Advanced polymer artists combine clay colors before rolling slabs.
Polymer clay is a versatile material for making beaded jewelry. Polymer artists create beads that resemble a wide range of natural materials like ivory, coral and wood. Before baking, polymer clay is soft enough to form into a variety of shapes and emboss with patterns and textures, but becomes quite durable. Tube beads offer a simple project for polymer clay novices.
Instructions
1. Use a dowel to determine the diameter of the hole in your tube bead. Choose dowels with a diameter of 1/4 inch up to 1 inch. Cut a dowel so it is slightly longer than your oven dish. Wrap the dowel in a strip of aluminum foil.
2. Condition the polymer clay by putting it through a pasta machine. Roll it out and fold it over. Decrease the setting on your pasta machine to make thinner beads. Repeat this process 25 times.
3. Roll your conditioned polymer clay to a desired thickness. Use a larger pasta machine setting for chunky beads and a smaller setting for thinner beads.
4. Place your flattened slab of polymer clay on a nonstick work surface. Cut your beads to the desired length with a cutting tool.
5. Wrap a tape measure around the dowel to measure the perimeter of the dowel. Cut your polymer clay to this width.
6. Wrap the clay around the dowel. Trim the width of the clay if necessary. Press the ends of the clay together to form hollow beads around the dowel.
7. Use tools to smooth out the area where the beads come together. Decorate the beads with polymer tools. Use textured objects or needle tools to add surface decorations.
8. Rest the bead-covered dowel on the lip of an oven dish. Preheat the oven to the temperature provided by the polymer clay manufacturer's instructions.
9. Bake the clay according to the manufacturer's directions. Allow the beads to cool.
10. Slide the beads off the dowel. Leave them their original color or paint them with acrylic paint.
