Make Faux Turquoise Beads with Pantone 2010 Color of the Year

yes please Cindy it looks so cool and i have always loved the color

I think I must be the only jewellery maker in the world that doesn't pay attention to trends! Unless I have a custom order or something, I just make beads that I think look cool. But I've never been one for fashion anyway.

I made some faux turquoise nuggets recently using black acrylic paint, but the sanding is taking FOREVER! It leaves loads of sludge in my tumbler and but the beads are nowhere near finished. Is that normal?

@Ritzs: You can have the Faux Turquoise Video right now if you like! This tutorial was filmed quite awhile ago and is available as a back issue at the members library. I've linked to it by my name, if you want to go get it. Have fun!

@Silverleaf: Yeah that is normal. What you could do is cut up some squares of Drywall Sanding mesh 320g or lower and toss those in with the beads. That will help with the process. Plus make sure you are rinsing the beads regularly. That should help speed things up. Alternatively, sand the first stage with the drywall sandpaper by hand first, then put them in the tumbler. Hope that helps!

I'm looking forward to trying this out. You already know I love turquoise.

Cindy,

What gives beads and pieces the best finish, using a rock tumbler or hand sanding? I was thinking of getting a tumbler, but don't want to invest the money if hand sanding does a better job. I have rheumatoid arthritis, so hand sanding can be painful, but again, I want the best finish for my beads.

Have a blessed day, Tiffany

Tiffany I have fibromyalgia and my hands and wrists both don't mix well with sanding. I just recently bought a tumbler and I don't think it takes the place of sanding by hand but it does cut down on how much you have to do. If you want a really high shine I at least feel you need to do a little hand sanding after you run the beads through the tumbler. I myself just use 600 and 800 grit sometimes 1000 but it will take a lot less sanding time and finish with buffing then SHABAM. So to me it was worth the tumbler. If you don't want the super shine finish you can do with just tumbling.

My opinion is that you will be happy if you buy the tumbler and save on your hands, I sure was. Now if they just had a machine to wrap Christmas gifts for me.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone, Peggy

Great advice for Tiffany, Peggy! I agree that hand sanding gives the best finish by far, but the tumbler will cut out a lot of the work. If you have issues with your hands, you can't go wrong with getting a tumbler to do a lot of the dirty work for you. Then you can come in and finish off the sanding by hand.

A power tool such as a Dremel or a bench polisher helps considerably as well with the buffing. This is one place where doing it with a machine is better. It is also easier on your hands.

Thanks for all the advice! If I get a tumbler, what do I need to go with it? I've hear of shot pellets, and 4 part sanding process kits. I do have a dremel tool. Will that do just as good of a job as the tumbler or hand sanding?
Have a very Merry Christmas all!!

Hi Tiffany, these are great questions. You don't need anything fancy to tumble polymer clay beads. In fact, the best thing to use is unpolished river rock. You can either find it along a beach or buy it as decorative rock in a place like a dollar store or Michaels.

There is tons of info on that on this blog. Click the link by my name for one article on it. And type the word 'tumbler' into the search box at the top of the page, for more articles. Make sure to read the comments, because in some cases there is more info there than in the main blog article.

The Dremel won't sand your pieces but it is perfect for buffing. You can even make your own buffing wheels for them out of felt. Again, type the word 'buffing' into the search box for more.

All that reading should keep you busy for awhile. :-)

Have a Happy Holiday!

In regards to my PayPal situation, thank you for being patient and understanding. I so enjoy your videos and recipes and all of your sight very much and do not want to lose anything. I hold all of them dear and precious to me. You do such a wonderful job in your presentations.