Making Hollow Tube Beads from Polymer Clay

Polymer Clay Central Hollow Bead

Ok, the title isn’t the best ever made, but the bead does look beautiful, doesn’t it? ;-)
I have it on my have-a-go-at-it-list for a long time already but it keeps being pushed down by other projects.
Now I place it back to the top ;-)


Links:
At Polymer Clay Central: Making Hollow Tube Beads

 

Embellished Oranges

unikatissima Embellished Orange

This time it’s no ‘real’ instruction but an inspiration: Embellished Grapefruits Embellished Grapefruits. (Click there for the actual pieces on the thumbnails and see e.g. Two Pods Two Pods.)
Because I’m always impatient I preferred to use a piece from an orange – grapefruits are so big ;-)

While working I had a lot of fun.
I like the embroidery of orange peels nearly as much as embroidery on paper. The most uncommon thing I had to do was to give my needle a wash ;-))

 

unikatissima Embellished Orange After the embroidery I put the orange peel between several layers of tissue paper in an old telephon book and let it dry ‘flat’.
Actually I had hoped that I can coat it with medium gel afterwards and wear as a pendant, but I don’t really like the ‘flat version’ of my orange peel.

 

unikatissima Embellished Orange I find worst that the threads now stand up now like croquet wickets, I really don’t like this.

 

At the next opportunity I will see if I can make it better.
If it works I will perhaps embroider beads on, that should be interesting, perhaps Paisleys or simply Freeform.


Links:
Grapefruit – click there for the actual pieces on the thumbnails and see e.g. Two Pods
The original site doesn’t exist any more and is now available through webarchive:
Grapefruit – click there for the actual pieces on the thumbnails and see e.g. Two Pods

Embroidery stitch descriptions (English)
Embroidery stitch descriptions (German)

Here at unikatissima:
Paper Crazy Quilt
Freeform Bead Embroidery
Bead embroidered Paisleys

Beaded Square Stitch Heart

unikatissima Bead Square Stitch Heart

Because it’s not long to Valentine’s Day any more I’d like to offer a template for you to bead a heart with square stitch (for instructions on how to do the square stitch see links below).
It’s great to make a card but can be made into a piece of jewelry as well.

 


unikatissima Heart Chart Click picture to enlarge and then simply print.

 

unikatissima Bead Square Stitch And here you can see easily where the name ‘square stitch’ comes from ;-))

 


Links:
Standard Square Stitch Beading Tutorial
Making Square Stitch Samples Part I – shows also the ‘Circular Flat Square Stitch’

Perlenhobby Anleitungen (German) => click ‘Anleitungen’ in the left navigational bar => click ‘Quadratstich’

Spring Flower Necklace

beadjapan Spring Flower Necklace

I found a tutorial on how to make a Spring Flower Necklace.
Unfortunately I haven’t had time to make it yet, but I really want to in the future.
As you can see on the photo it has daisies just like the Beaded Daisy Chains, but they are beaded in a quite different way.

 
Really cute, isn’t it?


Links:
Spring Flower Necklace (with good explaining graphics)

Here at unikatissima:
Beaded Daisy Chains

Pillow Beads

bighugelabs Pillow Beads

I once tried to make such hollow pillow beads, but they collapsed. One day I will try it again, but I think I’ll better make filled beads, they seem to be easier ;-)

 

Links:

Hollow Beads:
clayfulmingles: Pillow Bead Lesson
Polymer Clay Polyzine: Pillow Beads by Carissa Nichols

Filled Beads:
Polymer Clay Central: Barb’s Pillowbeads
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads: Creating Pillow Beads – scroll down

Google image search result for ‘polymer clay pillow bead’

I made the mosaic with the Mosaic Maker of Big Huge Labs.
The images are:
First row:
Polymer clay Mokume Gane Pillow Beads by Beadazzle Me
Polymer Clay Pillow Beads * Winter Garden by Kellee’s Beaded and Clay…

Second row:
Polymer Clay Grape/Lime Pillow Beads by Beadazzle Me
Polymer Clay Teal Damask Pillow Beads by Beadazzle Me

flickr: search result for ‘pillow beads’

Here at unikatissima: entries with the tag ‘fimo’ – with some of them you can make beautiful pillow beads