How to Make a Bead Baking Rack with Folded Card Stock
Need to bake some polymer clay beads but don't have a professional bead rack yet?
You can make a handy dandy rack for baking beads by accordion folding a piece of heavy card stock paper. And if you don't have any card stock kicking around the house, what works just as well is the thick manilla paper from an old office file folder.
Make the folds only about an inch or so deep, so you can get as many creases as possible out of your sheet of card stock. Make sure that the overall dimensions will fit into your oven. Place unbaked beads in the valleys of your makeshift bead rack, and then set the whole thing on a cookie sheet to bake as usual.
Because you will bake your beads at a very low temperature according the clay manufacturers recommendations, there is no concern about the card stock burning or even getting brown. Just make sure the paper card stock doesn't touch the elements in your oven.
This rack works really well for baking long tube beads or polymer clay covered pens. It won't leave a flat spot on rounded surfaces and because it is paper, it won't leave a shiny spot either.
So fold up yourself a few bead racks and get baking beads! McGyver would be proud. Anyone remember that show?
Filed Under: 02: Tools, 10: Finishing by Comment. 
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Comments on How to Make a Bead Baking Rack with Folded Card Stock
5:19 pm
This rack is good for baking beads, with or without bead piercing pins in them, though with the pins in, fewer beads will fit on the rack.
Cindy Lietz's last blog post..A Super Handy Polymer Clay Tool – The Food Processor
3:57 pm
Does this work just as well in a clay-dedicated "toaster oven." The first toaster over I got for this purpose went up in flames the very first time I used it because the index cards under the clay caught fire. Now I am afraid to put any kind of paper in my clay oven! If it makes a difference, the first oven was a brand-new regular toaster oven I bought for clay. My current one was made by Amaco for crafting. Thanks for your help!
5:25 pm
Oh Kimberlee that is terrible!!! Either the oven's temperature was too hot or the file card was touching the element. I always check my toaster oven or regular oven with a oven thermometer first to make sure it is at 265F degrees.
I am also very, very careful to check that the paper doesn't touch the sides or the element. Make sure to check when you slide in the rack, especailly in the toaster oven because of the small clearance.
Taking these precautions, I have never even had the paper brown even slightly. But if you have concerns skip the paper and use a bead rack.
Cindy's last post..Clay Cane Slicing Techniques for Polymer Clay Jewelry Bead Making
8:16 pm
Hi I want to try and make some polymer clay pendants and beads. I have a toaster oven (not for food use) Can I use it to bake them and do they need to be placed on a special surface in the oven?
5:12 pm
Yes a toaster oven is perfect Yvette! There are a bunch of articles on this site that will tell you about the best way to bake your beads. Just type a few keywords into the search box on the top left hand side of this blog and you will get a list of articles that will help.
If you haven't already purchased it, the Polymer Clay Bead Making Course for Beginners would be perfect for you. It shows you in video (39 videos) what you will need and how to make wonderful beads from start to finish, even if its the first time you've even worked with clay.
Click the link by my name to find out more about the course.