How to make polymer clay beads

How to Glaze Paper Beads

Instead of buying polymer clay beads to use in your next jewelry or craft project, make your own beads that you can customize to suit your particular design ideas. Although polymer clay beads can look complicated and intricate, even a novice crafter can successfully make beautiful beads at home.

Materials Needed

Collect together the materials you need to create your own homemade polymer clay beads, including a sheet of wax paper, different colors of polymer clay, a clay knife, a toothpick and a cookie sheet. Lay the sheet of wax paper out on a table or countertop to protect the working surface.

Create a Bead Roll

Pick out the colors of polymer clay that you want to use for your bead roll, and knead each color for about 2 minutes to make the clay soft and malleable. You will need about 1 ounce of each color. Roll out each color into a long snake with your fingers. Stack the snakes on top of each other to create one long roll. To create a bead with an image on it, start at the bead roll at the end as you stack the snakes together. Arrange the colors as you stack to create a specific picture. Once you feel satisfied with your bead roll, use your hands to roll the entire thing back and forth against the table to compress and thin it to about 1/2-inch thickness.

Slice and Prepare the Beads

Cut the ends off of the bead roll using the clay knife, and set the ends aside. These malformed end pieces will not become beads, but you can use the clay for some other craft project. Starting at one end, cut the bead roll into 1/4-inch thick pieces. Insert the toothpick through each sliced piece, from one side to the other, and remove it to create a hole. Once baked, the holes will enable you to string the beads together.

Bake the Beads

Lay the prepared polymer beads flat on a cookie sheet and bake them in a 275 degree Fahrenheit oven for 15 minutes. Allow the beads to cool completely before using them in your craft project.

Tips and Warnings

Avoid overbaking the polymer beads or they could burn. Keep hot polymer beads out of the reach of children, and use caution when handling them. Hot polymer clay can burn skin very quickly.

I’m so excited to show you all How to Make Polymer Clay Beads today! These are so much fun to make and the designs are endless. If you haven’t worked with polymer clay before, make sure to check out my Introduction to Polymer Clay post for the basics and some tips! Today I’m going to show you how to make both basic and marbled beads, so let’s get started!

How to Make Polymer Clay Beads

Supplies:

• Plain copy paper or an index card. Folded accordion style.
• Gold clay. Or whatever color you want for your plain beads.
• Teal and black clay. Or whatever two colors you want for your marbled beads.
• Needle tool.
• Blade or plastic cutting tool.
• Porcelain tile or other work surface.

Let’s make the plain gold beads first. Start by rolling your clay into a ball, then into a snake. Use your blade to cut the snake into equal sections. Roll each section into a ball using the palms of your hands.

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Now take your needle tool, and push it straight down through the center of your bead. Pick it up on the tool, and gently rotate the bead until the tool goes through to the other side. Remove the needle, and push it in gently from the other side. This create a clean hole all the way through the clay. If you mess up the first time, don’t worry! Just re-roll the clay into a ball and try again!

See how neat and clean going in both sides makes the hole? This helps you be able to more easily string the beads on thread later. When you finish each bead, set it into one of the channels in the accordion folded paper. Using the folded paper to hold the beads while they bake keep them from having any flat or shiny spots.

Now, let’s make our marbled beads. Take your two colors. If you’re using a darker and a lighter color, I recommend using less of the darker color for a balanced look. Roll out each color into a long snake. Then twist them together. Fold this twist in half, and twist it again. Repeat this two or three times until your colors are well blended. Do not mash, knead, or squeeze the clay. That will cause the colors to mix and become a new color rather than marbleizing.

When you’re happy with your marbleizing, go ahead and roll your clay into a ball, then out into a snake. Cut it into equal portions, and roll it into balls like you did for the gold beads.

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Go ahead and create the bead holes the same way, and add your marbleized beads to your folded paper. Bake them according to your clay manufacturer’s instructions. I used Sculpey clay and my beads were just above 1/4 inch thick, so I baked mine at 275 F for 30 minutes and they turned out great!

Here are the gold beads.

And here are the marbleized beads.

I prefer not to coat my polymer clay projects, but if you want your beads to have a shiny finish, I recommend using a polyurethane sealer on them for the most durable glossy finish! I hope you enjoyed learning how to make polymer clay beads with me!

Introduction: How to Make Polymer Clay Beads

I love to make rather large polymer clay beads but the bigger the bead, the heavier the weight, which is no good for jewelry. I decided using a wood “filler” bead might help cut down the weight. Turns out it did and it also cut down my expenses b/c I wasn’t using nearly as much clay! And that translated to selling the beads at a better price as well! Everyone wins! 😀

Here’s how I make inexpensive and light-weight polymer beads.

Step 1: What You’ll Need.

-Pre-made Cane
-Tissue Blade
-Knitting Needle or Exacto-Knife or Stylus
-Wax Paper
-Liquid Polymer Clay (preferable)
-Wood Beads (size is up to you)

If you don’t have a “pre-made cane”, look for an instructable on “how to make a polymer clay cane”. I’ll probably have one out in a couple of hours. 😉

Step 2: Workstation.

Something to remember is polymer clay is soft and will pretty much pick up anything it comes into contact with, so keep your work area as clean as possible.

Good lighting is important too. Especially when working with smaller crafts like beads. And have all your tools within arms reach.

Now, tape down your wax paper, making sure you get all the corners pulled snug so the paper doesn’t crinkle in the middle. Move your hands around on the paper after taping just to make sure it’s secure.

Step 3: Slices.

Choose your cane and begin cutting slices from one end.

The slices should be thin but not so thin they are see-thru. Slices should also be fairly even in thickness.

Step 4: Cover.

Pick a wood bead to cover. Put a dab of liquid clay anywhere on the bead. Then place a slice of your cane on the dab of liquid clay.

Gently press down on the slice’s edges so they conform to the bead’s spherical form. The slice’s edges will not lay perfectly flat and that is fine, don’t force them to lay flat! The amount of pressure you put on polymer clay affects it’s look. too much pressure and the clarity of your slice’s rings and colors will be lost. Always be gentle!

Continue dabbing the liquid clay all over the bead and placing slices on the dabs until the bead is covered. But don’t try to cover every single inch of the bead by overlapping slices. Some of the bead should still be visible for the next step to work properly.

Step 5: Rolling.

Once the bead is covered but still with parts of the wood bead still visible, set it down on the paper, place your finger gently ontop. Use a small amount of pressure and slowly roll the bead around underneath your finger.

Remember, too much pressure will “smear” the patterns and colors.

Once the slices have rounded out a bit and the bead is starting to resemble a sphere again, use a little more pressure from you finger and roll faster. But don’t get all crazy with your rolling!

You’ll start to notice the slices covering all visible parts of the wood. The slices should also be fairly flat against the bead too.

Step 6: Hole.

Obvisiously, for this bead to be a bead there has to be a hole through it for string, hemp, etc.

In rolling the bead around to flatten the slices, the clay may have partially covered up the bead’s hole. This is normal and easy to fix.

