Polymer clay swirly bead tutorial

Feel the need to bead? Do you lie awake at night, dreaming about gorgeous gemstones, smooth glass beads, earthy clay rounds, crystal rondelles? If so, you may have a bit of a bead problem.

Hello, my name's Tallulah does the Hula and I'm a beadaholic.

There comes a point where creating pieces from bought beads just isn't enough! There's something really satisfying about making your own.

A few years ago, I discovered that Fimo and Sculpey's not just for kids! Once you've mastered the basics, the world's your oyster when it comes to making beautiful art jewellery out of polymer clay.

Here's a simple tutorial to get you started on some show stopping beads! All you need is some polymer clay, a smooth work surface (I use a tile, which keeps the clay nice and cool), a pasta machine for rolling the clay, a cutter and a rolling device (I find the smooth part of a bead reamer works better than an actual roller!). Enjoy!

Swirly Bead Tutorial

1. Create a two-part Skinner blend using your pasta machine to roll and blend two different colours. Depending on your preference, you can choose either complementary or contrasting colours to go for either a subtle or vibrant effect. It's fun to experiment and try out different colour combos.

2. Once you have the desired blend of colours, trim the sheet to make it rectangular and get rid of any rough edges.

3. Next, use the pasta machine to roll a thin sheet of clay to use as an outline. In my case I used black and silver sheets but it's fun to experiment!

4. Trim the sheets so they are all the same size. Then make a jelly roll out of the sheet. In this case I've started by putting the yellow in the centre and put the green part on the outside but feel free to experiment. Variety is the spice of life!

5. Once you have your jelly roll, gently roll the cane to lengthen it. Rest your clay for a short while to allow it to cool down.

6. Next, use your cutter blade to cut thin slices. Carefully use a roller or similar (in my case, the end of a bead reamer) to thin out the slices. Use your blade to gently remove them from the work surface as rolling them out will probably make them stick to the surface!

7. Roll half a segment of clay into a ball and then squash down the ends to form a rondelle shaped bead. Use your rolling instrument to gently smooth the cane slices onto the bead, taking care not to distort the bead's shape.

8. Use a reamer, needle, cocktail stick, toothpick or some other sharp, long object to make a hole in the centre of your bead.

9. You can use bits of scrap clay to embellish your bead. In this case, I've rolled a bit of leftover yellow clay into a thin snake and then made little dots which I've carefully smoothed onto the bead to liven up gaps.

10. Bake your beads in the oven, following the clay manufacturer's instructions. Once they've cooled down, you can gloss them, depending on whether you want a matt or gloss surface.

You can make all sorts of weird and wonderful beads using this technique!

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Have yourself a berry little Christmas! (or a plum one if you prefer)

In a bit of a jam about what to give this festive season? Don't get yourself in a pickle - make some instead! This year I plan to have a creative Christmas and a handmade Chanukah!

That's right. I'm all about personalised, homemade gifts this year.

Over the years, my family and friends have bourne the brunt of my jewellery making experiments - but this Chanukmas (because in my house, we do the fun bits of both!), I plan to take personally made presents that step further.

Plum-tastic!
We've had a glut of delicious, juicy plums in our garden.

After eating my body weight in plums and inflicting bags of the fruit on all and sundry, I've decided to try out this Spicy Plum and Apple Chutney recipe from BBC Good Food. Because chutney is the savoury (or in my case, unsavoury) person's answer to jam!

Think mature cheddar, gooey Camembert, zingy, stinky Stilton, served up with a healthy dollop of chutney, crusty bread and a big glass of red. I can see your mouth drooling now!

So I made an enormous batch of chutney, using plums from the garden and apples from my parents as well as blackberries I picked in the neighbourhood (because I can't seem to stick to a recipe without going slightly off piste!). You can't say much more locally sourced or organic than that! 

The kitchen reeked of vinegar, star anise and syrupy fruit - but it was a good kind of pong! Admittedly things got a bit out of hand when the pot bubbled over and gloop seeped under the ignition to our gas stove and erm... slightly knackered the ignition switch (hello matches!).

I bought some pretty Kilner presentation jars and sterilised them before filling them with chutney.

Handmade hamper
If you're sold on preserving the festive spirit in this way, how about a handmade hamper? The sky's the limit - there are numerous free recipes out there for other homemade goodies to accompany your chutney, such as fudge, tiffin, Christmas cake, jam - you name it! I won't reveal too much more about my plans as I've already given a lot away (just in case any of my victims - er recipients - are reading this)!

Patience is not my best virtue - but hopefully my experiments into chutney will prove a success. The most important ingredient in any chutney is time. I won't know for sure if I've made a delicious damson delight or committed crimes against condiments until Christmas time, when the vinegar should have mellowed out enough for the chutney to be consumed. But at least it will look pretty!

Waste not, want not! The bead challenge begins!

Hello, my name's Tallulah and I'm a beadaholic...

