Material needed

Premo! Sculpey polymer clay- blue pearl, sea green
Needle with eye large enough to accommodate lacing or ribbon for stringing
Clasp
Pasta machine or clay roller
Small clay or canape cutter (dedicated to crafting)
Index cards or small piece of fiberfill
Needle tool, skewer, or knitting needle the size of desired bead hole.
Drill bit glued into a baked clay handle (for adjusting hole size after baking)
Oven thermometer

Instructions:

Turning the coins into dangles
1. Condition clay before beginning by rolling or kneading the clay in your hands or on your work surface or by rolling it several times through a pasta machine set at the thickest setting.
2. Mix the following colors for the beads: (Don’t use all of the clay for mixing, you’ll want some of each original color in your necklace as well!)
1 part blue pearl: 1 part sea green
1 part blue pearl: 3 parts sea green
3 parts blue pearl: 1 part sea green
3. Roll each of the 5 colors of clay (3 mixes and 2 original colors) into sheets of clay the same thickness.
4. Use a small canape cutter or clay cutter to measure clay for beads- this insures that beads will be the same size.
5. Roll each piece of clay to desired shape… Experiment and have fun! Your hands are your best tools and with practice you will be able to make an amazing array of different shapes. If you prefer, there are bead-roller tools available that make it easy to create uniformly shaped beads.
6. Let the beads “rest” before making holes, especially if your hands are warm and the clay has gotten soft.
7. Make holes in beads. Work carefully, twisting the awl or skewer most of the way through the bead. For best results, stop just before you twist all the way through. Turn bead around and finish hole by twisting through from the other end- this keeps clay from pushing OUT at one end and creates a neatly finished hole.
8. Place beads on fiberfill or on accordion-folded index card.
9. Bake finished beads at 275 degrees F for thirty minutes. Allow to cool.
10. Use drill bit to enlarge holes if needed.

Assembling the necklace:

1. String the beads onto the ribbon or suede lacing in random groupings. Tie overhand knots between beads.
2. Attach a clasp to complete the necklace.

Project Images