If you want the bead to give the allusion that it is solid polymer clay, use a knitting needle to smooth down the edges.

Use just the end of the needle one each side of the bead. Slant the needle and move it clockwise all the way around face of the hole. The clay may buckle slightly on the sides. If this happens, pull the needle out and turn it sideways (adjacent to the hole) and roll it gently across the hole. I can’t stress enough to be gentle!

*If you’re not worried about the bead looking like solid polymer clay, use an exacto-knife or stylus to “cut” the excess clay from the hole. Either way, the bead will look dope.

Step 7: Bake.

Most polymer clays bake for 10 mins at around 200 degrees in a conventional oven, but it’s important that you read the directions on your polymer clay packaging.

For the bead to keep it’s shape, it has to be suspended when baked. You can buy kits for this but I use knitting needles and a baking pan.

“Thread” your beads on the knitting needles and then place the needles so they stretch from edge to edge of the pan.

Be careful when putting them in the oven so as not to rock the pan and them roll away!

After the bead has cooled, you can sand it down to be as smooth as possible using a fine-grit sandpaper.

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53 Discussions

Tip 2 years ago on Introduction

For anyone looking for pre made canes if you can not find them you could get on pintrest and get very good instructions on how to make them yourself.

great instructable. Your beads look very pretty. I also make clay beads and came up with an idea for suspending beads, that can not roll around on the pan. I purchased an inexpensive pan and drilled holes opposite of one another on the upright sides. this way i can thread my needle or skewer through one side. string beads on and then thread through the other side of the pan. easy and awesome everytime. thanks for the great step by step. i never thought of covering wood beads.

Reply 3 years ago

Thank you for the great idea! I’m going to keep an eye out at the thrifts store for a pan!

23rd December 2019 by Cooksongold

Make your own polymer clay beads and create bold, statement jewellery pieces. From necklaces to earrings, experiment with designs, shapes and colours and bring your jewellery designs to life – it’s a fun hobby and a great way to make bespoke jewellery. Discover our beginner’s guide on how to make polymer clay beads today.

What do you need to make polymer clay beads?

Using the right tools and equipment will help you to create high-quality polymer clay beads. We would recommend using:

• Fimo clay – in the colour(s) of your choice. Using clay as fresh as possible will help to prevent cracking.
• A hard, flat surface – like a workmat, tile or sheet of glass
• A needle tool or toothpick
• A ruler, to size your beads
• Sand paper
• Varnish and a clean brush (if you wish to seal your beads and make them shiny)
• A clean work surface: dust and clean before you start, as polymer clay is soft and will pick up anything that it comes into contact with

How to make Fimo clay beads

One of the easiest ways to make polymer clay beads is to start with a polymer ‘snake’, which can be made by cutting your block of clay into strips and rolling it out into a snake-like shape.

To create a simple bead design, take two sticks of coloured polymer clay and twist or roll them together to get a marbled effect – then form this into your desired shape. Play around with wrapping, folding and rolling different coloured clays together to create new designs and patterns. When making smaller beads, keep stretching the clay out into a longer snake – using your first and middle fingers to keep a uniform shape and thickness throughout.

Once you’ve reached your desired width and shape, cut the clay into equal pieces to create your individual beads – a ruler will help you to be more precise and will result in more evenly sized beads. Rolling the clay between the palm of your hand and a flat, smooth surface will help you get a round ball, or use a Fimo Magic Roller for an even easier solution. Simply take your ball of clay and place it in one of the shaped slots, gently moving the cover back and forth to create an evenly shaped bead.

Use a cocktail stick or a needle tool to put the hole in the top of your bead to attach a clay jewellery finding later – or, use an electric drill with a small drill bit to add the hole after baking/curing. This way, you’ll avoid distorting the shape of your bead.

Once you’ve baked your polymer clay beads (see below), use the sand paper to smooth the surface and remove any rough edges.

How to bake polymer clay beads

Bake for around 10-30 minutes, depending on the size and thickess of your polymer clay bead and always bake at the temperature specified by the manufacturer. You may benefit from using a thermometer for a more accurate reading of the temperature.

Head to our blog for more guidance on how to bake polymer clay.

How to make polymer clay beads shiny

Coating your polymer clay beads with a layer of water based varnish will add a glossy sheen to the surface. Before you apply the varnish, make sure that the surface of the bead is dry, clean and free from grease, dust or any other speckles of dirt. The varnish will be touch dry after 20 minutes, but fully dry after 24 hours, so make sure you varnish in plenty of time before putting together your jewellery pieces.

Creating patterns in your polymer clay beads

The millefiori or ‘caning’ technique allows you to create a distinctive, decorative pattern using several polymer clay tubes that are stretched and manipulated together. Used widely in glass working, building up your pattern in a cross-section will reveal the image when the clay is sliced – picture a stick of rock! Whether you’re using thin slices of clay to shape around a base bead, or free-handing your polymer clay to create your own free-style bead, ensuring that you’re not rolling too hard or quickly will help to maintain the pattern of the clay.

Looking for more texture? You can stamp or impress different textures and patterns into the raw clay to create interesting effects, such as old fabrics and wooden objects. Play around with glitters and other powders to add more colour and sparkle to your designs, simply brushing it on before you bake. Using gold leaf metal sheets or silver leaf metal sheets will help you achieve a unique pattern and finish to your design.

Our top tips when making polymer clay beads

• When combining other materials with polymer clay, it is important to check that the resources you are using are compatible. How? Do a test on a scrap piece of clay to check that the two materials don’t react badly with one another.
• When working with white clay, always clean your hands first – as it will pick up every speck of dust and can leave your design looking dirty.
• Remember, the heavier the bead, the harder it will be to use in jewellery making. Experiment with designs and shapes, but it’s best to keep to lighter pendants/beads.
• When baking, thread your beads onto a length of wire or a cocktail stick to suspend over the oven tray – that way you’ll avoid the clay sticking.
• If you have trouble removing your clay from a surface, use a flat knife.

Now you know how to make polymer clay beads, pick up everything you need from Cooksongold. From Fimo polymer clay tools to Fimo polymer clay sets containing all the coloured clay you’ll need. Get started on your polymer clay bead project today.

You can do almost anything with polymer clay. You can impress patterns into it, mold it, sculpt it, blend it, embed mixed media, paint it, embellish it with glitter or resin – in short, it’s fabulously versatile. And you can make polymer clay beads with it!

ABOVE: See how easy it is to make a custom polymer clay bead!

This ability to manipulate polymer clay into whatever you need it to be makes it a great medium for making beads. Mix up that elusive color, texture to your liking, and add surface effects to make that perfect accent bead. Here’s how!

What You’ll Need to Make Polymer Clay Beads

Gather a few items to get started:

• Polymer clay
• Texture sheets (affiliate link) or other items such as silverware or filigree that have a pattern you’d love to capture
• Toothpicks
• Colorful or sparkly powders
• Clear sealant (affiliate link) that matches your brand of clay

You’ll also want to have some handy wet wipes nearby and an oven to bake your beads in.