As a mum on a limited budget, I hate throwing out food! One way I've cut down on our bills is by trying to use up ingredients to make yummy meals and finding creative ways to feed my young family.

I appreciate that in the same way that a girl can't have too many shoes, a beadaholic can't have too many beads. But even I must admit that my bead problem is getting out of hand! (Sometimes I lie awake at night, hallucinating about all that gorgeous eye candy and thinking of all the different things I could create with beads, wire, crystals, gemstones - you name it!)

Anyway, I've decided to give myself a bit of a challenge - to use up some of the beads I've made to create hopefully stunning pieces!

Let me explain. Just over a year ago, I was heavily pregnant and about to pop with my second munchkin. Munchkin number one had recently turned two and had the good grace to nap during the day - which left me with a bit of time to do creative shizzle.

About to pop!

While other mums-to-be blitz the house, paint the inside of wardrobes or sort out their pantries during this "nesting" phase, I went through a frenzy of making polymer clay beads. Vibrant rondelles, chunky, funky statement beads, twisty psychedelic beads, spotty dotty hotties... You name it!

Beads, beads, glorious beads...

I painstakingly created clay canes, worked them into the clay bead shapes, baked them, glossed them... These babies were a true labour of love (hey I was almost in labour by the time I made them!). I think subconsciously I must have known that when bubs number two decided to grace me with his presence, spare time would be as precious as a blood red ruby - and I was right!

So my mini Hobbit turned up - and as I suspected, I was knee deep in nappies, cluster feeding and all the rest (while also trying to maintain an extroverted two-year-old's very active social life!).

My poor handmade beads sat unloved in their boxes, crying out to be nurtured and strung! Just as the cake in Alice in Wonderland cried "eat me", these babies silently begged me, "bead me!"

Lonely, I'm so lonely...

Fast forward almost a year - and I've set myself the challenge of incorporating my clay creations into eye catching, original statement pieces, some of which I'm selling on my Etsy shop. I'm enjoying mixing up my handmade feature beads with sumptuous crystals, gorgeous gemstones, glass, copper - whatever catches my eye!

Translucent beads mixed with hematite rounds, copper and glass.

One of my favourites! Beads made from extruded clay canes star alongside ruby pink chalcedony, turquoise and glass.

Although I'm loving our Indian summer, this autumnal necklace incorporates leafy clay beads with chalcedony, copper and glass.

I do love a challenge!

From journo to jewellery designer...

Aloha!

Not so long ago, I was busy chasing firefighters (not such a bad job as you can imagine!) as the "emergency reporter" for a newspaper in beautiful New Zealand. When I wasn't covering breaking news, I got to try awesome stuff like flying a plane, covering The Lord of the Rings World Premiere and photographing popstars.

Biggles goes flying. Don't be afraid - be very afraid!

It was a great life - but pretty full-on at times - so when I got home after a long day's work, I would chillax by hitting the beach, exploring a nature reserve - or playing with beads and wire. Some of my first efforts were pretty cringe-worthy in retrospect! But as my fabulous former boss was fond of saying, "imagine if there was no failure - only feedback?" Making mistakes and learning from them is all part of the process after all.

Fast forward a few years to March 2011... I was living back in Britain, working in PR and heavily pregnant with my first child. In the past couple of months, we had moved house and I was about to be made redundant as my whole department was being axed by the government. It was a stressful time - but also one of opportunity. Could I turn my passion for making jewellery into a part time job?

That question wouldn't get answered for a while. Cyclone Issy (my baby girl) arrived in a whirlwind, and suddenly, I barely had time to glam up in the morning, let alone make jewellery! But in those hazy moments between getting up for night feeds, I would occasionally dream of gorgeous gemstones, twinkling crystals and luscious pearls... And eventually I found an evening class where I could meet up with fellow bead freaks and exchange ideas! Two hours a week where I could focus on something other than nappies, dribbles and nibbles! Don't get me wrong - motherhood's the best job in the world - but we all need a creative outlet now and again!

How life has changed! But in an awesome way.

These days I'm a mum to a baby and a three-year-old - as well as two fur babies (of the feline kind - adopted from the RSPCA) and 20 odd fish.

The nearest beach is almost an hour away, so I don't get much time to surf! But I've definitely developed my love of jewellery making and incorporate my passion for sun, sea and surf into my pieces. I love mixing up handmade polymer clay beads with gorgeous gemstones, crystals, glass and pearls to make bold, bespoke jewellery.

My Etsy shop name - Tallulah does the Hula - partly stems from my childhood nickname, "Tallulah", given to me by my late grandfather - and reflects my love of surfie couture. (You can also find me on Facebook!)

If I close my eyes, I can almost smell the sea salt, hear the crash of the waves against the rocks, see the sun spreading its welcome rays across the sand...

Do pop by and say g'day! ♥ 

Winner of the silly hat competition!

Queen Elizabeth Park on NZ's Kapiti Coast - a place very dear to my heart.