADS

I mixed the caramel color clay with some gold and a little bit of glitter. Roll it into a ball. Push as many rock salt pieces (Morton-ice cream salt) into the ball. Textured with my favorite texture tools. Baked and put them in the water until all the salt get dissolved.
I dabbed the Burnt Amber oil paint on the surface of the beads to make it look darker and shinny. That's it, really. They look really cool.

2007-05-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

2007-05-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

HOW TO MAKE A FRAME FOR THAT THING

You probably have a piece of clay that is small but so pretty and you don't know what to do with it. Why not bake a piece, put a frame around it and turn it into a pendant. All we need are 2 sheets of clay, running through the thickest setting on PM and that special piece of clay just like I have here..

2007-05-07T13:29:00.000-07:00

Lay the design piece, face down, on top of the small sheet of black clay. With the blade or an x-acto knife, cut around the piece. Carefully lift both pieces up.

2007-05-07T13:26:00.000-07:00

Trim the top part of the frame to the thickness you want. This is important because this top part can not be adjust later. The other three sides are adjustable and can be trimmed for smaller or larger size or even the different shape.

2007-05-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

Lay the second piece of Black clay on top of the frame, press lightly then carefully flip it over.

2007-05-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

Put the design sheet back in the frame, press it down and adjust the side accordingly.

2007-05-07T13:21:00.000-07:00

Trim the sides and the bottom as shown.

2007-05-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

Turn the pendant around so you can work on the top part. Trim the side of the top as shown, then cut the very top part in angle. With knitting needle as a guide, roll up the strip until it touch the edge, press down lightly or glue them together with TLS.

2007-05-07T13:04:00.000-07:00

Here's the finished pendants. You can lift the design sheet off and dab some TLS on the backing and then bake. You can also add the texture to the frame and baked. Then use Rub&Buff to make it looks like Metal frame, or regular sand and buff will do.
Remember you can trim the sides and the bottom part , so you can cut them into curves, poke a hole or 2 or 3 so you can dangle some more beads. Embellish it as will. :)

2007-05-03T16:31:00.000-07:00

This is how I make my , "Cherry Blossom" texture plates. Roll a sheet of clay at the thickest setting om the Pasta machine, Fold in half. I like red because it is easy for me to keep my texture plates together in one pile. :) Trim to the size you want. This one is about 2"x3".

The tools I use are the Leather texture tools. I borrowed them from my friend and never returned them. So I put them to the good uses. (Be careful if you ever lend me something, I even dog-sitting for my friend and did not return the dog to her.) Also I use Ball point stylus, knitting needle, screw driver, and what ever I can find around my table that looks interesting. LOL :0

Make a sketch to see where the arrengement is going to look like. At this point I put the clay on a square ceramic tile so I can move it around.Stamp the big flowers first, keep the distance between those flowers by following the sketch.
Stamp the big flowers first, keep the distance between those flowers by following the sketch.
Keep adding more details with those tools and stylus.
I roll the Micro Beads pen over the top to give it a nice texture.
It's look pretty good at this point.

2007-05-03T16:16:00.000-07:00

Just trim the edge and baked.

Now, if you don't want to make it yourself, Just email me. I sell them for $8.00 and each one is different. :) Some lucky people already have their. Thank you, guys. You can make a nice pendant with it. Just split it with water and put the sheet of clay on the top, press it down with your finger, then carefully lift the clay up. I used Metalic powder on the pendant.

Happy claying.

2007-04-30T12:28:00.000-07:00

HOW TO USE BEAD ROLLER

This is the way I measure the amount of clay to make beads. It is easier and faster than using the measuring device that comes with the packages

First. a Tri Bead Roller, of course. Second the clay of your choice. Third, a set of circle cutter from Wilton. You can get it at the local craft store in the cake decoration section. It is about $3.oo. We will use the smallest cutter.

Next roll out the sheet of clay at 2nd thickness on the pasta machine. I use Imperia Pasta machine. Keep in mind that different pasta machine has different setting.

Fold the sheet in half, use a roller to press the sheet together.

With the small circle cutter, cut out a piece of clay, roll it to a round shape, then roll it in the bead roller. You should get the perfect, or near perfect shape of beads as shown.

I also use this clay unit for bigger bead roller set. Some require 2 or 3 units. You might need to adjust the thickness accordingly, or find other shape of cutter that will get the same result as mine. The circle cutter I use is 1.5 cm. Diameter.

2007-02-27T12:08:00.000-08:00

The BUBBLE Beads - Tutorial
1 Black sheet at the thinnest setting on PM.
1 Green sheet at the thinnest setting on PM.
2 Red sheets at the thickest setting.
1 homemade texture plate.