Why stop at just one?

Shape, Texture, and Color Your Clay Beads

There’s something about playing with clay that promotes such a feeling of satisfaction. So jump right in and start mixing your colors! If you have a clay-conditioning machine (a.k.a. a pasta machine), that can be a great help – but if not, your fingers will get the job done just fine.

Once you’re happy with the shape of your bead, use a toothpick to bore a hole through it. Leave the toothpick in place as you gently press your bead onto the texture of your choice.

Now comes the fun part. To make that beautifully imprinted texture stand out, use your fingertip to apply a tiny bit of powder to the bead. The colored surface will contrast nicely with deeper crevices.

To cure, bake your beads according to the directions on your package of clay, either in a conventional oven or a tabletop oven. To prevent any flat spots on your beads, you can leave them on the toothpick and suspend them on blocks of foil, paper, or clay.

Christi Friesen recommends great tips for baking beads in her online workshop Learn 10 Beads and Charms.

After your beads have cooled, all that’s left is to apply a clear sealant to protect the surface powders. To make sure it’s compatible with your polymer clay, use a product that is made by the same brand.

Keep Experimenting!

To read more about making polymer clay jewelry, check out these blog posts:

Go be creative!
Tamara Kula
Producer, Bead & Jewelry Group

Making jewelry is a popular focus for many crafters and polymer clay lovers. Sculpey® offers an extensive inventory of tools to simplify beading and jewelry making. Create professionally finished polymer clay pendants and beads by trying out our tools and techniques.

Looking for a visual? Explore our featured projects page to browse earrings, necklaces, rings and other adornments created with Sculpey® clay.

Types of Polymer Clay Bead Making Tools From Sculpey®

Sculpey® carries several polymer clay bead makers, including:

• – Sculpey® Hollow Bead Maker: This is the perfect bead maker for any design featuring polymer hollow beads. With five sizes, the Sculpey® Hollow Bead Maker makes for a hassle-free bead creation process.
• – Sculpey® Bead Maker: This bead maker features easy-to-use measuring cups and can be used to make solid beads measuring 13, 16 or 18 millimeters. Trust the Sculpey® Bead Maker to produce the same size bead every time.

How to Make Cane Covered Polymer Clay Beads

Follow the steps below to make lightweight, inexpensive polymer clay beads:

1. Gather Your Materials

Polymer clay beads require the following supplies:

• – Tissue blade
• – Pre-made canes
• – Needle tool
• – Wax paper
• – Your choice of liquid polymer clay or polymer clay

2. Prepare Your Workstation

It’s essential to keep your work station as clean as possible, as polymer clay tends to pick up anything it comes into contact with.

Find a flat, clean surface in your house where you have high-quality lighting. Next, lay down your wax paper and pull all corners snug. Tape the four edges to your work surface and make sure the paper is secure after taping.

3. Begin Cutting Slices

Choose your polymer clay cane and begin cutting fine, even slices from one end. Slices should have approximately the same thickness and be thin but not to the extent that they are see-through.

4. Cover Your Beads

To cover your polymer clay beads, select a wood bead to work with first. Next:

1. – Dab a small amount of liquid clay anywhere on the bead.
2. – Position a slice of your cane to sit directly on top of the dab of liquid clay.
3. – Gently press down on the edges of your cane slice until they conform neatly to the bead’s spherical form. The sides will not lay perfectly flat — and that’s fine!
4. – Continue dabbing liquid polymer clay on all surfaces of the bead and laying slices on the dabs until the bead is covered. Do not overlap slices — it’s a good thing if portions of the wooden bead are still visible.

5. Slowly Roll the Clay Beads Under Your Finger

Set your bead down on the wax paper and place your finger gently on top. Using just a small amount of pressure, slowly roll the bead around in tiny circles on the paper. Try to refrain from using too much force, as you want to keep all colors intact.

Keep rolling until all the slices have rounded out and are relatively flat against the bead. They should now cover all visible sections of the wood underneath.

6. Create a Hole

Every bead needs a hole for a string to be pushed through. Use the end of a needle on each side of the bead. Then, slant the needle and move it clockwise around the face of the hole.

7. Bake Your Polymer Clay Pieces

The most important thing to keep in mind when baking your polymer clay beads is that they need to be suspended when cured to hold their shape. You can use our Bead Baking Rack for even, perfectly shaped beads.

Polymer clay beads need to bake for 10 minutes at approximately 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Always use an oven thermometer and read the directions on your packaging to ensure you are baking the beads at the correct temperature.

Find the Perfect Polymer Clay Bead Making Tool Today

Here at Sculpey®, we provide the tools, you provide the creativity. Ready to get inspired? Shop our inventory of polymer clay bead makers and pick out your favorite Sculpey® brand to get started!

Create professionally finished polymer clay beads and pendants by combining different techniques, and following the step by step instructions and finishing tips included in these video tutorials.

I’ll be showing you how to combine different techniques to put fun and interesting polymer clay designs together. I’ll also be sharing tips and tricks along the way, ranging from smoothing off your edges, to using a Dremel tool to buff your beads.

The techniques you learn here will help you finish off your beads professionally, ready to be added to complete polymer clay jewelry pieces for you to wear or sell.

Faux Agate polymer clay daggers tutorial

In this faux polymer clay tutorial I’ll be showing you how to create one of my favorite gemstones – Faux Agate.

This technique can be used to create anything from Botswana Agate to Blue Lace Agate. Just tweak the colors and patterns and you could end up with a completely different faux stone. In this particular project we will be making Faux Agate Polymer Clay Dagger Beads.

Faux Agate Polymer Clay Pendant Tutorial

This tutorial shows you how to make the flat version of the faux agate daggers above.

I am using the lilac color scheme to show you how to make these polymer clay faux agate pendants, but you could also make them in the blues and greens used for the daggers.

Heart of the Ocean Polymer Clay Lentil Bead Tutorial

This tutorial is a fun twist on the traditional lentil bead. I’ll show you how to make polymer clay lentil beads using scrap cane ends, and then we will turn them into into flat and domed pendants.

Changing the shape makes sanding so much easier and adds a treasure chest of new design options.

Silent Night Polymer Clay Snowflake Cane Tutorial

In this polymer clay jewelry tutorial we will be making a simple, but really pretty, polymer clay snowflake cane. I’ll show you how to make it, reduce it to various sizes and how to use it to make the stunning silent night beads that this project is named after.

This polymer clay cane is really easy to make, but so effective. Please do give it a try. It’s great fun and produces a beautiful and rewarding result.

Faux Coral and Lava Polymer Clay Bracelet Tutorial

In this polymer clay tutorial, I’ll be showing you how to make Faux Coral and Faux Lava from polymer clay. These are two of the simplest faux techniques, but the results are realistic and beautiful.

In this project we will be making a simple bracelet. Be sure to check out part two below, for the matching Boiling Bubbles Pendant.

