How to Make Polymer Clay Beads (6 Easy Styles)

Cut a square off a block of beige clay with scissors or a blade. Knead it between your fingers until it is warm and soft with no stiff bits left. That conditioning step keeps the bead from cracking in the oven. Roll the clay into a smooth ball between your palms, then press it down a little to flatten it into a rondelle. That is your first bead.

Mix your own colors from a starter pack. Press a blue block and a white block together and keep folding and kneading until the streaks disappear and you have an even sky blue. For pink, use a whole block of white with half a block of red. For a dark grey base that shows off copper leaf, mix white and black in equal amounts. Shape each one into a bead.

Cut a blue block and a white block into thin slices of the same thickness. Stack them, alternating colors, so you build a striped brick. Press the stack together gently so the layers bond. Pinch and roll the edges with light pressure to shape a barrel bead while keeping the stripes on the outside. The video repeats this with beige and white for a softer stripe.

Form a block of clay into a neat cube. Mark the middle of each edge, then mark diagonals between those points. Use a palette knife to slice each corner off along the lines. Turn the cube over and do the same on the other side. Smooth each flat face with a fingertip until the shape looks balanced and even from every angle.

Hold the bead lightly and push a pottery spike or needle tool through the center. Keep the hole as centered as you can so the bead hangs straight on the cord. Twist the tool as you go rather than forcing it. Use the end of a paintbrush handle to smooth out the opening on both sides. Repeat for every bead before anything goes in the oven.

Preheat the oven to the temperature on your clay packet. Mont Marte clay bakes at 130 C (about 265 F) for 30 minutes. Stand the beads on an aluminium tray or a sheet of foil, with space between them so they do not touch. Bake for the full time, then let them cool on the tray. Polymer clay feels a little soft while warm and firms up as it cools.

Pour a little leafing size into a palette. Size is the glue that holds glitter and metal leaf. Brush it over any bead you want to decorate. Glitter and leaf only stick where the size goes. For a speckled look on the grey bead, dab on small patches and leave some of the base color bare. Let the size turn tacky before the next step.

Hold the sized bead over a sheet of paper and pour glitter over it. The video uses the yellow from a six color shaker. The size is very sticky, so turn and position the bead with a brush handle instead of your fingers. Keep turning until the whole bead is coated. Tip the loose glitter off the paper back into the jar.

Set a sized bead in the middle of a fresh sheet of copper leaf. Lift the leaf up and fold it gently around the bead until it is fully covered. Then sweep away the loose leaf with a clean, soft brush. The partly sized grey bead gets the same treatment, and the dark base shows through the gaps in the copper for a more rustic finish.

Lay out your beads and decide on the order before you start. Thread them one at a time onto a length of faux suede cord, sliding each one down to meet the last. The video puts a faceted bead at each end to frame the round ones. Tie the cord ends with a sliding knot so the necklace fits over your head.