Fascinated for years with Venetian glass beads, Ann and Karen continue to create designs inspired by these delicate and feminine miniature works of art. Many polymer clay artists beads have mastered the millefiori cane building concepts from glass making, and adapted them to the clay. With the recent introduction of Liquid Sculpey, clay lovers can now create elegant fiorato. Fiorato beads get their elegant floral patterns from small molten canes of colored and transparent glass trailed and scrolled in a controlled fashion on the surface of the bead. This look can be easily achieved by trailing tinted liquid Sculpey over a baked polymer clay bead base.

Creating Venetian style beads in polymer has several advantages, including inventing new colors, making lighter weight and more durable beads, and developing original surface patterns. The following project is an introduction to the fiorato style in liquid Sculpey, producing a traditional Venetian look in a bead. Once completed, the bead is ready to become a pendant for a necklace, and can be mixed with coordinating clay beads, or added to a simple beaded necklace or chain as an intricate centerpiece.

Materials:

• 1/4 block Sculpey III Translucent 010 or Premo! Sculpey Translucent 5310 large pinch of Sculpey III Blue 063 or Premo! Sculpey Cobalt Blue Hue 5063
• scrap clay
• Translucent Liquid Sculpey , totaling about two tablespoons
• Sculpey Super Slicer
• Ruler
• Wooden skewers or toothpicks
• Small spoon 1/4 inch flat brush
• One 2" head pin, gold tone or gold filled
• Oil paint: white
• Pearl Ex mica pigment powders: Sparkle Gold, Aztec Gold, Antique Gold, Super Copper, Duo Red-Blue, Red-Russet, Duo Green-Yellow, True Blue
• Small aluminum palette or seven small dishes, aluminum or glass
• Varathane or Sculpey glaze for finishing (gloss finish)
• Brush
• Wax paper
• Paper towels for clean up
  

Directions:

Making the Bead:

• Soften translucent clay by kneading with hands. Add a pinch of cobalt blue clay to tint. You may wish to add a little bit at a time to control the color. Mixing the color in partially makes a nice subtle marble effect for the base bead. The colored piece of clay will make about five or six pendant beads.
• Roll tinted clay into a snake with a 1/2" diameter.
• Cut one end flat with tissue blade.
• Measure one 3/4" piece, cut off of snake. Roll into a ball.
• Pressing soft clay gently between palms while rolling, form bead into an oval shape.
• The oval shape can be enhanced by pinching the ends slightly, smoothing between palms.
• Pierce oval bead through the center from end to end with a head pin to form bead hole. Leave bead on head pin, this will act as a handle later. Do not slide bead around; allow bead to stick to head pin.
• Make a 1" ball with scrap clay. Flatten bottom side to form a baking stand. Place head pin with bead in flattened ball of clay so it will bake without touching anything. Make sure scrap clay baking stand is stable. Bake bead according to manufacturer's recommendation for clay.

Mixing the Decorating Colors

• Place a small amount of translucent Liquid Sculpey- about 1/4 teaspoon each (1/2 tsp. for aventurine), in seven small dishes or on aluminum palette. Use a skewer for each different color. Colors to mix for bead: aventurine(copper-gold), pink, maroon, yellow, medium blue, white, light green.
• For aventurine, add small amounts of Antique Gold, Aztec Gold, and Super-Copper to make a copper- gold color. Mix powder in thoroughly. The aventurine should have a metallic look, and an almost paste-like texture. Add more powder and mix in as needed.
• On a sheet of wax paper, practice using a skewer to draw fine lines of clay. If the aventurine has too much powder, it will form blobs and not lines. If the mixture is too thin, the lines will spread quickly.
• For pink, add Pearl Ex Duo Red-Blue a little at a time to liquid Sculpey. For the maroon use Red-Russet Pearl Ex. Use Sparkle Gold Pearl Ex for the yellow. Use Duo Green-Yellow for the light green. Use the True Blue for the blue. For all five of these colors mix the powder in thoroughly, it will thicken the texture of the Liquid Sculpey.
• For white, add a small amount of white paint to translucent. Tip: Once all colors are mixed, it can be beneficial to allow the colors to sit uncovered overnight or a few days, as the clay will thicken slightly for a better texture. For the aventurine stripe in center of bead, the fresh mix is easier to spread, and the thickened mix makes finer lines

Decorating the Bead

• After bead has cooled, it is ready to decorate.
• Leave bead on head pin, this will act as a handle to decorate the bead. Using a clean 1/4" brush that has been dipped in the fresh aventurine mix, drag a wide line around the center of the bead. You may need to go over the liquid clay with the brush to create an even line. Bake the bead again, and allow to cool.

• Using a clean skewer, pick up a small amount of the aventurine, and allow it to form a string off of the skewer. Trail a thin swirling or wavy line all the way around the bead, near one end. Repeat the wavy line at the other end of the bead. Bake bead in scrap clay bead stand so it does not touch any surface. Allow to cool.
• Each bead will have two pink roses applied opposite each other on the center line of the bead. With the tip of the skewer, make a dot of pink on the center line approximately 3-4mm in diameter. With the pointed end of a clean skewer, pick up a small amount of the maroon liquid clay. Place tip in center of pink dot, and swirl in a spiral motion out to edge of dot. You may wish to practice this two step process on a piece of wax paper before attempting it on the bead. Using another clean skewer, make a light green dot in four places around the rose. Drag the fine tip of the skewer from the green dot away from the rose, forming a leaf shape. Repeat the rose and leaf dots on the opposite side of the bead.
• Each bead will have two blue and yellow flowers applied in the spaces on the center line where there are no roses. At an equal distance from both roses on the center line, make a small yellow dot with the clean pointed tip of a skewer. Put five small blue dots around the center yellow dot, spaced equally to form petals. Do not touch the blue to the yellow. With another skewer, dot white clay in the center of each blue dot to complete the flower. Repeat on opposite side of bead. Bake the bead again in the scrap clay bead stand.
• When bead has cooled completely, apply a coat of Varathane or Sculpey glaze with a brush. Allow to dry thoroughly. The pendant bead is now complete, and ready to be used on a necklace design of your choice.

Options for spacer beads

• Here are some additional options for smaller, round beads. You would use the same technique but slightly different colors to achieve this affect.

Tip: As with any clay project, wash hands after handling clay. A dust mask is recommended when using metallic and mica powders.

Resources:

AnKara Designs
Ann and Karen Mitchell
626-798-8491
www.AnKaraDesigns.com
e-mail: Karen@AnKaraDesigns.com
Jewelry designers

Polyform Products
1901 Estes Ave.
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
847-427-0020
www.sculpey.com
Manufacturers of Sculpey III, Liquid Sculpey, Premo

Clay Factory of Escondido
750 Citracado Pkwy. #21
Escondido, CA 92029
Mailing address: PO Box 460598
Escondido, CA 92046-0598
800-243-3466
www.clayfactoryinc.com
e-mail: clayfactoryinc@clayfactoryinc.com
Suppliers of Liquid Sculpey, Premo, Sculpey III, tissue blades

Rupert Gibbon and Spider
PO Box 425
1147 Healdsburg Ave.
Healdsburg, CA 95448
800-442-0455
www.jacquardproducts.com
Suppliers of Pearl Ex mica pigment powders

Rings and Things
PO Box 450
Spokane, WA 99210-0450
800-366-2156
www.Rings-Things.com
Suppliers of jewelry findings