Lily Pond Polymer Clay Bead Necklace Tutorial

In this tutorial we will be making a Lily Pond polymer clay bead necklace using the torn paper or watercolor technique and Gelatos. I’ll show you how to create different effects depending on which background clay you use.

We will also be rolling some beautiful lentil beads from our watercolor veneers and molding them into various cabochon shapes.

I’ve also included a fairly detailed description of the drilling process in this video, so if that is something you struggle with, make sure you watch right to the end.

Faux Jasper Polymer Clay Saber Tooth Necklace

In this faux Jasper polymer clay tutorial I’ll show you a new technique to make Mokume Gane that looks a bit like Jasper. We will be using a super mixed media product by Faber Castell called Gelatos.

The Mokume Gane will be used to create Faux Jasper cabochons and torpedo beads which we will string to make the Saber Tooth necklace.

I’ll be adding many more polymer clay beads tutorials to this page over the coming months. I have so many tutorial ideas literally fighting to get to the front of the queue! If you would like to stay up to date with new articles and tutorials as they are released, please join my Facebook Group, and don’t forget to like and share with your friends.

The group is the best place to keep up with all the latest news, product releases and tutorials, and you will have early access to new material before it is released on YouTube or the website. There are also exclusive giveaways and a discount coupon for my shop, JessamaDesign on Etsy.

We have a fabulous group of members already. It’s a great place to share, be encouraged and ask all of your polymer clay questions.

If you are looking for complete polymer clay jewelry design tutorials, or something a little more complex you can find some cool tutorials on my Etsy shop. Or for a small monthly fee you can become a member of my Patreon community. You will have access to all sorts of tip and tutorial videos reserved especially for my members, as well as some of the Etsy ones. The community over there is steadily growing and I have lots of surprises and additional features coming up soon for my Patreons, so do come over and join us. We would love to welcome you.

Don’t forget to like and share with your friends, so that they can learn too.

These Air Dry Clay Beads are fun to make and fun to wear! I will show you how to shape three different beads, paint and finish, all ready to thread onto a necklace.

Is anyone else obsessed with The Great Pottery Throw Down? Its like the Bake Off, but with ceramics! I would highly recommend watching if you haven’t seen it, if only for judge Keith Brymer Jones getting so emotional over pots. This make is perfect if you are itching to get your hands dirty with some clay, but don’t have acess to a kiln, as I’m using air dry clay! And because its so easy to use, air dry clay can easily be used with kids, just bear in mind the beads will need a few hours to dry out before you can paint them.

You will need:

-Knitting Needle or Skewer

-Watercolour or Acrylic Paint

How to make Air Dry Clay Beads:

1.Take a piece of clay and roll into a ball. I wanted nice chunky beads, so mine was about 1 inch/ 2.5cm in diameter.

2.Use a cocktail stick to make a hole. If the hole is off center, just roll the clay up and have another go!

3.Because I wanted to thread my beads onto a 2mm cord, I used a bamboo knitting needle to enlarge the hole.

4.Refine the shape and smooth any marks before sliding off the needle

5.To create the bicone shape, roll into a ball and make a hole as you did for the round bead. Once on the knitting needle or skewer, pinch one side of the bead to a point. Repeat on the other side.

6.Smooth out any bumps, before removing from the needle.

7.For the cylinder bead, first roll out a sausage shape

8.Squeeze the ends together to flatten them.

9.Gently use the cocktail stick to make the hole, its really easy to go off centre with this shape! Use the needle or skewer to enlarge the hole before smoothing the surface.

10. Once you have made all your beads, leave them to dry for a few hours.

11.Once they are totally dry, use a very fine grade sandpaper over the surface of the beads.

12.Cover your work surface, its about to get messy! Mix up your first colour- I added orange and a bit of pink watercolour to some opaque white acrylic paint and watered it down. Load your brush with the paint and tap the paint off onto the beads! The beads are quite porous so the paint will dry within a few minutes. Turn the beads around to cover all sides.

13.Once the first colour is dry, mix up your second colour. I went with pale green, again mixed with white and watered down. Again tap or flick the paint onto the beads, leaving one side to dry before turning them over to do the other side!

14.Keep turning the beads around and adding more paint if needed.

15.When all the paint is completely dry, apply a coat of varnish to protect the paint and give a nicer finish. Place the beads back onto the knitting needle or skewer to paint on the varnish. You can also use a spray sealer if you prefer! Leave to dry.

16.Thread onto some cord or a necklace and you are done!

If you have a go at making your own Air Dry Clay Beads, or have any questions feel free to comment below or message me on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook! And if you don’t want to miss out on any future tutorials, I’d love for you to sign up to my monthly email! Happy Making!

***Products marked with are * an affiliate link. This means that I earn a small fee if you buy a product using that link. I will only ever link to a product that I have used and personally recommend***

Introduction: How to Make Polymer Clay Beads 🙂

In this tutorial I will explain how to make polyester beads to create a beautiful necklace or bracelet.

Polymers are materials made of long, repeating chains of molecules. The materials have unique properties, depending on the type of molecules being bonded and how they are bonded. Some polymers bend and stretch, like rubber and polyester.

In my childhood I used FIMO to create thost beans and make presents to my family and friends.

There are many colors of FIMO, which allows a variety of special and interesting works. With FIMO you can also sculpt characters of animals, foods, and many more..

FIMO can be hardened in the oven at 110 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature should not exceed 130 degrees

Hope you enjoy this guide and create beautiful beads!

Step 1:

Take a small piece of FIMO and make a cylinder- 5 cm height and a radius of 0.3 cm.

This cylinder is going to be at the middle of a flower.

Step 2:

create 5 more cylinders, from different color (it could be one color or few colors) – to create the flower petals.

Step 3:

Put the first cylinder in the center, and put the other 5 cylinders around it (the petals).

Now we got a long tube in the form of a flower.

Step 4:

Now we want to take the flower and make a bead from it,

Take another color of FIMO and create a very thin roll so it can fit in between the flower petals.

Step 5:

Take a piece of FIMO of the same color and flatten it until it is a quarter inch thick.

Wrap the flower in this layer and roll the entire flower up to form a thick cylinder.

cut the cylinder by the size of the beads you want to create, and make each such piece with your hands into a ball shape.

Pass a toothpick in the middle to create a hole – and here’s one bead ready 🙂

Now you can put it in the oven to make it hard- FIMO becomes hard when it is cured – the color and shape of the models remain virtually identical.

Step 6:

Now you can make a necklace or bracelet, and read online how to make more cool beads

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Polymer clay beads are not a new idea in any way, but how could a DIY jewelry nut like me let clay month pass without making some? Polymer clay, such as Sculpey, is just so pretty and vibrant, kids and adults alike cannot help being drawn to it. So I decided to indulge in this project, even though it is well traversed on the internet. Our take on it? Keep it simple and have fun with shapes!

