ONE TUTORIAL A DAY FOR 31 DAYS – DAY 15 OF MY JOURNEY –TRIBAL DANCE

For this project I started with the idea to make something ethnic, tribal. And I started making larger oval beads wrapped in thin polymer clay ropes. While I was doing this, I said to myself: I should do the same with wire and seed beads. While I was wrapping one bead, I noticed that the tension was not right, so I unwrapped it to do it again and that’s how I noticed that the pattern imprinted on the clay was really interesting.  Thus I decided to just wrap and unwrap two beads only to get that design on polymer clay.

While making this wire wrapped beads, I remembered that I had a circular peyote pendant that I started one day and then left it aside as I did not know what to do with it. And it turned out it was perfect for this tribal necklace. This project was more like putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

Materials and tools used to make the beads: white Fimo Professional Polymer Clay, a pasta machine, a wooden stick, pastel colors, Czech seed beads, varnish, wire.

I have softened the polymer clay in my hands and rolled it through the pasta machine (15-20 times)

I have put a wooden stick on the polymer clay sheet, rolled the clay around it and cut the excess clay.

I rolled it a little bit on the table and then I started extruding thin polymer clay ropes.

I have covered the bead with thin ropes, trying to join the end of one rope with the beginning of the next rope (not to have a gap between).

This is the bead covered all around with polymer clay ropes.

I made the same shape bead and then I attached a wire to the bead (and pressed the knotted wire into the bead) and started stringing beads on the wire and then wrapping the wire all around, just like I did wit the ropes (at the end of the bead, I pulled the wire  underneath 3-4 rows, made a knot and cut off the excess wire).

While I was wrapping these beads, I noticed that when I unwrapped them to tighten the pressure, the beads made an interesting design on polymer clay.

I have made two beads with this interesting texture.

Then I have put all the beads on a memory wire (to get a slightly curved shape) and put them in the oven according to the clay manufacturer’s specifications.

After cooling down, I have painted them with a mixture of varnish and pastel colors (light blue and dark blue and yellow).

Mission accomplished. Project 15 is done.

Have a wonderful day!

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