Polymer Clay Tutorial | Rose Bead Part 2 | Sculpted Flower Beads

Here in Philadelphia the Hydrenga(sp) are just starting to bloom, I cut a few off to bring inside for my mother and I was looking at the flower and thinking how much this technique could be used to make these blooms, with a little bit of armature to hold the many little flowers that make up one of these blooms (like clay covered wire). I can't wait till Friday.

Question: will the bendable clay mix with the other brands and still retain some of it's flexability? (thinking about flower stems in a sculpture).

I was very impressed by the modified skinner roll/plug. Another great new technique by Cindy. It reminds me of a rainbow. We have to come up with a name for this wonderful technique. Cindy, I know you are swamped but hope you can clone yourself and write an article about these techniques for Polymer Cafe.

Hi Cindy. First of all I would like too thank you for your great homepage. I am an absolut amateur with polymerclay, but with your help I'm getting better and better.

I have 1 question: Why can't I see part 2 of the variegated rose bead?? Have a nice day, and excuse me for my english.

Helle from Denmark

Cindy what a nice technique much easier than mine I should add… Thank you so much for doing this video for us I really enjoyed and learned a great deal from it…

One thing I wanted to know is u mentioned to drop beads in ice cold water for translucent beads, do you need to wait till the beads are cool or put them in ice cold water right outta oven? And the other thing I wanted to know is do you bake it for an hour @ 275?

Thanks so much again for doing this video I am trying to make my rose with the cane but I need a lotta practice making the cane I think lol…

Hugs, Tania

**PHOTOS ADDED: The following link will take you to a Spotlight Article featuring some pictures of Tania's beautiful work: Rose Bead Jewelry

Thank you Cindy, I loved this tutorial! I want to make a large rose, kinda like the Capodimonte flower in Italy. They would make great gifts and your roses were awesome! If possible, down the road, could you show us how to do the leaves that could surround the flower at the base. Thank you again, you are awesome!

@Tannumoni: I bake at 265F – 275F for an hour. (My oven fluctuates a bit so I tend to stay on the lower end at 265F. I would love to see your roses when they are done. Bet they will be beautiful!

@Theresa: That's a good idea. I'll think about how I can do that. Thanks for your comment!

Another excellent tutorial Cindy! Im so glad you made this one. Roses are my most favorite flower because my Grampa grew them and I remember him showing me how to prune them and care for them. He was so proud of them. Every time I see one I think of him, and I always plant roses wherever I live. So now I can make lots of them and share them with everyone I know. Even in the endless winters we get here, when I miss my flowers being gone so long! And I agree with Ken. I think this method could be adapted to several flowers quite easily. I thought of Peonies right away. (which were my gramma's favorites) But also maybe Dahlia's or Magnolia's. And if you're really adventurous perhaps Zinnia's or Marigolds. Certainly there are many flowers this could be applied to. Thank you very much for such a useful and versatile tutorial. XOXO Jamie

Hi Cindy,

I cannot wait to make some roses! I have a quick question regarding something you said about translucent clay. You mentioned putting it in ice water? Is that to be done after you bake the rose in cornstarch?

Thanks again for all your wonderful advice Cindy!

@Tannumoni: Sorry I just realized I didn't answer your ice water question. Just pop them into the ice water, straight out of the oven. It doesn't make a huge difference but it does help to clarify the translucent some.

@Jamie: Thanks Jamie! This technique would be great done as other flowers as you suggested! You could use different colored and shaped canes, as well as different types of centers. Will have to play with those a bit and see what I can come up with. If you happen to try some of these different flowers, do send pics. I'd love to see them! :-)

@Mary: Sorry I didn't clarify that better in the video, Tannumoni asked that too. Yes, toss them into ice water after they have been baked in the cornstarch. It helps to clear up the translucent a bit!

How about "Lietz modified blended plug?"

Thanks so much Cindy for your kind remarks… I am still learning and I must say learning a great deal from you:) Thanks so much for answering those questions about the baking instructions and cold water treatment…

Here's another picture of some peach rose jewelry I made.

Hugs,
Tania

**MORE PHOTOS ADDED: The following link will take you to a Spotlight Article featuring additional pictures of Tania's beautiful work: Rose Bead Jewelry

All of these roses are absolutely gorgeous. Those suede finish clays make me want to try blue suede roses to match my high heel shoes, LOL!