The great thing about making beads with kids is having fun with shapes. Adults sort of can’t help themselves when it comes to perfection; in fact I made a bunch of beads and then found my daughter altering the spheres by pressing them. I walked across the room to stop her and then realized that the uniquely shaped beads she was creating from the balls of clay were much cooler than the ones I had made. So here’s to another fun collaborative projects for families: make polymer clay beads together for some funky and colorful jewelry!

This post contains affiliate links to products I love and recommend to my readers.

Materials

• Polymer Clay such as Sculpey
• Toothpick
• Sharp Knife (optional) For adult use only!
• Baking Sheet
• Oven
• String or lanyard for necklace

Instructions

When working with polymer clay and younger kids its best to just have fun with the swirling effects you get when you mix different polymer clay colors together. Older kids can try more complicated designs with clay but for this project we kept it simple.

Note: Warming the clay by kneading it with your hands is called “conditioning” and is an important step in making clay workable and removing air pockets. You can do it with the combined colorful clay or before mixing the colors.

• Step One Take several colors of polymer clay and smoosh them together.
• Step Two Break off small chunks of the combined clay and start rolling them in a circular motion between your palms. Spheres of clay can be used as is or sculpted into different shapes.

• Step Three For cylindrical shaped beads roll the clay on a table. Adults can slice the tube into pieces using a sharp knife to make bead shapes.

• Step Four Make holes in your beads by carefully inserting a toothpick through the entire bead and then removing it. Pat down the ends of the holes so that you have a nice smooth surface.
• Step Five Place your finished beads on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake according to the directions on the clay you purchased. We baked our Sculpey at 275 degrees for about 15 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE!
• Step Six Let your beads cool and then start using them for jewelry!

You’re done! For added fun let your child experiment with shapes. For best results, keep the shapes small but hearty. Clara enjoyed making full necklaces from the clay. I warned her they would be fragile and might break, which they eventually did, but I loved her creativity here. Isn’t this beautiful?

And here are some shots of our finished beads made into a necklace:

Looks Like

Dale Chihuly. I may be stretching it here but when I think of swirling color and funky shapes Dale Chihuly, a famous contemporary American glass artist, pops in my head. Chihuly’s work is sculptural genius, full of life and vibrancy and gorgeous color. I also love the fact that his work, in particular his chandeliers are often used as architectural centerpieces, in museums and even a casino. He is one of those cross over artists in my mind, whose art becomes “design” and who has inspired a whole style of contemporary light fixtures by many a lighting design company.

Conclusion

One of the cool things about this project was that we were able to recycle our polymer clay from our Sculpey ships into sweet little beads. Polymer clay isn’t cheap so I definitely did not want to see it go to waste after making our ships. And all those fun color swirls we got by mixing the colors together were put to some fancy use! I highly recommend this project for developing fine motor skills as well as a mini sculpting lesson. Letting kids have fun exploring shapes is the best part of this project and will make for the most interesting jewelry.

More

• If you like making unusual clay beads check out our post on seed beads, mini seed bombs you can wear! We also had fun making fabric beads not too long ago!
• I cannot work with polymer clay without immediately thinking of my friend Meri Cherry who is the Sculpey Queen! Meri made the amazing alien army all from Sculpey. You must see it here. She also inspires kids to use Sculpey to create beautiful designs, just check out this headband one of her students made.
• If your child falls in love with making polymer clay beads step it up a notch and buy them this book; it’s full of great tutorials and modern ideas for kids!

And don’t miss out on more design here on Babble Dabble Do! Your child’s inner Dale Chihuly thanks you! Subscribe below or like us on FB.

A lot of the canes that I make are designed to be used in layered designs. What does layered designs mean? Well, you build up the image on your piece with lots of little slices. It’s collage with clay. And since I make beads, I figured I’d outline my bead process with some of my canes, all available in my shops, here or on Etsy.

These beads need basic tools: canes, base clay, a way of measuring (I use circle cutters to get me even sized amounts), a sharp blade and a work surface. You can make holes while they’re soft, with a pin or needle tool or a drill after they’re cured. To finish them you’ll need to cure them in an oven, sand them if you like, and polish or varnish them if you like.

1) This is my selection of stuff: zinnia canes, an accent flower cane, leaf cane. A sharp blade. A circle cutter that makes 1/2″ (13mm) balls. A sheet of clay rolled to the thickest setting on my pasta machine

2) This is how you make evenly sized beads: use a cutter to punch out pieces.

3) And then the beads all rolled into bases. Don’t worry about roundness at this stage – just make sure they’re not cracked.

4) Cut a lot of cane slices! I had to reduce my canes and sort of decide on a design. In this case I decided on “completely covered” but you don’t have to do that.

5) Here are the beads in progress. I’ve stuck the leaves on first and then moving onto the next flowers in my design (light pink zinnias!). I tend to big batches of beads that need to be similar so I’m a fan of assembly line. You may not need to do this.

6) Here are the beads with all the slices lightly pressed on. Next they’ll get rolled / pressed until the slices are smoothed.

7) These are all rolled in and fairly round. If you want to do your holes BEFORE baking, now is the time. Next they’ll go onto accordion folded copy paper, on an old cookie sheet, and into the oven. These beads are a little over a half inch so that’ll be an hour in the oven to make sure they’re correctly cured.

Next Steps

• All of the beads like this that I make get at least some sanding, usually in a tumbler with lots of bead friends. That’s optional of course!
• Afterwards they usually get some polishing, buffing or varnish. Also optional. I just prefer the way it looks.

The Video Version

I popped a video version of this – different beads and canes but the process remains, as always, the same:

Making jewellery at home can be a fun and creative activity, which yields unique, original pieces that you can wear and show off at parties. One of the many ways to make jewellery at home is by using polymer clay. Although you can choose other shapes too, shaping the clay into round beads is the easiest method, and these beads can then be strung together to form a necklace of sorts, or used in any way you prefer.

Polymer clay beads make for a great activity, either alone or with children, and the results can either be enjoyed by the one who made them, or presented as gifts to loved ones. You can even make holiday-themed beads, and use these as festive presents during Christmas.

Things Required:

– Oven
– Polymer clay in two or more colours
– Cookie sheet or pie tin
– Hot pad to remove pan with baked beads
– Toothpick or skewer

Others are Reading

• How to Make Decorated Votive Candles
• How to Make a Rag Wreath with a Hanger

Instructions

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Choose different coloured clay

When selecting the polymer clay, you have to be sure of what colours you want. If you want to use the beads as jewellery, you should try getting lots of different colours, as that way you can create lots of beads in varying shades.

Prepare your workstation

Make sure your workstation is completely clean, otherwise the clay will pick up all of the particles strewn across the surface, because it is very soft. It is ideal to tape a cookie sheet to the surface of the table you will be using for your activity.

Roll the clay

There are a couple of ways in which you can prepare the clay. You can either roll it and make small balls from it or pick a round wooden bead and cover it with the polymer clay. In order to follow the former method, you have to collect some clay on your palm and roll it gently until it becomes completely round. For the other method, you need flat slices of clay, which can be pressed onto the wooden bead in order to cover it completely.