Put Red on top of Red and green on top of Black. Run black-green sheet through thinnest setting.

Trim black-green sheet, then lay on top of red. With the roller, press it down. Make sure there is no bubble between the sheets.

Lay the whole sheet on top of texture plate, Black side down. Press firmly using thumb and index finger. (Note: Lightly coat the plate with Baby Powder for easy release. Also you can lift up the corner and peek to see if you have enough indentation on the sheet. Be gentle!)

Carefully peel the sheet off the texture plate and trim the side. I put it on the piece of acrylic so I can turn it around while working with it. With the thin Blade, carefully shave off the bubble one by one. Save the cut-off for the later use. (Be sure to handle them gently because we are going to use all of them later)

Carefully and carefully shave off the black bubbles!

Now that you shave off all the black bubbles , stick some of the left over pieces to the sheet to fill up the gap. Isn't it prrrrretty? Use the roller to smooth them out.

Roll the finished sheet over the base bead.

Carefully hide the seam by using the end knitting needle to blend the black clay together until it smooth. You can use any tool you want, but the knitting needle works for me. Patch the seam with the cut-out pieces. Roll the piece back and forth until it is smooth, then put the end cap on.

Roll out the small base beads, stick the cut out pieces on the beads. There, you have it, matching beads with your pendants.

Poke the holes and bake. They look a lot nicer after sanding and polishing.

Try it.

Have fun. :)

2006-12-29T13:13:00.000-08:00

MOGUME GANE TUTORIAL

MOGUME GANE - Step#1

Roll out several sheets of different colors, cut them into 1"x2" pieces.

2006-12-29T13:12:00.000-08:00

MOGUME GANE - Step#2
Roll each piece at the thinnest setting on the pasta machine, stack them and press lightly with the roller.

2006-12-29T13:11:00.002-08:00

MOGUME GANE -Step#3
Roll the whole sheet through the pasta machine at the second thinness setting, cut it in half. You can make another piece using the reverse color. Do not roll it at the thinnest setting because the colors will blend into each other.

2006-12-29T13:11:00.001-08:00

MOGUME GANE - Step#4

2006-12-29T13:04:00.000-08:00

MOGUME GANE - Step#5
Place the Pink log at one end, roll it tightly until it turns into a log.

2006-12-29T13:03:00.002-08:00

MOGUME GANE - Step#6
With a sharp blade, slide off small pieces of clay.

2006-12-29T13:03:00.001-08:00

MOGUME GANE - Step#7

2006-12-29T13:02:00.000-08:00

MOGUME GANE - Step#8
Slide off at random patterns. Keep those small pieces so you can make beads later.

2006-12-29T13:01:00.000-08:00

MOGUME GANE - Step#9
Push both ends in with your fingers and roll the log until it becomes a round, smooth surface again. Keep sliding off more thin sheets. You can slide it off at the same place or just randomly slide it. You will never get the same pattern.

2006-12-29T13:00:00.001-08:00

MOGUME GANE - Step#10
After pushing, rolling and sliding for about 3 times.

2006-12-29T12:58:00.000-08:00

MOGUME GANE - Step#10

After pushing, rolling and sliding for about 10 times, this is what it looks like. The more you slide, the more rings of color you get.

At this point I would roll it to the shape that I like, poke a hole,bake, sand and buff. Well, you know all the routines.

2006-12-27T18:33:00.000-08:00

BUMPY BEADS TUTORIAL
BUMPY BEADS-STEP#1

You will need: several black beads 12mm., Jelly Roll cane of your choice, with black clay on the outside, knitting needle, texture tool. I covered the handle of bead reamer with double stick tape (the orange kind) and covered it with the Micro Beads. Roll the cane until it gets about 3mm in diameter, then slide it to about 1mm thick pieces. Do not slide them too thin.

2006-12-27T18:32:00.002-08:00

BUMPY BEADS -STEP#2

Stick the black bead on to the knitting needle, with the texture tool, roll it on the surface of the beads as shown. No salt is needed. You know, usually you roll the bead onto the salt to texture it, bake and then wash off the salt.

You can also texture the bead by rolling it onto the sand paper. I prefer the random pattern I get from my microbeads tool.

2006-12-27T18:32:00.001-08:00

BUMPY BEADS-STEP#3

Texture the whole surface of the black bead.

2006-12-27T18:31:00.000-08:00

BUMPY BEADS-STEP#4

Stick the jelly roll slides on to the black beads.

