Craft Forum

I am fairly new to jewellery making, and would like to know the best technique for making your own beads out of air drying clay

Unfortunatly I tried to make my own beads using polymers but my oven was causing them to burn. Try many methods but all failed

SO i decided to make my own beads using air crying clay and then painting them etc. However, My method seems somewhat squiffy

I evenly divide clay to the same weight, rolling it into a ball and poke a hole through using a piece of 1.25mm wire then leave to dry for a day or two. I use very fine emery boards to try and sand any rough edges or parts of the bead, then paint the beads with either acrylic paint or a metallic paint, sometimes doing two coats, Then to finish I coat with acrylic gloss once or twice. However, Ieven though the beads are useable and look good, I still think I could make a better finish to them and then worry about wether they are still waterproof or not going to chip if dropped etc. Can anyone confirm or suggest a good method or creating beads from air drying clay?????

damaralenoire - 04 August 2010 08:54 AM

I am fairly new to jewellery making, and would like to know the best technique for making your own beads out of air drying clay

Unfortunatly I tried to make my own beads using polymers but my oven was causing them to burn. Try many methods but all failed

SO i decided to make my own beads using air crying clay and then painting them etc. However, My method seems somewhat squiffy

I evenly divide clay to the same weight, rolling it into a ball and poke a hole through using a piece of 1.25mm wire then leave to dry for a day or two. I use very fine emery boards to try and sand any rough edges or parts of the bead, then paint the beads with either acrylic paint or a metallic paint, sometimes doing two coats, Then to finish I coat with acrylic gloss once or twice. However, Ieven though the beads are useable and look good, I still think I could make a better finish to them and then worry about wether they are still waterproof or not going to chip if dropped etc. Can anyone confirm or suggest a good method or creating beads from air drying clay?????

We will be featuring a project using terracotta air drying clay in the next issue of Make Jewellery, which goes on sale on 27th August, although the clay isn’t painted as the designer went for a natural look. We will put your question to our experts and see if we can find an answer for you, to appear in a future issue - thanks again for writing in!

Best wishes,

Melissa Hyland
Deputy Editor

Hi, I have a question but i’m not sure if I need to email it to Melissa.

I’ve recently started making tiara’s and the first i tried was the Flower Garden tiara in Issue 14. I am really quite pleased with it and am considering trying to sell it. My problem is, as the design is somewhat taken from the magazine, what would be the copyright limitation on this?

I don’t want to get into trouble before i’ve even started out!!

Many thanks in advance for you advice and please let me know if i need to email this in and i will do so.

Kind Regards,

Sarahxx

Oops, I think this chat may have ended! I’ll post a new threadxx

Recently, i have been incorporating Chainmaille Jewellery Elements into my jewellery designs / creations. However to be able to get the right jump rings that would suit my designs is sometimes difficult or too expensive and so I have been trying to make my own, Despite using flush cutters i find that jump rings still have a slightly angle to the cut or that they still sometimes leaves edges at rish of catching on fabric etc. Can you recommend any methods on creating my own jump rings.

Pamela James-Blackwood

what a good ideal ,is it for free ?

I make my own and I some use a fine emery cloth to smooth down the sharp edges or you could use a old nail file.

PeterA - 05 July 2010 03:43 PM

Gilded Lilypad - 18 December 2009 06:00 PM

Hiya,

I’ve had a go at weaving beads on a loom, and love the effect, but I’m struggling on how to finish it off.  The books I have descriptions but not much in the detailed photos which I really need.  Would really like to finish off the one sat on my loom :o)

I’m having the same trouble.  not the easiest thing to lose 28 ends of thread and find a way of finishing off with a clasp of some sort.

Regards

Pete

applebypd on the forum

Here’s one solution:
http://www.fusionbeads.com/beadingfaq/techniques.php?bfid=156

hopefully this be a useful feature in the magazine.

Hi Melissa,

I have been experimenting with shrink plastic and use permanent markers and colouring pencils. I’d like to know what Make Jewellery would recommend to seal in the colour to prevent the colour wearing away or transferring onto skin when worn?

many thanks

We have various kinds of jewellery with different material and styles,and I would like to know of some websites which i could register with to sell our products on, thanks

Hey,

I’d love to make a beaded watch, but i don’t really know how to do it. I found an article with some pictures. This how it should look like - but it should be less expensive

http://www.moodiereport.com/document.php?c_id=1134&doc_id=28072

Any suggestions?

thanks a lot
any questions will let you know~

Kevin have pm’d you

I’d really like to know how to make some of the perfectly round coiled wire beads I’ve seen one jewellery in the shops like this one. 

http://tinyurl.com/66ht43m

Thanks