Sculpey III® Gnome Beaded Candy Cane

Getting Started:

Please make sure your work area is covered and you are not working on an unprotected surface. We recommend working on the Sculpey® Oven Safe Work Mat, wax paper, metal baking sheet, or disposable foil. Uncured clay may damage unprotected furniture or finished surfaces. Be sure to cover your crafting area appropriately.

Start with clean hands, unwrap and knead clay until soft and smooth, or condition by running clay though a Pasta Machine. We recommend using a designated machine for clay purposes only. When working with multiple colors, clean hands with soap and water or baby wipes (we have found that baby wipes work best) before switching colors. Shape clay, pressing pieces firmly together.  Wash hands
after use.

Baking:

Begin by preheating oven to 275 °F (130 °C). After you are done creating; for best results bake clay on an oven-proof surface such as metal, aluminum foil, an index card or the Sculpey® Oven Safe Work Mat at 275°F (130 °C) for 15 minutes per ¼" (6
mm) of thickness according to package directions. Oven safe glass or ceramic
surfaces are also acceptable for baking; however please note that the baking
times may take longer as the glass or ceramic surfaces take longer to heat up. For best baking results, use an oven thermometer. DO NOT USE MICROWAVE OVEN. DO NOT EXCEED THE ABOVE TEMPERATURE OR RECOMMENDED BAKING TIME.

To make the beads all evenly sized we will use the 16 mm Cup and the 16 mm Bead Maker Trays. These directions for bead making will apply to all the beads including the White and Red Hot Red candy cane beads and the gnome’s beard in Glitter White.

Condition a ball of clay that will be at least large enough to fill the 16 mm cup. Start
with 1/16 bar of clay, Push the clay into the cup

Use a Clay Blade to shave off excess from the cup rim making the clay level in the
cup. If this is done accurately for each bead, then all the beads will be the
same size.

Remove the clay from the cup. Roll in your palms and then place in the 16mm trays
loaded into the Bead Maker handles.

Place the top handle, with the 16mm tray on top of the bottom tray and handle.

The bead is formed into a perfect ball when the trays are slid back and forth
several times while grasping the handles.

After sliding the trays back and forth 10 times, open the top tray to reveal the
round bead. Examine the bead for any inconsistencies in size or shape. If the
bead is not quite smooth, replace the handle/tray and repeat Steps 5 and 6.

For the gnome bead we will need one Glitter White bead (center). From 1/16 bar
Emerald shape a cone for the hat. From a small amount of Beige, form a teardrop
nose.

Flatten the bottom of the hat by pinching.

Shape the hat around the White Glitter beard bead. Add the nose between the beard and hat as shown.

Carefully push the gnome bead onto the small Etch ‘n’ Pearl to poke a hole large enough to go onto the craft wire. Carefully remove the gnome from the Etch ‘n’ Pearl.

Bend 9” of craft wire into a candy cane shape. You can bend the hook end around something round like a cookie cutter or glass bottle to get the desired shape.

Carefully thread the gnome bead onto the wire cane. Position the gnome in the center of the straight side.

Use the tip of the small Etch ‘n’ Pearl to drag detail lines in the beard.

Make beads in the Round Bead Maker from both White and Red Hot Red to fill up the remainder of the hook shaped wire. I laid my beads alongside the wire to see how many I would need.

Poke holes through each bead as described in Step 11. String the beads onto the wire. Use gentle pressure to make sure the beads stick to each other.

Cut the wire back as needed so that whatever wire is left over on each end will hide neatly into the end beads.

Make more beads as needed to cover the ends of the wire as shown.

Bake the entire candy cane following the baking instructions for Sculpey III®. Allow to cool completely before handling.

Add a ribbon to hang as an ornament.