does anyone here make beads out of polymer clay?

Question

if anyone does.. i need help!

yeah i should have been more specific. Canes are what im having trouble with

Answer 1

Hi,

I have an online polymer clay "encyclopedia" that can help with just about any aspect of polymer clay --including canes and beads. It has information, lessons, examples, and troubleshooting for every technique and for many "items."

Here are the pages on canes and on beads, in particular:

(cane making ...basic info & tips)
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/Canes--general.htm
(making canes smaller---reducing)
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/canes--reducing.htm
(how to deal with old or stiff canes)
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/canes--old.htm

(many specific cane patterns)
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/canes--instructions.htm
(just face and head canes)
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/faces_caned.htm

various bead pages:
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/beads.htm
....http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/beads-holes.htm
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/jewelry.htm
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/pendants_cording.htm

If you have any questions that don't get answered there, just post another question here with the word polymer in the subject line and I can probably give you some ideas.


If you're interested in other polymer topics, check out the *Table of Contents* page at my site too:
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/contents.htm
(scroll all the way down, or do a Ctrl + f search... when you find the topic you want, go to its page by clicking on the name of the page from inside the alphabetical navigation bar on the left side)


HTH,

Diane B.

Answer 2

You might want to check out the link below. It is a tutorial on how to make decorated polymer clay Easter eggs. It introduces the concept of making polymer clay canes, and slicing them to decorate things. It has lots of photos and instructions to help along the way.

When making a bead, you roll a ball of clay, then attach thin slices of the cane all over it, then gently roll the ball in your hands to smooth out the seams.

Answer 3

you have to tell us what you need help with. I make all sorts of things with the clay.

Baking - I put mine in a toaster oven. do not overbake - directions on clay wrapper

Edit: you start off making long tubes and stacking them in the design you want but make these tubes a lot wider than the bead cane itself. after putting them together, the cane would consist of a bunch of tubes and would be around 2 inches or so (give or take) in diameter. then you carefully roll it on a flat surface until the tubes blend in with each other and the cane is the exact diameter you want.

Lets say I was doing a 5 petal flower with a white background: I would have one tube for the center, with 5 tubes going around, then smaller tubes of white going all around and since it's an easy pattern, I'd make the diameter of this pre-cane 1 inch or 1.5 inches in diameter then carefully roll it back and forth making sure I don't move the tubes inside too much to distort the image and have all the tubes blend together. When you roll it, the cane keeps getting smaller and smaller until it reaches whatever size you want - most commonly .5 inch or .25 inch. for an outside shell color, flatten a color on your table surface and roll the tube up in it, then keep rolling. then you need a razor blade and cut the cane in slices.

Answer 4

HI! There is a book that I bought its a Kltuz book(for kids) but it helped me get started on clay beads. If you just wanted to make little rounds ones with cool designs on it they will give you an idea. Then you just bake them. Its fun.

Answer 5

Sorry. I do not. Thanks for asking though.