July 18, 2008
Clay Cane Leaf Beads for Making Handmade Jewelry from Polymer Clay
Create your own custom hand made beads for truly unique jewellry designs:
Just as the leaves on a tree give dimension, color and movement to it's branches, polymer clay leaf beads can do the same for your jewellery making projects.
Pair them with a flower bead and glass accents for a garden inspired necklace… Or string your leaf beads on the ends of a beaded fringe bracelet.
What I love about making leaf shaped beads out of polymer clay canes, is the endless color combinations and designs you can create.
Clay cane colors can easily be customized by mixing your own polymer clay palette and then combining those colors into any assortment your creative mind can dream up.
Leaf bead patterns don't always have to be created in greens either. Red and orange leaves are fantastic for Fall patterns. And blues, silvers and whites make stunning winter leaves.
You can also create realistic looking natural effects in your leave canes to mimic shading and veining. Leafy bead designs can be graphic and bold, or fine and detailed, depending on your own personal taste.
Several types of foliage can be modeled into clay canes from ferns, to holly, to ivy, to maple leaves. The sky is pretty much the limit.
Once you've designed an original leaf cane you can use it to make cane slice beads like the ones pictured above. Or use it to make several different types of polymer clay beads for jewelry making.
One option is to slice the leaf cane extremely thin, combine the slices with other flower canework and create a polymer clay 'fabric' or slab for backgrounds and pendants. This is the technique Elaine Robitaille used in her polymer clay necklace pictured in a previous post. If you look carefully at her flower-shaped, clay pendant design you will see she has included several leaf canes into her stunning art jewelry piece.
So… when you are making handmade jewelry and want to include unique leaf beads into the design, you should consider creating them yourself using polymer clay cane techniques. By making custom jewelry beads, you can be certain that your artistic jewelery creations will be truly one-of-a-kind.
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Filed under 06: Bead Shapes, 07: Cane Work, 14: Other Experts by Cindy Lietz
Comments on Clay Cane Leaf Beads for Making Handmade Jewelry from Polymer Clay »
What is your favorite type of leaf? Do you think it would make a great clay cane design?
Cindy Lietz's last blog post..Polymer Clay Canes and Jewelry Bead Making
A few months ago I took a beginner polymer clay bead making class with a local artist and we quickly made a leaf cane similar to this one. It was just an overview and my cane was terrible. I'm looking forward to learning more about it and actually learning how to do it!
Looking forward to teaching you Marsha!
Cindy Lietz's last blog post..Slicing Fimo Nail Art Canes | Sculpey Polymer Clay Cake Toppers
New to polymer clay. Looking forward to your Millefore Video series. I am not sure the beginner series is for me I may be just a little beyond that. I am having trouble reducing my small canes. Perhaps I am just not patient enough. I make very small flower canes and the petals are coming out just a little distorted. I would also love to learn how to make a rose cane like the one Marsdesign makes. I have studied that cane over and over. Broke it down. It looks ok, but not as wonderful and her canes. They are so precise and no distortion of the pedals. What is the trick to make them so perfect? What class do you recommend I buy from you to make my flower canes as beautiful as Marsdesign from Israel are? Thinking the beginning series is too basic perhaps? Let me know, looking forward to your input. I use Kato clay at this time. Purchased some Premo but seems really soft and I read the new formula is having problems.
Hi Jackie,
Welcome to the blog. When reducing canes it is important to have all the clays you are working with, at the same consistency. Hard clay moves slower than soft clay and a cane with both will distort easily.
There are ways to fix the Premo you have to work well in canes, even though your package may be too soft. The beginner's course shows techniques for firming soft clay and softening hard clay, which may be of some help for you.
It is also important to make sure your cane has rested before reducing. This ensures the clay is the same temperature throughout the whole cane, and moves evenly.
I will have some cane making courses ready soon. Hope this info was helpful for you.
Thanks Cindy. Looking forward to the Library and Millefore videos too. Perhaps I need to back up and take the basics.