Where Can I Get Polymer Clay

Where Can I Get Polymer Clay
How to Make Polymer Clay Beads of All Shapes and Sizes
By Glenn Tucker


Making your own polymer clay beads can be great fun. With these easy to follow and understandable hints and tips you will be making beads of all shapes, sizes and designs in no time. You can make your own jewellery and are great for gifts for friends and family.

Polymer Clay

This material is made from PVC plastics. It comes in a variety of brands and is all different in density and manageability. Softer clay's are easier to use straight out of the packet where as some will be a bit more stiff. Even though the softer ones are easier, after being baked they will be more brittle and lack strength, whereas the firmer clays can be harder to manipulate but are a lot stronger after baking. For making beads it is best to go for clay that is not too soft or too hard. Gently squeeze the clay before purchase to see which are best for you but do not distort the clay in the pack.

Tools

To start with you need to make sure you have the correct jewellery making tools. It will make creating the polymer clay beads a lot more quick and easy for you. The basic tools are as follows polymer clay blades, needle and hook tool, metal stylus, rubber tipped clay shaper, clay cutters, pasta machine, bead rolling tools, clay baking rack, texturizing tools, wire cutters, crimping tools, needle/ chain-nose pliers and round-nose pliers.

Shapes and sizes of beads

With the bead rolling tool you can create various shapes. Also use your acrylic tray from the baking rack to get flatter edges when making shapes such as the square and rectangle, and it is also useful to use as a clean working surface. For larger, more adventurous shapes then make them by hand, every bead will be different and unique.

Creating the bead holes are normally best made by cocktail sticks, rest them across the clay baking rack when finished so they don't become flat on any sides or ruin the design, especially if they are wet from varnishing and other effects.

Effects and colours

Polymer clay comes in a variety of colours, but don't feel limited you can mix up your own. It is a good idea to have a colour wheel with primary colours on it to help you when mixing.

If you want a marble effect bead, choose the colours you want to mix and that go well together. After warming the clay up in your hands from rolling it around take a piece of each colour and mix together rolling and twisting to create the marble effect you want. When you like the effect take a bit off the marbled piece and roll into a ball shape, then push a cocktail stick through the bead. You can make different sized and shaped beads if you didn't want to stick to just the one shape. Then bake at the designated temperature and time

The pasta machine is a great way to make the clay more manageable and for a flat gradient piece to roll into a 3D cane for cutting into different sizes is just one of the things you can do.

Baking and finish effects

Each type of clay will have its own baking guidelines on the packaging, it is always good to keep an eye on the beads and temperatures vary. If the clay is brittle after baking use an oven thermometer to make sure you aren't baking at to cool a temperature. Translucent clays may burn easier. You may need to reduce the temperature by a couple of degrees.

To buff the beads and achieve a glossy finish then use a buffing wheel or use a grinding wheel, however these can be expensive methods. For a free way to achieve a satin matte finish, just find an old piece of jeans and buff by hand. If none of these options you feel are for you then go for the quick and easy method of varnishing. Paint the pieces with a gloss varnish that is compatible with the clay. A sealer is not always needed but is good for protecting the surface, especially if you have used other materials that are resting on top of the beads such as foil.

There is a large variety of things you can do with polymer clay, don't restrict yourself to just one thing. From adding foils to making animals, there are so many different methods and designs you can create with this fantastic material.



Glenn Tucker writes for a variety of Jewellery blogs and is a big fan of jewellery making websites where you can get a everything you need especially, art clay silver, fimo, charm beads and jewllery making tools.

Where Can I Get Polymer Clay