Kathleen Gagne asked:


Making beaded jewelry can be a fun and even profitable hobby. However, nothing quite compares to the satisfaction and admiration that can come from making your own customized beads. But, exactly how do you make your own beads?

One of the most popular styles of beads today, is the fimo bead. Fimo beads are made from polymer clay that is molded and baked. With the right tools and techniques, you can create a large variety of shapes and designs for your beads. This article is going to focus on the basics steps needed for all fimo bead making.

• Prepare the Clay

Soften your clay by kneading small portions with your hands until it is warm, stretchy and moldable. This is also the right time to mix any colors together if you are trying to make a custom color or marbled effect. Make sure to work out any air bubbles. A good way to do this is to roll your clay flat using an acrylic rolling pin.

• Shape the Clay

Using your hands or a sheet of plexiglass, shape your beads. You can make them into balls, squares, logs of multiple colors rolled together and sliced, or any other shape you can think of. You are only limited by your imagination.

• Make the Hole

Assuming you plan on stringing your beads, you are going to have to make holes in them. You can do this before or after baking. The easier method is to make the hole beforehand. To do this, gentle twist a skewer back and forth into your beads. Place multiple beads on one skewer for baking and make sure they don’t touch one another. Alternately, you can drill holes in your beads after baking. Drilling is more difficult, but won’t distort the shape of your beads.

• Bake the Beads

Again, making sure that the beads don’t touch one another, suspend the beads on skewers over a metal pan or tray. If you are drilling holes afterwards, place the beads gently between two pieces of cardboard. Bake the beads according to the instructions for the type of polymer clay that you purchased. This usually takes about 30 minutes in your own oven.

• Finishing Touches

Once your beads have cooled, slowly remove the beads from the skewers and sand any rough spots that may have developed from making the holes. Spray them with a coat of varnish to make them shiny, if desired.

There you have it: the basics for making your own fimo beads. Have fun!



Henry

Imran ali asked:


Beaded jewelry is appreciated all over the world because it comes in many different colors, can be easily matched with any outfit and most of all it is totally affordable. A beautiful beaded necklace is not very difficult to make at home. All you need is a sample pattern, some colorful beads or crystals, a string and a toggle clasp. Thousands of lovely designs are available on the internet which can be utilized to make gorgeous and one-of-a-kind beaded jewelry articles. Handcrafted jewelry is attractive because it also reflects your inner taste and personality. You can choose personalized charms and lovely beads to make a choker at home that expresses your style.

Strong, nylon-covered wires or strings are often used for making beaded chokers. These wires are flexible so that one can easily twist and turn them to create wonderful designs. There are many types of beads available on the market that can be used for making beaded jewelry articles. Some of the popular ones include glass beads, luster beads, pony beads, seed beads, and faceted beads. If you are making a personalized choker or bracelet you can also choose alphabet beads made of plastic. These beads are available in packs and are priced by weight. They are quite inexpensive.

Some other types of beads are also utilized by jewelry makers all over the world. These beads, although not very popular, are simply exquisite. A gorgeous beaded necklace can be made by using these beads which include cloisonné beads, lampwork beads, bugle beads, vintage beads and lead crystal beads. In addition to these, artificial gemstone beads are also commonly used to impart an expensive look to the choker. Fake pearls and simulated gemstones including diamond simulates come under this category. Artistic jewelry articles are made by using furnace glass beads and vintage beads.

First of all you need to determine the length of your choker. There are different styles of necklaces and all are prepared by using different string lengths. For example there is a Y-shaped choker which can be made with a dangling crystal pendant or a large gemstone. A briolette wrap necklace is another choice which can be made by using wire techniques. These techniques include how to make a simple, double or a wrapped loop, how to make a spiral and a connector, how to make a briolette wrap and how to make jump rings. You need to master these simple tricks to make lovely beaded jewelry at home.

So, you see there are countless ways of making a gorgeous and unique beaded necklace with your own hands. Once you have perfected the basic steps needed to create a beaded jewelry article, you would want to try many different patterns and artwork to turn your imagination into lovely pieces of jewelry. Beaded chokers are admired all over the world and they can also be given as memorable gifts on all occasions. If you also want to make your own personalized beaded choker, check out various options available along with the collection of multi-colored, beautiful beads and crystals.



Leslie