Simple twisted beads : Tutorial : Beginners

Hi !

As a beginner clayer I was never sure what I wanted to do. I wanted to cane but very (very!) often I really screwed it up. The colour combinations would be terrible and since I never had the restraint to control the squishing, I would always end up getting mud colours.
And once I got mud colours, I just never took that chunk seriously and I just played with it (no worry of colour contamination). That's how the previous beads were made and that's how these came into being as well.

In many ways, these beads are even simpler than the beads previous turorial.

Materials Needed :

Polymer Clay
Roller / Pasta Machine
Clay Knife
Tooth pick

Clay Knife , Half a Bar of Premo Gold , Toothpick , Roller

Process :

1. I make 8 beads from one quarter of the 2 ounce Premo! bar. 

2. Condition the clay. I prefer cutting them , and then conditioning them. but this works only if you are using the colors straight out of the pack. 

Since I mostly mix colors, I would say get your clay conditioned well, use a pasta machine or a roller to get them evenly thick , the use a cutter to get equal sized portions of the clay. 

3. After conditioning the clay 

1. Make a small roll of it , a thick snake.
2. Use your hands to taper the end.
3. Then lightly press it , without losing a lot of thickness.
4. It will now look like a narrow diamond.
5. Now slowly twist the ends of the diamond , but in opposite directions.
6. Continue twisting gently , it will begin to have a screw like look.
7. Put the bead between your thumb & forefinger , and slowly the press the ends down onto the bead.
8. Press it down some more , so that it resembles a curvy barrel.
9. Let it rest for a few minutes , then use the tooth pick to pierce the bead.

Now bake them ! Refer to your clay packet for the temperature & time. I have used Premo! , so 130  degree Celsius and I baked them for an hour.

Tada ! You are done !

Thanks for reading ! Have a great day :) 

#2015PCChallenge : Week 19 : Neck pieces , mirrored style !

Hi !

It is already week 19 for the #2015PCChallenge! Wow ! That's a lot of learning for me :)

I have accumulated a lot of scrap clay during this process , as I tend to experiment as much as I can.This particular pieces were made from a recent cane experiment.

I recently joined the 52 weekly cane projects group on Facebook.The theme of the week when I joined was homestead. A little hobbit home immediately came into my mind.This picture by Ted Nasmith is what I was thinking of.
I did not know of the artist before I searched it out , even though the picture has been a favorite for years.I feel really terrible about that.

Anyway , my cane looks nothing like I planned ( LOL) , it was pretty fun never the less. I think I should proceed like a sane person from week 1 and THEN go into the second year :)

I used up the spare pieces from making the cane and also the pieces left over after reducing it,

Both the pieces are made using the Natasha bead technique. Even though it is an easy technique on paper , I found it takes some restraint from me to form these pieces.

The primary piece reminds me of a bubbling brook ( as the saying goes) , the plants in it swaying to a rhythm unknown to us.It is finished with silver colored chain.

The secondary piece reminds me of wahat I think plants on a ice would look like.It is finished with cotton cord and some rainbow beads , I still have plenty left over :)
I had cut a rather unlikely piece for the secondary piece. I cleaned it up a bit , but I left the trailing "tail" pieces as it is.If you notice , it has two separate Natasha pieces joined together.

In case any of you were wondering , here is my cane and "the idea". They definitely don't match! I sure have a long way to go!Please ignore the spelling comedies , if you can read my handwriting.

Thanks for reading through ! Have a good day !

#2015PCChallenge : Week 18 : scrap clay trials!

Hi !

For my personal May challenge , I am trying to utilize my time by using all the left over components and clay sheets to assemble a few pieces.

 I always have a few left over pieces / sheets of clay that were too pretty to throw away. I keep these separately so that I may use it later.This pile has been steadily increasing , so here are somethings I made with  them :)

Primary piece : Choker with rainbow beads , cotton cord and sliding knot closure

These beads are the results of the very first alcohol experiment. I wasn't sure what to do with them exactly , so I made a few tube-ish beads and some small round beads.This week I put them together.

I can just see someone lounging in a free flowing gorgette saree , playing with these beads as she sips something cold from a tall glass.

Companion piece : Square sunburst necklace , with gold colored chain and closure.

This is directly from my last week entry. I had a few left over pieces and they were just so pretty I did not want to ball it up or mush it up.I don't generally use chains to complete my pieces , however it went well with the theme.
I find this a very calming piece , just like the dawn :)

Thanks for taking a look. Have a good day !