Clay Beads Are Not Clay?
When I mention clay beads, what comes to mind? Maybe going to the store and buying beads like you always have, except they are made of clay instead of crystal, shells, etc.. Perhaps you’ve heard of polymer clay beads or what some call Polyclay. Lets get down to the basics, because we can take the end result of clay beads and use them as pendants, bracelets, earrings, buttons, and we can mold, stamp, tattoo, stain, etc… clay beads to come up with a virtually unlimited amount of colors. In fact, take a look at the background of this blog. It shows the wonderful colors of polymer clay beads.
Actually clay beads are a misnomer. That is because polymer clay has no clay minerals but instead is made up of PVC (polymer polyvinyl chloride) but because you can sculpt it, maneuver, sculpt, and shape the “clay”, it gets its name. Sure, there are some purists who still use natural clay to make beads but for jewelry design purposes, these are few and far between. If you go to a hobby store, you might even run across a brand of polymer clay called Sculpey. I’ve seen molds for cars, miniature sculpted figures, bowls, jars, pendants, bracelets, earrings, and yes, clay beads all come from polymer clay. In fact I made a miniature saddle and stirrups to go on a Peter Stone horse and it turned out great!
Clay Beads – How To Make
In so far as bead making is concerned, you can take polymer clay, sculpt it into a form that you would like. ie for a clay beads or maybe a pendant.
You then cure the polymer clay by baking it usually between 212 degrees and 265 degrees fahrenheit depending on the brand that you’ve purchased. A slight word of warning from experience. Do not overheat or overcook (length of time) this polymer substance. It will not only ruin what you are trying to make but could also release noxious fumes. Follow that up by sanding, buffing, waxing, painting, staining, varnishing, stamping, etc… to get your end result.
Just take a look at the polymer clay earrings below to get an idea of a basic but pretty design. Even simple designs make me understand why I love the hobby of beads and beading.
Polymer Clay Beads Come In A Variety Of Colors
Clay beads can be made in so many different colors, textures, and hues because you can start off with different colors (purchased) of polymer clay. If you would like a transparent look, check out Liquid Sculpey. You can even find glow in the dark modeling clay which is made by Fimo. Polymer clay color sample kits are also sold and about the only way that I can describe the colors are to say that they are very similar to crayons. But what this means is that you can basically start with white, yellow, green, red, etc.. clay, sculpt it the way you want and have less work to do on the backend.
To get the job done right, make sure you have the tools necessary to do the job. This may mean purchasing mold kits and by all means you will need tools to help you sculpt your creations. As you become more advanced, you can look into a bead rolling machine. I say that with one caveat though. If you’ve decided to get your young children involved by either helping you or creating their own jewelry, I recommend foregoing any sharp tools or machinery and instead just let the kids work with their hands. And for adults, yes it will take time to gain the expertise to make clay beads from polymer clay but with practice, determination, the correct tools, and a little bit of ingenuity, you will soon be designing beautiful and unique works of art. And that is why we say it is easy to make clay beads.
