some of my first beads

These beads are not new, they are some I have made in the past. Different techniques were used. Some using canes I have made. (that's a whole new blog in itself) Some using onlays, inlays and some faux techniques I have tried.

#1

Here are two images if some of my faux lampwork beads. They were made my flattening round beads then sticking circles and teeny strips of clay.

#2

These beads were the first ones that I made using one of the first flower canes I made. Not bad but since then I have learned to roll them so as not to distort the flower pattern on the cane slices. These were sold on Etsy some months ago. There are currently no offerings by me there.




#3

These appear to be ceramic but they are really made with white polymer clay. The patterns were made using rubber stamps then a rub to accent the pattern. The rub was applied after baking as per instructions on the package.

To prevent the rub from wearing off, there were two coats of future floor wax, which is a clear acrylic much like the clear fingernail polish.












#4
These beads and the ones in #6 were used to make a gorgeous necklace and earring set for a good friend of mine. The yellow swirl ones have a base clay the color of the beads in


Very thin slices were made from a cane I made up of scrap clay. These beads were rubbed with corn starch before baking to make them as smooth as silk. They feel as if they have been meticulously polished by hand. The cornstarch gives them a nice matte finish.


#5
Here a terracotta appearance was the goal and am happy with these results. These were hand rubbed before baking to make them as smooth as possible. Then some were stamped with a flower patterned rubber stamp. I left them unpolished to give them a "natural" feel.




#6
I have a friend who owns a bead shop. She loves my chevron beads. These were made expecially for her.







#7









#8
This set of beads as well as the two below use onlay and inlay techniques. The onlays are raises to have a texture. The inlays are canes applied to beads then the beads are carefully rolled between my hands until they are smooth and the pattern is embedded in the bead. #9 is a combination of both techniques




#9
These are inlays with several layers that have small gaps to show the background pattern just a little.







#10
And here is another set using both techniques.








Maybe I should consider making tutorials for some of these. There are 2 tutorials on my website and more to come as soon as there is time. See them here

Beads and more beads

Well, it certainly has been a long time since I have posted in this blog. There is so much to show and discuss. There will have to be many posts to cover it all.

First off, I would like to show and discuss some beads I have made from polymer clay and then show off the jewelry that I have made from some of them.

Yup! This is a pile of polymer beads I have made. These are fresh from the polisher. There are several jewelry pieces that have been made from beads in this mess.

Most of the purple and all of the lacy looking blue and pink ones were traded along with most of their matching accent beads. I have attempted to re-create them but have not even come close. This is what makes polymer beads truly one of a kind. The separate "batches" are never the same. And the individual beads in each batch are not exact matches either.

Here is a necklace made from some of the red and white beads. They were made using the "natasha" technique. There will be a free tutorial HERE by the end of this week. I'm working on it. If all goes right, there will also be a link to a video to go along with the pictures. This necklace also includes blue Topaz chips and has a toggle clasp.



Below is another necklace made with natasha style beads. These weren't in the trade, I wanted to keep them for myself since they were made with this specific piece in mind.
All of the blue beads are polymer. the spacers are glass seed beads in 2 sizes.

Most of the purple and all of the lacy looking blue and pink ones were traded. I have attempted to re-create them but have not even come close. This is what makes polymer beads truly one of a kind. The separate "batches" are never the same. And the individual beads in each batch are not exact matches either.

Moving on, I would like to show you a necklace I created from what was not chosen by the other party when we did our trade. There is some 'recycled' chain in this one that was taken from a necklace I was given but never wore. Some of that chain ended up in some earrings too. Here, the big beads on the side were made to match the color of the round bead in the middle.

This round bead is the one at the top of the picture of the pile of beads. I embellished it with a lighter color clay that had a pattern, then added some of it to the 3 holes as well. Then the darker outline strip was applied. I was very happy with the effect. It totally changed the appearance of that plain purple ball. "GRIN" The smaller oval accent beads are also in that pile of beads. I made my own clasp for this one using brass wire.

Thank You for reading my blog. Why not subscribe to this blog so you will know when I publish more. I promise it won't be a year like this time.

There are currently none of my polymer beads for sale. You can see more of my creations by visiting my website: http://www.kayscrafts.com

P Kay Bell