Lily Pond Polymer Clay Bead Necklace Tutorial

The Lily Pond Polymer Clay Bead Necklace Step by Step

Making The Watercolor Veneers:

• To start you’ll need a sheet of white Premo polymer clay rolled out at 1mm thick.
• You will also need mixed media to color your clay with. You can use, paint, gilders paste, alcohol inks, mica powders or pastels. Today I will be using Gelatos - Bubblegum, Lavender, Passion Fruit and Boysenberry.
• Put together your chosen color palette, and streak your colors across your clay.
• Roll out a sheet of translucent clay on your thinnest setting, and smooth it carefully over your colored sheet.
• Run through on your middle setting, then again on the next setting down.
• Next you’ll need a sheet of pearl white Premo polymer clay rolled out at 1mm thick.
• On this one I will be using Lime, Snowcane and Boysenberry Gelatos.
• Cover with translucent again and run through on the same pasta machine settings.

Making The Lily Pond Beads

• Take your first veneer and rip into small pieces.
• Roll a piece of scrap clay into a ball to form the core of your bead.
• Place pieces of your veneer onto the core in an overlapping fashion.
• Wearing gloves, roll the ball in your palms until all the slices are flattened and there are no seams.
• Repeat for as many beads as you like.
• Repeat with the second veneer.
• Place the beads on tissues for baking at the recommended temperature for an hour with a sheet of paper over the top for tenting.

Making the Lentil Beads

• Roll a piece of translucent, pearl white or white clay into a ball. Cover with small pieces ripped from your veneers. For the lentil bead I will be using the two veneers together.
• Wearing gloves, roll the ball in your palms until all the slices are flattened and there are no seams.
• Use an acrylic block to roll the ball until a swirl pattern develops. (See the video).
• Flatten your bead and mold into a teardrop.
• Choose the side with the pattern you like the best and place that pattern face up.
• Use your fingers to dome the edges.
• Place the cabochon on a piece of deli paper and push it down a little to smooth out the back.
• On the video I also show how to make a diamond shaped lentil, so have a look at that.
• Bake at the recommended temperature for an hour with a sheet of paper over the top for tenting.

Finishing the Beads

• Use a pin or push drill to drill a hole through the center of each bead. See the video for details of this process.
• Thread the beads onto a piece of wire and dip them in your varnish, or use a brush. (See the video for the process I use.)
• Each bead will require about three coats with half an hour drying time between.
• Allow to cure for two hours when all of your layers are complete.

Making the Water Lily Pond Polymer Clay Bead Necklace

• When the varnish has dried, remove your beads from the wire.
• Cut a length of stringing material. I am using Accu-flex.
• Add your charlotte crimp, crimp and clasp to one end of the cord.
• String your beads with your lentil teardrop in the center and your diamond lentils half way up either side and spacer beads in between.
• Finish off the other end with your charlotte crimp and clasp.

And that's your finished Lily Pond Polymer Clay Bead Necklace ready for spring.

I hope you enjoyed that. Have fun and try out some different colors and mixed media. You can create endless combinations with this easy polymer clay watercolor technique.