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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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!