I remember making clay from scratch when I was a Girl Scout. We mixed the ingredients, kneaded the dough and began to make our sculptures. Later, we made things with commercial clay, but it wasn’t the same.
Beadwork came into my life when I was in my 20s. I love working with 2mm beads to create earrings, bracelets and more. Larger beads, such as 4mm and larger seem to be more versatile at creating useful objects.
When a friend taught me to make beads from rose petals, I was hooked on making my own beads. I have collected, rejected, created and discarded different ideas for creating beads from scratch.
I would like to share five beads you can make at home. I found a better method for one of them.
Corn Starch Beads:
In a saucepot, combine one cup water and one and one-half cups table salt. Bring to boil while stirring to dissolve salt. Quickly remove from the heat and add one cup corn starch. Stir until mixture is sticky and stiff. When it is cool enough, roll out balls or different shapes. You can add food coloring to this mixture to create colored beads.
While the dough is still workable, pierce with a thick needle such as a yarn needle or toothpick.
The best way to dry beads without any flat surfaces is to set the hole of the bead on top of a toothpick that is inserted into a slab of Styrofoam.
Allow the beads to dry for 24-48 hours. You can paint them with any type of paint you wish. Apply lacquer to the finish for a shiny bead.
Paper Mâché
You can use a kit or make your own paste. Tissue paper, newspaper, magazine pages or other types of paper are useful for this craft.
Cut or tear strips of paper that taper to a point. Coat with paste and wrap the large end around your toothpick, piece of coat hanger or other “hole maker.” Wind the paper so the point ends on top of the bead. Allow to dry completely, and then paint.
Wrap a strip of paper around your stick. Bunch up a small wad of paper like a ball around the stick. Use small strips of paper to wrap the wad, similar to a ball of string. This creates a textured bead.
Wood Beads
For those who love working with wood, this is a slow, easy craft. Cut a branch or piece of wood the desired length of your bead. Use a hand drill or type of drill to make the hole. The wood should be secured in a vice.
Whittle, sand or carve your bead. You can make it any shape you like. I like to shape my beads on sandpaper that has been secured to a flat surface. Sandpaper wrapped around dowels help create decorative grooves and other adornments.
I can leave my beads plain, apply sealer, paint, glue rhinestones or other items to my beads. It’s fun.
Home Made Clay Beads
There are many different recipes for home made clay. Try different ones to find the one that suits you best. There are also non-cook recipes for clay. When working with children, I definitely prefer non-cook.
This recipe is very close to the Girl Scout recipe (I cannot find it anywhere) we used so very long ago.
Combine one cup flour, and 3/8 cup each table salt and hot water. Hot means no more than 120°. Stir well to form a sticky, but pliable dough. If little hands are involved, knead it until it cools enough for them to handle. Food coloring can be added to color the dough, or the beads can be painted later.
The more this dough is worked, the better it becomes.
Set up your beads the same as for corn starch beads.
Backed Flour Beads
I was surprised to find an old friend online yesterday. Talking to her brought back a Christmas when my family didn’t have much. We were financially poor, but when our times were lean, they were really hard. Still, we decorated for the holidays, make gifts and never felt poor. We only lacked in money, not in love or creativity.
My friend and her mother were making baked beads. She wrote the recipe down for me and when I got home, we made some. My brother broke out his paints for models, my younger brother and sister chose colors, shapes, glitter and other items. Mom ran the oven and supplied the ingredients. I mixed everything and set the beads up for drying. When they were finished, we had a magnificent string for the tree.
Double or triple this recipe if you desire. I like to make the beads in batches. I can use a toaster oven for a few beads at a time. I have also found that I can make “chunky” beads by using a children’s clay press to make different shapes, and piercing them to make beads.
Mix together one cup flour, one-quarter cup table salt and a third-cup cold water. Mix well. If the mixture is too stiff, add water a teaspoon at a time.
Shape your beads and place on a baking sheet. Pierce each with a large needle, toothpick, skewer or other item. One of my favorites is one of my 000 double-pointed knitting needles.
Place in a 250° for two or three hours. They should be hard when they come out of the oven. They will shrink a little. Allow to cool on a rack before painting.
Notes:
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- · No one ever said beads had to be all one color. I’ve made striped, polka-dotted, marble-like and many more.
- · Paint, spray with adhesive and cover in glitter. Seal with lacquer.
- · Lacquer makes a very shiny bead over the base paint(s).
- · Attach rhinestones, sequins or other decorations to beads.
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You don’t need a lot of money to create wonderful items for your home and pleasure. Have fun and make all kinds of beads.
Source: The author of this article has over 40 years of experience in diverse forms of DIY, home improvement and repair, crafting, designing, and building furniture, outdoor projects, RV’ing and more.
