Our last blog was an introduction to making polymer clay beads.  Tonight’s blog will be on the unique shapes that you can make with polymer clay we will merely be skimming the surface.  So let us begin…

First let’s discuss our basic shapes.  A basic disk which can be used as a spacer bead is simply crafted by cutting slices with a tissue blade or craft knife and then simply pressing down on the slice to flatten it. Use a tapestry needle to make a hole in the middle of the disk. 

An oval takes a little more practice in order to consistently get the same shape. Measure out portions of the clay and roll them in your palm to make the ball.  Rotate the ball in the same direction until an oval shape forms. You can also flatten it in to a bun shape.  Make your thread hole with a needle tool.

A teardrop is a variation of a simple round bead.  They look incredible when polished or varnished.  Roll the clay into round balls. Place the ball into the palm of one hand and place the edge of your other hand across the top of the ball.  Slide your hand backward and forward across the bead to form a point.  Make a thread hole with a needle across the point of the teardrop or through the base of the teardrop exiting through the point. 

Bicones and Lentils are made by rolling a ball of clay in your hands and placing it on a smooth surface.  Place a small piece of glass on top of the ball parallel to the work surface and rotate it in one direction.  Gradually a bicone will form.  You can vary the shape of the bicone by varying your rotations.  This is the same process to create a lentil only you would want to make smaller rotations to create the lentil. 

Now let’s discuss how to create the heart, cookie cutter disk, saddle, coil and donut shaped bead. Hearts are always popular. They are created as a build out of the basic lentil shaped bead.  Roll the clay into 12mm balls. Place a ball onto a smooth work surface.  Firmly hold a piece of glass or a tumble base over the ball and rotate in one direction to form the ball into a lentil shape.  Using a stiff piece of card stock, push into the edge of the lentil to indent it and form a rough heart shape.  Shape the bottom of the heart with your fingers to make a slight point.  Make a thread hole across the widest part of the bead with a needle. For earrings make a hole at the top of the heart for an eye pin. 

Cookie cutter disks are great spacers between more rounded fancy beads.  They are an easy way to create identical beads.  Most are cut out of sheets rolled on the thickest setting of the past machine.  Saddle beads are created from cookie cutter disks. You can make the bead by gently bending the disk forward and backward at the same time.  This will curve the disk in the center so the edges curl up.  Make a thread hole through the center of the bead with a needle.

Coil and Donut Beads are fairly simple beads to create.  To make a coil bead you need to make a snake 6mm in diameter to 150mm long.  Shape your ends to a point and wrap around a piece of bamboo skewer.  These can be baked in the oven directly on the skewer.  To create a donut bead start by making a coil bead.  Using a tissue blade, cut along the length of wrapped clay.  Remove the cut pieces from the skewer and separate them.  Make them into round donut shapes by putting the ends together and smoothing the joints. 

Other popular shapes are the Corkscrew, the Twist stick and my favorite shape the Tube. Corkscrew beads are simple to make and are much lighter then the Coil bead previously mentioned. Roll a snake as previously instructed.  Roll the ends of the snake to make them pointed.  Wrap the whole snake  around the dowel or knitting needle, leaving gaps between each rotation of the snake. Make a hole through the end of the clay with a needle that a cord can be threaded through. I recommend baking in the oven on a dowel. 

For a Twist stick you will need to roll the clay on the thickest setting of a pasta machine.  Stack the sheets to make a 25 x 50mm wide block that is 10mm high.  Using your tissue blade cut your slices the same width as the height of the stack.  Pierce your block the entire length all the way through with your needle tool.  Hold one end and with the hand gently twist the clay 90 degrees. To craft rolled Tube beads roll a ball of clay in your hands.  Pierce the ball through the center with straight wire, running it through the ball.  Toll the clay backward and forward into a log using your hands to spread the clay along the wire.  To make all the beads the same thickness put a dowel at each end of the wire and place the piece of glass on top of the log.  Holding the glass with both hands, move the glass backwards and forwards until the clay extends. While the clay is still on the wire measure and mark the log into equal portions the cut with a tissue blade.

Our next blog will be on Polymer Clay Faux Techniques: A discussion of various faux techniques used to craft polymer clay beads. Until then, Love and Light