Making clay beads at home is not difficult if you have a desire to create various accessories with your own hands. Prepare the necessary tools and material and get to work.
It is necessary
clay, toothpicks, paints, fishing line
Instructions
Step 1
You will need polymer clay in briquettes, ceramic paints, brushes, thin sticks for making holes in beads and applying a volumetric pattern (toothpicks can be used for the same purpose).
Cover the table on which you will work with oilcloth. Prepare a bowl of water, napkins, or a towel. Take the clay, rinse it thoroughly with your hands, then beat it off for 8-10 minutes. If the clay is well mixed, it will be easy to work with.
Step 2
Roll a thin rope out of the clay and cut it into small pieces of equal size. From these pieces, form beads of different or identical shapes, depending on your desire and imagination. String each bead on a toothpick or stick in order to fix the holes inside them.
Step 3
Now proceed with the embossed patterns. To do this, also use toothpicks, and to apply a pattern of even circles on the surface of the beads, you can take the top of the rod from a ballpoint pen.
After applying the pattern, put the beads in a dry place. It will take two to three days for the clay to dry well.
Step 4
After three days, the beads must be burned. The packaging of the clay indicates whether it is suitable for firing at home (in a gas or electric oven). Preheat the oven to one hundred and seventy degrees, put the beads on a baking sheet, but do not remove the toothpicks.
Step 5
Check the clay packaging first for the optimal firing time. Once you take the beads out of the oven, paint can be applied to them. To do this, string the bead on a new toothpick (those that were in them earlier burn during firing, as a result of which only a hole remains) and carefully paint over from all sides. Place each bead in small plastic cups with toothpicks to dry. If you need to apply an additional coat of paint or a pattern over the paint, be sure to wait until the first coat is completely dry.
Step 6
After all the beads you painted have dried, start stringing. Take fishing line or a strong thin thread as a base. Be sure to secure the ends of the beads.