Make a hole

Use a pin or a needle to create a hole in each bead. The wooden beads will have holes inside them, so you won’t require anything particularly sharp to create holes in them. Do not skip this step, as it is essential to make an opening in the clay bead.

Bake the beads

You can now bake the beads in a conventional oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Set the time to 10 minutes and you will get the desired result easily.

The Natasha bead technique is quick, easy and fun, and a great way to turn your leftover polymer clay into something unexpectedly beautiful. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how easy it is to do.

This technique works best with leftover cane ends, but can be used with just about any polymer clay scrap. You can create endless kaleidoscope type patterns, and no two beads ever come out looking exactly the same. It’s fascinating to go through the process and see what you come out with at the end. Give it a try. I’m sure you’ll love it.

You will need the following supplies:

• Leftover polymer clay
• A tissue blade
• An acrylic roller
• A Cutter of your choice

To create these polymer clay beads you’ll need a bunch of leftover polymer clay. I’ve found that cane ends work the best, but any scrap will do.

Steps To Making A Natasha Polymer Clay Bead

• Ball up your leftovers and roll them into a compact cylinder. Make sure there aren’t any trapped air bubbles.
• Start to twist the tube.
• Twist until it feels rigid in your hands.
• Stop at this point and roll the polymer clay against your work surface. This will loosen it up again. Then proceed to twist some more.
• Carry on twisting until you are happy with it. The more you twist the more mixed up the clay with become. Lots of twists will result in a busier pattern, while less twists will cause a blockier pattern.
• Once you’re happy, you’ll need to shorten the snake. Do this by squishing both ends of the roll. This will shorten it. Don’t worry if there’s some distortion. You want that.
• Now that it’s short you have to square it up like you would a square cane. To do this, roll along the top of the snake with your acrylic roller to flatten one side. Turn the roll a quarter turn and flatten that side. Repeat for the last two sides.
• Now you need to convert the square into a rectangle. You do this by rolling along the top of the square until the square squishes into more of a rectangular shape. The rectangle should be around 1/4″ thick. The width of the top will depend on the size of the square you started out with. Turn the rectangular cane and roll each side repeatedly until you have nice, sharp edges.
• Cut the piece in half lengthwise through the 1/4″ side with your tissue blade. You’ll find that your two pieces have the same image.
• Lay the two pieces flat and line them up to form a mirror image.
• Gently push the pieces together. Roll once or twice with your acrylic roller to level the clay out. Be careful to avoid distorting the pattern.
• You should end up with a polymer clay sheet around 1/8″ thick. Cut a Natasha bead using your choice of cutter.

And that’s the Natasha bead technique. It can be hard to explain, so I recommend that you watch the video tutorial for the best results.

I also show how to make a four sided Natasha polymer clay bead in the video.

Natasha Beads Polymer Clay Tutorial

Polymer clay necklaces are bang on trend and you can easily make your own to match your outfit or mood. They also make really brilliant gifts. In this tutorial you’ll learn how to make an ombre disc necklace and a colourful bead necklace. Read on for the how-to.

Supplies

1. Make an Ombre Disc Necklace

Step 1

Lay a piece of baking paper on your work surface.

You’ll need green (or any colour of your choice) and white polymer clay.

Cut a few pieces measuring roughly 12mm (half inch) square from both colours.

Keep one piece of each colour intact, and cut the remaining pieces in to increasing increments, as demonstrated in the photo below. For example, bead number two will be made from three-quarters green plus one quarter white, bead number three will be made from two-thirds green and one third white. Bead four is half and half.

Step 2

Blend the colours for each bead together by rolling them together in your hands. Keep rolling and blending until the two colours are completely and seamlessly mixed.

Step 3

Cut each ball in half. Make sure they are all close to the same size.

Step 4

Flatten each piece of polymer clay by placing it between two sheets of baking paper and pressing down with your finger or rolling a flat-side glass over it. Flatten it until the disc is about 2mm to 3mm (less than one eighth of an inch) thick, and even.

Step 5

Poke the flat end of the skewer through the centre of each disc.

Step 6

Place the baking paper and discs on a baking tray and bake according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Step 7

Measure a length of twine on yourself to find the correct length for your necklace. Thread the discs onto the twine and tie the end together.

Step 8

Wear and enjoy your necklace.

2. Make a Vibrant Bead Necklace

Step 1

Choose a range of colours. It’s fun to try mixing different colours so you have a lot of different coloured beads to combine and to play with.

Step 2

Choose your first colour and roll it out into a sausage. The width of your sausage will be roughly the width of your finished beads, so roll accordingly. Mine is about 12mm (half an inch) wide.

Cut the sausage into roughly equal sections.

Step 3

Roll each section into a ball.

Step 4

Carefully poke the pointed end of the skewer through the centre of each ball, taking care not to squish them.

Step 5

Make beads from each colour you’ve chosen and place them on a sheet of baking paper on a baking tray.

Bake in the oven according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Step 6

Experiment with different combinations of colours.

Step 7

Measure a length of twine or leather thong on yourself to find the correct length for your necklace. Thread the beads onto the twine and tie the ends together.

Try using different number of beads – odd numbers will look best – and different lengths of twine.

Wear It!

You can wear your necklace on its own, or wear a few layered together.

Experiment with different shapes, colours and sizes. If you buy polymer clay in primary colours (red, yellow and blue), plus black and white, you can mix any colour. When mixing colours, start by combining very small pieces so you can get the proportions and colour right without wasting your polymer clay. Once you’re happy with a colour you’ll have an idea of the proportions needed to make it and you can use larger quantities.

Have you made polymer clay bead necklaces before? Which style do you think you’ll try first – ombre discs or colourful beads? Let us know in the comments below.

What you can do with polymer clay it’s up to your imagination, really! It’s so enjoyable and relaxing that you have to try if you never done!

By the way, the cover picture in this post is my cat Snowball. He loves to sleep in unusual places… in this case was on the top of my polymer clay buttons.

There are loads of types of polymer clay. For UK Customers, click here to by FIMO clay. It is good to try different makes and choose one you like more. For USA customers, click here to buy Kato clay.

Visit my jewellery shop where you can find unique handmade jewellery and my tutorials here.

Handmade bracelet by Lia Spragg

Polymer clay beads

Made at Home Crafts

It is easier than you think! Add different design, shapes and colours as you practice.

For the bead above I used polymer clay extruder which is one of the best buy products if you want to create amazing and unique designs.

How I make polymer clay beads:

Made at Home Crafts

1-Choose the colors you are going to use.

2-Using an acrylic roller or a pasta machine stretch the clay as thinner as possible. I use number 1 on my pasta machine.

Note: a pasta machine is an investment that you should think about it, if you want to get nice finished pieces. Its is not just save time and make the work easier but it will add a more professional look. There are manual and electric pasta machines and of course different prices. These are my suggestions: Manual and Eletric.

Made at Home Crafts

3-Cut circles with the extruder end so the tower clay that you going to make will fit inside the extruder. You can get the extruder at Amazon.