Anyone try a beach rose yet? Along the Atlantic coastline, the shore is lined for miles with these beauties almost forming hedgerows before access to the beach.

The pink to deep rose colored flowers, offset by that beautiful orangey-gold center would be perfect done with the Lietz Teardrop Blend and the Lietz Modified Blended Plug methods. Sometimes the flowers are the size of your hand, and the smell from potpourri made from the petals, centers, and rose hips bring you back to the memory of your last walk on the sand.

Heading for the Jersey shore for 10 days over the 4th of July weekend. Plan on taking many pics and gathering up a supply to add to the polymer clay, so that hopefully, I get the smell as well as the "look" of my favorite simple rose.

Two questions. How should I do the center? How can you make a balanced hole sideways in the flower (instead of the shown up and down hole) so that you can string them side by side? For reference, I found the perfect picture of them at the following site: hannonartworks.com/fineart.htm.

Appreciate hearing your thoughts, any and all.

Can't thank you enough cindy… hugs

I love all these roses. They are beautiful And Tania, I love the traditional beautiful red roses you did.

Cindy, I guess you could use all the same technique but keep the petals in closer for buds or just blooming buds. I wish had known how to do these before I bought a bunch of little calla lilies as I could have used this and only did one wrap of one petal for a calla lilly.

Thanks Laurel :)

@Jocelyn: The beach roses sound fabulous! Can't wait to see them! I'm not sure what the centers of them look like so I find it difficult to advise. If it is a sculptural thing like a wild rose, you may have to 'build' a center first, bake it, then put the petals around it. As far as drilling a hole through the side you can do that by carefully sliding the rose off the pin, piercing it and then trimming the back flat. May have to do a post on that since others have asked as well.

@Tania: You're welcome! You're a talented girl!

@Laurel: You can definitely create a more bud shaped rose, by clustering the petals closer together and using fewer petals. Calla Lilies can be made in a similar fashion. Too bad you bought them already. Use those up fast and then make your own from now on. :-)

@ Cindy

Thanks, hun! Check this site for a beautiful pic of the beach rose. hannonartworks.com/fineart.htm

Anyone give me some ideas on how to recreate the center of the rose?

Appreciate any and all advice.

Thanks!

You could make a skinner blend cane for the center in yellows and cut a slice to press into the flower once you remove it from the pin.(Unless you want the hole to run through it. Otherwise you could run the pin through the base sideways before you bake it.) Then add little balls of clay to the outer edges of the center and use a needle tool to texture them a bit to get the ruffled look in the picture. Not sure if you should bake the flower first and then add the center so you dont muss your petals while you work on the middle. Dont know which would be easier. Maybe try both and let us know? XOXO Jamie

@ Jamie

Thank you very much, that is just the type of feedback I was looking for!

Thank you too Jocelyn, for the idea. I might try doing them myself in a white shade. They look a lot like the wild roses I have growing on a trellis in my front yard. XOXO Jamie

Jocelyn: I might use little itty bitty sead beads to texture around the middle edge. That might look cool. I love wild roses too. If you and Jamie make some, let us see how they turn out.

Ooooo great ideas guys! Do send pics when you end up making them!

Laurel, thanks so for the suggestion. Think the seed beads must be part of the centers for these beach roses to really make them pop. Being a former beader, I have tons of different sizes, finishes, and colors to choose from, and thanks to Cindy's videos, I now can figure out how to keep them in place after baking.

Question for you all. These roses are display objects, and as all things do, get dusty. How do you folks clean your polymer clay art roses?

Do you just dunk and swish them in water and let them dry, or do you use a duster brush, or do you use a cleaning compound or liquid?

Would appreciate any input on this and thanks in advance.

What about canned air for cleaning, the kind used for electronics?

I use a soft wet paintbrush to clean my delicate polymer clay pieces and then I let them air dry. Dish soap diluted in warm water works well for most situations, and the brush gets into all the little nooks and crannies. A quick rinse with the same brush using clear water is sufficient to remove the soap. For less delicate pieces the same solution applies, except I use a soft cloth. XOXO Jamie

That's a good idea Jamie to use the paintbrush for cleaning the flowers. I use soap and water on my pieces too. Since the clay can be sanded in water, they can be washed without harm.