How to Make Polymer Clay Beads (6 Easy Styles)

Steps

1. 1. Cut and Knead Polymer Clay Into a Soft Ball

   Cut a square off a block of beige clay with scissors or a blade. Knead it between your fingers until it is warm and soft with no stiff bits left.

   Tip: Cold clay is stiff. Warm the block in your hands or a pocket for a few minutes first.

   

2. 2. Blend Two Polymer Clay Colors Into a New Shade

   Mix your own colors from a starter pack. Press a blue block and a white block together and keep folding and kneading until the streaks disappear and you have an even sky blue.

   Tip: Stop kneading early if you like the marbled look. Partly mixed clay makes great beads.

   

3. 3. Layer Clay Slices for a Striped Polymer Clay Bead

   Cut a blue block and a white block into thin slices of the same thickness. Stack them, alternating colors, so you build a striped brick.

   Tip: Light pressure keeps the stripes crisp. Heavy rolling smears them together.

   

4. 4. Carve a Faceted Polymer Clay Bead From a Cube

   Form a block of clay into a neat cube. Mark the middle of each edge, then mark diagonals between those points.

   Tip: Chill the clay for ten minutes before cutting. Firm clay gives cleaner facets.

   

5. 5. Pierce a Hole Through Each Polymer Clay Bead

   Hold the bead lightly and push a pottery spike or needle tool through the center. Keep the hole as centered as you can so the bead hangs straight on the cord.

   Tip: Push halfway from each side so the exit hole does not tear.

   

6. 6. Bake the Polymer Clay Beads on a Foil Tray

   Preheat the oven to the temperature on your clay packet. Mont Marte clay bakes at 130 C (about 265 F) for 30 minutes.

   Tip: An oven thermometer tells you the real temperature. Many ovens run hotter than the dial.

   

7. 7. Brush Leafing Size Onto the Baked Clay Beads

   Pour a little leafing size into a palette. Size is the glue that holds glitter and metal leaf.

   Tip: Slide the bead onto a skewer or tool so you can coat it without touching it.

   

8. 8. Pour Glitter Over a Sized Polymer Clay Bead

   Hold the sized bead over a sheet of paper and pour glitter over it. The video uses the yellow from a six color shaker.

   Tip: Fine glitter gives a smooth sparkle. Chunky glitter shows the shape of each flake.

   

9. 9. Wrap a Clay Bead in Copper Leaf

   Set a sized bead in the middle of a fresh sheet of copper leaf. Lift the leaf up and fold it gently around the bead until it is fully covered.

   Tip: Leaf is thin and tears easily. Work in a spot with no breeze or fan.

   

10. 10. Thread the Polymer Clay Beads Onto a Cord

    Lay out your beads and decide on the order before you start. Thread them one at a time onto a length of faux suede cord, sliding each one down to meet the last.

    Tip: Wrap a bit of tape around the cord tip if it frays and will not go through the holes.