4-Add the circles together. It does not matter the order. Try different orders and see the difference.

5-Insert the “tower” into the extruder and roll it! at the begining it is a bit hard on a manual extruder.

Made at Home Crafts

You never know how it is going to be!

Beautiful cuts! This is my favourite part: Creation!

Note: I use this little cuts to cover the beads as well.

6- So, cut the length same size and add then together as you wish

Made at Home Crafts

7-I choose to add a black stripe in the middle, as you can see above and cover it with another layer of one of the colors

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8- Make the balls same size.

Made at Home Crafts

9- Squize nicely so you have two different sizes.

10- Slice then and cover your beads as you wish

Baking Polymer Clay

How to bake polymer clay is about practice and understand your own oven!. The oven temperature should be according to brand and thickness of your piece. The oven temperature always varies, so to make sure your oven is set to the correct temperature its recommended to get a oven thermometer that does not cost much as sometimes what is showing outside is not what is happening inside! Generally, I bake my pieces for 50 min at 120°C. If my pieces are very thin or small, I reduce the temperature to 110 but still baking for 50 min minimum. I have burnt some pieces at the beginning, so do not be discouraged if this happen to you and remember: Don’t give up! You need to “know” your oven, and so, how different polymer clay brands cure and this is just really with time and practice!

The more you practice, you will get to know how to work with polymer clay in your oven. Use scrap play and do some experiments. Following the instructions on your polymer clay pack but remember that it needs to get to the right temperature or your pieces will break when cold. Some people use a separate oven (portable) just to bake polymer clay.

Polymer Clay Scrap – don’t trow it away!

Made at Home Crafts

You can make numerous things with scrap clay. I made buttons this time:

Polymer Clay Buttons

Made at Home Crafts

It is very important to condition your clay. So play with it, smash until it is very soft.

In this project I used my polymer clay scraps.

Stretch with a roller or use a pasta machine and cut the shapes you like. Metal cutters and cutter blades are available on craft shops.

Make holes and bake as per instructions on the clay pack you are using.

I added some texture on my buttons using an old crochet towel. Fabrics are good to make different textures, try it on!

Made at Home Crafts

Made at Home Crafts

See how to make the polymer clay necklace here.

Hello dear friends!

I managed to finish (finally) these colorful tubular polymer clay beads and I have to tell you that it took me some time to put everything together, edit the video and the photos and get everything ready to hit the publish button.

But here it is. And I’m so happy to see this project finished because I really liked the way these beads turned out.

Furthermore I love using napkins (decoupage) in my work. Because they’re such an easy way to embellish things (including polymer clay).

After decorating the beads with decoupage, I wanted to add more interest to these pieces and a great way to add more texture to polymer clay beads is by using molds (and polymer clay, of course).

Here are the materials and tools that I used to make these little beauties:

– white polymer clay

– a roller or a pasta machine

an oven thermometer (recommended)

– a piece of fabric

Here are the steps of the process:

1. I conditioned the white polymer clay and I passed it through the largest setting of my pasta machine.
2. I used a round roller to trace guiding lines into my clay and then I cut a rectangle piece of clay. You can just eye-ball it and cut a rectangular piece of clay, join the ends into a tubular bead and decide if it’s the right size and then play with the length and width of the rectangle piece to make the perfect tubular bead (meaning perfect for your design).
3. I joined together the ends of the rectangle piece and I took the time to make sure that they were well joined and that my bead wouldn’t open up.
4. I applied liquid clay on top of the joining line and then I spread some liquid clay all over the tubular bead.
5. I used scissors and I cut out a rectangle piece from the napkin and put it on top of the liquid clay. Don’t forget to remove any air bubbles, if necessary.
6. Then I used a silicone mold to make the embossed details to further decorate the beads.
7. I baked my pieces for 40 minutes at the temperature recommended by the polymer clay manufacturer (in the preheated oven and I also tented them – meaning I put an aluminum pan to protect them from direct heat).

For some of the beads, I’ve made a beautiful border (using a silicone mold), while for the focal bead I’ve used a rose mold and rose petal molds to decorate the central and the side beads.

For the beads with an embossed border I applied some acrylic paint (and wiped it off partially) to add even more color to those beads. I think I liked them white as well, so you don’t have to color your molded elements.

You’ll have to think about protecting your decoupage decorated pieces. I used Diamond Glaze (after baking the pieces) to give them a glossy look.

You could spread liquid clay on top of the napkin (before baking the beads) and then bake the beads and you’ll have a matte finish for your beads.

Then I finished this design, by using a piece of fabric and some ribbon and I put the beads on fabric and I’ve made a neck piece that you would just tie around round neck. I decorated the spaces beaded the tubular beads with round acrylic beads in colors that would go well with the colors of the tubular beads, of course.

I hope you’ll like this tutorial. I hope you’ll give this idea a try and more than anything I hope that you are inspired to create more using polymer clay.

How to Make Porcelain Beads

Things You’ll Need

• Polymer clay
• Mandrel, such as a pen or pencil
• 20-gauge craft wire, approximately 8 inches
• Wire cutters
• Round-nose pliers
• Florist wire
• Glass or metal baking dish

Make decorative beads to add an individual touch to your dreads. Polymer clay is a great medium for crafting these dread beads. Forming clay around a mandrel and a wire frame provides support and makes for a stronger bead. Polymer clay is user friendly and can be fired without a special kiln. There are several brands of polymer clay, which come in a variety of colors, available at craft, art supply and bead stores.

Cut an 8-inch piece of wire with wire cutters. Wrap the wire around the mandrel. Keep the wraps even and about 3mm apart. If you want to attach smaller dangles after you fire the polymer clay, create a wire loop with round-nose pliers that extends past the end of the mandrel.

Form the clay around the wire, rotating the mandrel occasionally to keep the clay from sticking. Keep the clay the same depth throughout the entire bead to prevent weak spots. Shape the clay as desired, creating a square or cylindrical bead. Emboss or carve designs, if desired, being careful to not carve through to the wire frame.

Remove the mandrel from the bead. Fire the clay according to the manufacturer’s directions. Polymer clay fires below 300 degrees Fahrenheit, making it possible to fire beads in a kitchen oven. Support beads on florist wire suspended across a glass or metal baking dish to keep the beads from developing a flat spot during firing.

: : : Materials : : :

• Scissors
• Straw
• Skewer

Clay Preparation

Tip: It’s important to pay attention to which direction you’re initially ripping from.

If any gaps in the foil appear on the clay, reapply the foil sheet with the remaining foil over the gap on the clay. Vigorously burnish the spots with missing foil then rotate the clay on the workstation so the foil is being removed in a different direction than it was originally. Rip the sheet by pulling the edge in one swift motion directly away from you.

Tip: If a large spot remains, concentrate a little more pressure in that area and burnish longer, approximately 30 – 60 seconds.

Note: A quick shimmying motion with the clay blade works best to detach the sheet from the work surface.