2006-12-27T18:30:00.000-08:00

BUMPY BEADS-STEP#5

Lightly press all the slides onto the beads, bake and enjoy. Yum-yum.

2006-12-06T11:04:00.000-08:00

Here's how to make rings

This is how I make my rings. I used 16 gauge silvered wire. Wrapping it around ring mandrel, or what ever you can find around the house, 3 times. The wire is quite soft and easy to bend. You can use Sterling silver wire if you want. It probably looks better but a lot more expensive. Curl both ends up and tie the top part with smaller gauge wire. Roll a thumb size ball from Black clay and push it down to the ring. With a pea-size ball of clay, cover the back of the ring. Smooth and reshape the ball. Let the clay sit for a while to firm up. Decorated it with what ever you want. Have fun!

2006-12-03T10:37:00.001-08:00

EVERGREEN KISSING BALL TUTORIAL
These are my latest Holiday Beads (12-02-06). It looks like evergreen Kissing Balls to me. Just a new twist from my previous Christmas beads.

2006-12-03T10:36:00.002-08:00

Roll out the tiny snakes of clay using different shades of green. I mixed these colors myself. Just mix green with white a little bit at a time. Donna Kato has a container full of different colored clays like this with her at CHA-06. I just borrowed her idea.

2006-12-03T10:36:00.001-08:00

Combine all those tiny snakes together, roll and twist. Cut out about 3/4 inch off, then roll it as shown in the picture. Roll a lot of those. You will need about 15-18 of those per ball.

2006-12-03T10:35:00.000-08:00

I then roll a ball from Green clay, one by one, start putting those curly-q pieces on the green bead until it's covered up. Roll the bead between the palm of your hands, press lightly and there you have it. Each one will be different. Then I will decorate them with small holy leaves and tiny red berries as shown in the picture.
Now you know how I made my Flower Topiary Beads.

2006-11-08T16:00:00.000-08:00

This is the tutorial for making the RAKU Style beads (my way) using Polymer Clay. I would appreciate it very much if you could leave a comment at the end of the lesson.

2006-11-08T11:16:00.000-08:00

Raku bead
These are basic materials I use to make my Raku (look-alike) beads. First is the black Fimo clay. Black seems to work better than brown or purple.
Second is the Fimo Metallic powder or pulver. The colors are very intense and a little bit of it goes a long way. Third is the Perfect Pearls from Ranger. I use Forever Green, Berry Twist, Turquoise, Forever Violet and Perfect Copper (because I only had $20 at that time I bought them). Each set of powder gives out the different effect. The forth one is the Varnish that I use because you have to put the Varnish on these beads.

2006-11-08T11:13:00.000-08:00

To make the base bead, I use Black Fimo clay, half classic and half soft because the soft is too soft. I roll the clay into the sheet with the pasta machine. With a small, round cookie cutter, I cut out the pieces. This way I will be able to make the same size beads. First, roll it into round shape and flatten it with your fingers. You can stamp the clay, make it into cube or any shape you want. Then poke a hole through it because you do not want to touch these beads as much once the Matellic powder was put on.

Fimo Metallic Powder

2006-11-08T10:59:00.000-08:00

I put the powder on the paint tray. I also mixed 2 colors together to create another color. Red with Blue to make Purple, something like that.
With your finger tip, lightly touch the powder, just enough that you get some on your finger, then touch your finger (with powder) on to the clay, once. Just dabbing, no rubbing or pressing. The clay will grab the powder out of your finger tip. This might take a little practice. Also, do not use brush or q-tip. It will not work with this technique. For example, if you use brush, the powder will get into the groove of the stamped bead. We just try to put it on the surface.

2006-11-08T10:52:00.000-08:00

The first row are the step-by-step pictures of how each powder should be added to the black beads. Be careful to clean your finger after each color and do not put them on top of each other and do not blend (at this point).

The second row are the beads after ALL the colors were put on, then you can press the powder on to the bead (with your finger tips, do not roll with your palms) and lightly blend. Lightly!

Perfect Pearls

2006-11-08T10:46:00.000-08:00

The Perfect Pearls Powder is being used here. The pink (Berry Twist) will change the color to purplelish-blue. I don't know why but it looks really pretty. The Copper color is awesome too. I am sure you will get different effect from different color combination.

2006-11-08T10:45:00.000-08:00

The top row are the beads that were covered with FIMO Metallic Powder and the bottom row are the beads that were covered with PERFECT PEARLS from Ranger. These beads can now be baked as usual. Do not burn them or bake them too hot. Bake them outside if you can. The Varnish must be put on after that because the powder stick to the surface of the bead only. It will rub off. I usually do 2 coats.