Make beautiful millefiori beads that are perfect for a summer-themed jewellery collection

What you need...

• FIMO Soft polymer clay: translucent orange, white, magenta, cyan
  
• FIMO gloss varnish, water-based
  
• Rolling pin, small
  
• Cutting implement
  
• Wall tile
  
• Needle tool
  
• Chain, silver-plated, jump rings, head pins, clasp
  
• Pliers: round-nosed & flat-nosed
  
• Pearls and crystals

instructions

1. Sweet Style - 1. Roll a half block of white clay to a rectangle 3mm thick. Repeat with orange. Layer the panels Swiss roll style, and turn until it is 15mm in diameter. Trim off one untidy end, and cut a third of the resulting cane into 3mm slices. Lay them flat on a tile and make a 1mm diameter hole in the top of each with a needle.
   
   2. Roll the remaining cane until it is 5mm diameter and wrap with a 2mm sheet of pink clay. Cut the tube into six equal pieces, remove the ends, and press together in a flower pattern. Re-roll to smooth the outside and reduce the cane to the same diameter as before, and cut half of it into slices. Reduce the remaining cane to 5mm in diameter and wrap with blue clay. Repeat process to make the third bead design. Bake all discs for 30 minutes, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
   
   3. While the beads are still hot, paint one side with gloss varnish, (which will dry very quickly). Flip over and coat the other side. Use pliers to fit a large jump ring into each hole and attach to a silver chain. Space large circular beads with an assortment of pearls and crystals threaded onto silver headpins.

FIMO stockists http://www.staedtler.co.uk, rrp £1.69 for a 56g block.