What I made with my handmade beads...

I wanted to show what I made with the beads I showed in the previous post.......I like how the lavender highlights the pretty flowers and the cute little hummingbird on the pendant.

I love the way polymer clay works so well in beaded designs. It makes every piece a one of a kind piece of wearable art.

I wanted to show that I also work with gemstones on occasion. So I am showing the blue pendant and necklace I made the other night. I LOVE the pendant it is one of my all time favorites. I love how the colors work together. I also am glad I was able to work the black and blue ceramic beads into the design.

If I were honest I would say I am obsessed with beads........

How I make beads

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Here is what it looks like when I am making polymer clay beads. This isn't meant to be a tutorial but more a quick look at some of what goes into making polymer clay beads.

Step 1...
pick out canes and blend base color for beads.

Step 2...
cut out and roll base beads

Step 3...
slice paper thin slices of cane and apply to base, roll to smooth.

Step 4...
cut and shape bead caps from base color. Add to beads.

Step 5....
pierce beads with bead pins hang on rack and cure..

Step 6....
when cured sand through 5 grits of sandpaper and buff to a glass like finish.

Yup I know that was a quick run through and some steps were skipped. I promise to do a proper tutorial on bead making soon.

The beads came out pretty nicely. I made a pendant base to go with them and as soon as I get the pendant beaded I'll post photos of the finished necklace.

New on my worktable

My online clay buddy Jackie [ http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThePleasantPheasant ] has been making the most lovely canes. I couldn't resist buying some of them.

I used Jackie's awesome canes to make these very pretty pillow beads and square cabochons for beading. I love them all but if I had to pick a favorite pattern it would be the blue ones.

With the yellow set I think I'll make a bracelet with the pillows and a beaded pendant for a necklace with the cabochon.

The small green rounds and cabochon are going to be a pendant for a necklace.

The blue set will be a bracelet, necklace and pendant...

I am looking forward to designing the pendants because the square shape can be a challenge to work with and keep it soft looking.

So if you are looking to buy some awesome canes check out the link to Jackies shop I loved working with them.

Thing a day challenge

http://polymerclaycentral.com is having "a thing a day" challenge. We are making 1 thing a day in Febuary featuring polymer clay and posting it to the website for all to enjoy.

My day 1 project was the teardrop shaped necklace and pendant. The pendant base and the accent beads are made with polymer clay.

Day 2 project is the beads and pendant base all made with polymer clay.

Day 3 project is the beaded pendant from day 2.....

So far I am keeping up, I have the Grandkids the next couple of days so we will see.

What is bead embroidery?

I am often asked act craft shows how I make my jewelry and I try to break it down to a simple general example. So I thought it would be fun to do on my blog too except it is more fun on the blog because I can use photos.

In today's blog I am going to talk about my favorite beading technique....bead embroidery.


Bead embroidery is a very useful technique to learn because with it you can turn a gemstone,shell,button,flat found object into a beautiful piece of jewelry. I love to use it to show off polymer clay pendant bases that I enjoy making.

To begin the pendant I glue the polymer clay base to a square piece of very stiff interfacing and while it's drying I pick out the beads I want to use from my stash.

After the glue dries with a needle and thread I sew on each bead developing the pattern. I'd like to say I start my projects will a clear vision of what it's going to look like but I don't. I usually design my projects as I make them and let the design develop naturally. [photo 1&2].

When all the base patterned beading is done I trim away all the extra interfacing and glue it to a piece of ultra suede backing hiding all the stitches and giving the pendant a a nice finished back. The next step is to stitch the 2 backings together and edge the pendant. Add a beaded bail and the pendant's done. [ photo 3&4]

Next I go through my bead stash find what I like and bead the necklace and TaDa a necklace.....

If you think you might be interested in learning more bead embroidery I recommend buying a copy of Bead and Button or Beadwork magazine and try one of the beginner projects or use the reference section to learn some of the basics to see if it's the technique for you.

What is a Polymer Clay Cane?

When people see the things I make they often think the patterns are painted on. I explain that they are made by applying thin slices of " polymer clay canes ". Then they look at me and say "what is a cane?" if you have ever had the same question here is a quick simple explanation with visual aids.

A polymer clay cane is made by blending contrasting colors of clay and forming them into a pattern. I know; it's still confusing....I'll use this simple flower cane to illustrate.

Photo #1
I took the following colors green pearl/blue pearl/white pearl and blended them together to form the striped pattern for a single flower petal and I wrapped it in a sheet of pearl clay. Then I "reduced" it; [squeezed it to make it longer] , and cut it into 8 equal lengths.

Photo #2
I took each of the 8 pieces and shaped them like a flower petal. I took the 8 petals and arranged them around a yellow center to form a flower shape.

Photo #3
I took translucent polymer clay and "packed" or wrapped it around the flower shape to help everything hold it's place during reduction.

Photo #4
I took the 3 inch wrapped and packed cane and redused it buy squeezing ,pulling and rolling it until the tube measured about 1/2 inch around and then cut it into 6 2x1/2 inch canes ready to use on projects. Just like the Pillsbury cookie dough at the store the flower pattern goes all the way through the cane.

That is how a polymer clay cane is made....Have I further confused you? I hope not; I hope I have intrigued you enough to learn to do it too.....

Polymer clay and seed beads

I think polymer clay and seed beads are a match made in heaven. They play so nicely together.

I love good gemstone cabochons but they are so expensive and really drive up the price of the pieces I make. The cabochons in the hair pins are gemstones and were expensive so I will have to sell them at a higher price point then I would like. Had I made them with polymer clay I could knock about $10 off the retail price.

Another advantage of using polymer clay is I can create some awesome stone like cabochons with awesome colors and detail for a lot less then I would pay for a natural gemstone. Using my handmade cabochons allows me to spend more money on the high quality crystals and seed beads to give my customer a higher quality product at a reasonable affordable price point.

The necklace in this post is a beautiful example. The cabochon is one that I made with polymer clay,ink,mica and gold leaf; it's full of detail and pretty colors. because the cost to make it wasn't high I was able to use a generous amount of expensive high quality Swarovski crystals and delica seed beads. By making my own cabochon I am able to offer my customer a OOAK necklace at a very reasonable price. It's a win-win situation for both of us.