Continue to use the clay blade to cut the foiled sheet down to a manageable size, approximately 4×3 inches (or whatever size may be needed for the project) then place the clay sheet back onto the smooth ceramic tile.

Creating Shapes

Repeat, cutting just over the textured edge of the clay sheet to create a rippled shape.

Repeat, cutting just over the textured edge at an angle to create a lightning bolt shape.

Repeat, cutting just over the textured edge in a mirrored fashion to create a bubbled shape.

Note: Carefully knock the clay off the rippled blade to retain the shape that has just been cut. Do not pull the clay from the blade, this will straighten the clay out and make it lose its shape.

Punched

: : : Additional Resources : : :

• ”Conditioning Polymer Clay” how-to video and illustrated instructions

• ”How to Make Faux Dichroic Jewelry Components Using Apoxie® Sculpt” how-to video
• To learn more about Lisa Pavelka, Award-Winning Artist, Author and Instructor, read her jewelry artist success story here

Have a question regarding this project? Email Customer Service.

My adventures with polymer clay

16 Fri Aug 2013

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This tutorial shows how to make polymer clay beads using a thin veneer of cane over scrap clay. Because some distortion occurs with this method it works best with an organic pattern such as marble cane or mokume gane.

*Edit: There is now a video version of this technique available.*

Take slices of your cane and run them through the pasta machine using each setting from thick to thin. A thick slice of cane rolled thin will enlarge the pattern. I like to use different thicknesses for variety.

Roll a snake of clay to approximately the diameter you want your beads. If I am using scrap clay as a core I usually put a layer of white on the outside to keep the slices of cane bright. Also I regretted not using a longer snake as I would have liked more beads :).

Cover the core with the thin slices of cane. Be careful not to leave air bubbles between the veneer and the core.

Tear the slices of clay to make pieces to fill the gaps. I find the torn edges blend with the pattern better.

Fill all the gaps.

Roll the clay to smooth in the edges. You don’t want to lengthen the snake too much as the veneer is already quite thin.

I use the back of my scalpel blade and a ruler to mark even sections of clay. This means the finished beads will be more regular in size.

Marks for cutting.

Cut the log into even size pieces.

Use a knitting needle or large ball stylus to indent the cut side of clay.

Gently pinch the edges to close the veneer around the core. Work slowly and keep rotating your bead as you work. I often alternate the side I’m working on.

Use a needle tool to push any visible core clay down so you can close the veneer over it.

Shape your beads and pierce.

I like to roll my beads on sandpaper before baking to give them a matte finish similar to etched glass.

Have you or the kids tried making polymer clay beads before and been disappointed with how they turned out? Lots of people find it quite tricky to make polymer clay beads. Getting them the same shape and size and keeping their roundness whilst baking can be problematic and the results are often disappointing! But don’t despair, because these Gorgeous Rainbow Tangle Beads are foolproof!

Polymer clay rainbow tangle beads are easy enough for kids and grown ups to make. They are so colourful, fun and quirky and they always look amazing!

(This post contains affiliate links.)

Polymer clay tangle beads are easy to make in any colour or size you like. We made ours in Rainbow colours as a St Patrick’s Day craft but anything goes.

These homemade beads are so fun and quirky they really do suit kids and grown ups equally and are a great way to make homemade gifts on a budget.

Before you get started reading the tangle bead tutorial don’t forget to bookmark some of our other jewellery crafts to try with the kids later too. Saving them to your Facebook or Pinterest is an easy way to find them again later and share them with your friends.

Milk Plastic Jewellery is a fun STEAM activity to explore with the kids. No Sew Felt Necklaces are great for when you want to keep things super simple and Rainbow Pom Pom Jewellery is a vibrant easy sew project perfect for tweens and teens.

Rainbow Tangle Beads – Easy Polymer Clay Beads

Supplies To Make Rainbow Tangle Beads

• Polymer Clay US / UK
• Skewers US / UK
• Coloured Jewellery Elastic US / UK

How To Make Tangle Beads With Polymer Clay

These tangle style polymer clay beads are super easy to make. Each one is totally unique and I love that you don’t have to worry about keeping them all the same!

Start by softening a small amount of polymer clay by warming, kneading and working it with your fingers. When it’s nice and supple roll it out into a long string. You can make these clay strands as thick or thin as you like. Our polymer clay beads were made from threads approximately 1-2mm thick.

To make your tangle bead loosely and randomly wrap the polymer clay around your skewer until you achieve the size of rainbow tangle beads you like. Ours were about 1 – 2 cm.

Break off any excess polymer clay and gently push the loose end down into the bead to secure it.

Carry on making polymer clay rainbow tangle beads along your skewers until you have enough for your homemade jewellery. This is a great jewellery craft to use up those odds and ends of polymer clay colours you might have stashed in your craft cupboard.

To bake your rainbow tangle beads pop the polymer clay skewers onto a baking tray and bake according to the instructions on your polymer clay packet. There are lots of different brands and each may have different baking requirements.

When your polymer clay rainbow tangle beads are baked and cooled simply thread them on to your coloured elastic thread to make your jewellery. We think they look super as necklaces and bracelets.

Whether you’re crafting these polymer clay beads for yourself or with your kids they’re sure to be a hit! Who could resist such quirky fun jewellery?

I love hearing how you get on, leave a comment below, come and chat on Facebook or sign up to our email updates.

More Fun Rainbow Crafts To Try:

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A Tutorial on YouTube:

Making jewelry out of polymer clay is growing in popularity very quickly. One method of making jewelry involves making beads and stringing them together. Polymer clay beads can be made in several different ways depending on how simple are sophisticated you want then to look.

To make polymer clay beads you need to start by gathering all of your tools together and get your clay ready to work with. Once you have everything together and laid out you are ready to begin.

Here are the directions for the simplest method of making beads out of polymer clay.

• Pinch off a small piece of clay and roll it into a log shape.
• Make the log the size you want the bead to be after it is finished.
• Take a sharp knife and cut the log into the thickness you want the beads to be.
• After you slice off the number of beads you need take another tool and punch a hole in the middle of the clay. This is so you can string the beads together.
• Fire the clay and your beads are ready to work with.

You can use different color clays to make a variety of beads or you can combine clays together to make your own unique colors. Either method provides you with an assortment of multicolored beads to use in the design of your jewelry.

If you want to spend more time on making beads for jewelry you can take very small pieces of polymer clay and shape them into any design you like. You can even buy plastic molds of hearts, stars and other shapes to use. All you need to do is make the individual shapes, put in the hole for stringing and you are ready for the firing and final touches. Polymer clay can be any shape or design that you like so be creative and try new things.

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1 Response to “How to Make Polymer Clay Beads”

This video is a great way for me to start making my own beads. Thank You. I have a couple of questions if you could please help me out. On the end of your video you show some silver beads and you also use some acrylic paint to paint your beads, If i buy different color clay will they come out that exact same color or would i still have to paint them? I’ve seen some other polymer clay beads, and how do they get them shiny and not looking like the kid type of beads? Thank you for your time. -samantha-