No Need To Go Out Into The Cold When You Can Learn All About Making Polymer Clay Beads Via The Web:
Look at the frost on these branches! Baby it’s cold outside! So why freeze your butt off driving to a class, when you can be cozy and warm inside… with a cup of hot chocolate, learning how to make polymer clay beads in your big fluffy housecoat and slippers!
Bored? Cold? Can’t afford a vacation to Mexico? Treat yourself to an online video class!
With my 39 part Polymer Clay Bead Making for Beginners Course, you can learn everything you need to know to get started making high quality, great looking polymer clay beads… right on your own computer.
Here’s a List of Video Topics In
The Beginner Bead Making Course:
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Why bother wasting your time and money on supplies trying to figure it out on your own, when I can show you what to do and what not to do, so you can skip the painful learning curve?
If you like to make jewelry and have always wanted to make your own art beads, then this primer course is perfect for you. Same goes if you’ve already tried to make beads from polymer clay but you just can’t seem to get them looking professional.
The course is cheap too! At $37 that is less than a buck a video. That is way less expensive than taking a class out there in the cold. Plus you can keep watching it whenever you want for as long as you want. I don’t know of a single polymer clay teacher that will keep letting you come to their class and only pay once!
Not sure if you like learning from a video? Watch three of the polymer clay tutorials for free. That link takes you to a form where you can sign up to receive the complimentary videos.
I know this is a really shameless self promotion, but I just don’t think enough of you realize how great this course is or even know that it exists. So today I thought I’d shout it from the rooftops! Well not literally. It’s too cold out there to actually go on the roof!
But go ahead and buy the Polymer Clay Bead Making for Beginners Course. Trust me you’ll love it! Just ask these guys…
Cindy – Your program has given me the confidence and basics to get started in clay. I took your advise on all of your recommendations. Needless to say, I am hooked! I love the fact that I can go back and refer to your videos over and over again. Your program could not be better.
~Brenda Landers-Smith
Hi Cindy. The manner of your teaching is pleasant and relaxed. I feel like I’m in your studio having coffee with you. Your course is teaching me the correct way to do things. The camera work is great, close enough to see the detail. You share all of your vast knowledge on each subject, not just the general instructions. I’m very pleased and look forward to future courses. ~Sandra McLaughlin
Cindy I want to say that your beginning course is the best I have experienced. I have purchased several dvd’s and found your on line course to be the most informative with basic information and tips which I am sure will lead to a better product and a more confident “clayer”. Thanks for doing this. I don’t think anyone else has. You can tell your video camera person that they did a great job. Too many videos don’t show the close-ups so one can tell exactly what to do.”
~Lynn South
Cindy – I learnt such a lot and was so convinced that it really was possible for a novice to make some nice pieces. So to anyone still unsure about buying the course, I found books for beginners but they tended to have projects that I just wouldn’t have done (ie they were not related to beads), also pictures just don’t show you enough info, so I guess what I’m saying is, get this course. ~Andrea Dimmick
Hi Cindy, I have learned a great deal from the course and am glad to have it to refer to when I need to refresh my memory. The material is well thought out and presented in an easy to understand format. Sometimes teachers forget that their students don’t know as much as they do and their instructions are too advanced. You, on the other hand, know your audience. ~Lani King
I just want to testify to those who have not yet purchased Cindy’s videos: She is the best teacher, and her videos are the best videos!!! :) :) :) I have already learned so much from these videos. Cindy teaches the “between-the-lines” information that you don’t get when reading an instruction book. Cindy makes sure that every detail of the subject matter she is focusing is addressed, and made to understand. Not only that, but her videos are a really good quality, which makes watching them an effortless and seamless experience. The lighting in her videos is always right-on, and the angles at which she tapes what she is so eloquently teaching is very thoughtful and conducive to the viewer’s learning experience. I can not say enough for Cindy’s videos, and I know that I will continue to learn from Cindy as she puts out more video sets. See for yourselves!!! You can’t go wrong if you purchase these videos!!! Give yourself a great gift, and get them :)
~Cindy Erickson
Hi Cindy, I finally got started! Reviewed all the beginner videos and got going! I took gold and black clay, and made a marble bead which came out stunning! They do not look like clay at all! They are a cross between looking like wood and looking like tiger’s eye! I was so amazed!!!! I then did some beads in a cane and although they aren’t the most symmetrical, they still look wonderful! I am so excited. My first project looks GREAT thanks to you. It was so simple to watch the videos and just being able to re-watch what I needed to as I worked was of tremendous benefit. Thanks so much for creating these wonderful videos. I love that they are short and to the point for each segment. Makes it so easy to start at just the right place when you need help. Keep up the great work… looking forward to many more of your wonderful videos and creating more and more great pieces with your expert guidance which gives me the confidence to know that I can do it!!! Kudos to you Cindy. ~Charlene Patane
Dear Cindy, The course is great! I knew something about polymer clay, but no so much, after the course my interest is always increasing and I’m able to do a lot of things. Now I’m selling more creations to my friends, cause they want to have the jewelry that I weare. Thank you Cindy, I’m a fan of your work. Kind regards. ~Amada Salva
Cindy; I am new to Polymer Clay and was looking for a resource for teaching me about bead making. Your course has provided me exactly what I needed, a way to learn bead making at the same time as I am learning polymer clay. I love that I can come back and re-watch the videos. Thanks for all of your work. ~Karen Benson
To those of you that have already bought the beginners course… it would be great to hear some stories about what sorts of projects you have made since you finished going the course. Feeling proud of your accomplishments is definitely allowed here. So go ahead and brag a bit :-) I’d love to know what you have been up to.
Cindy,
Where I come from Nobody does or has even seen polymer clay. I live in a small town in Minnesota, and drive an hour to buy my clay. I look at books but it isn’t the same as seeing it done. What you do is great. What I’ve seen so far in the beginners course, I have learned a lot and best of all I can do it!!
I’d like to see and maybe you had already done a course on it, that I had not seen yet ……Is how to use all the scrap clay, I seem to have allot of it. And don’t want to through any of it away. What temperature to set the oven and how long do you bake things?
Sharon Betts, Fairmont, MN
Thank you Sharon for your wonderful comment! I am so glad that the videos are giving you the skills you need to be able to ‘do it’! I have tried really hard to take the mystery out of working with polymer clay and am very pleased to hear you say that it is working!
As far as the baking information and scrap clay information you want, there is a video or two on that in your course. As well there is absolutely tons of info here at the blog.
The link by my name has a great article on baking times and temps. And you can type the word ‘baking’ or ‘scrap clay’ into the search box at the top left hand corner of every page here on the blog to bring up a list of articles to read.
Feel free to comment on the specific posts if you have questions or comments. It is a pleasure having you here and I hope you enjoy your polymer clay journey!
I have enjoyed the course tutorials that I purchased from you but do have a few questions. How long can a cane be stored in glad wrap? Can you use a food processor to help blend custom colors? Any tips on how to condition larger quantities of clay? I hope you have more tutorials coming. Thanks.
Hi Katherine! Glad you are enjoying the course tutorials. As long as your cane is stored in a cool dark place, it should be able to be kept indefinitely in the Glad Wrap. Though it may get very stiff if stored for years. You can definitely use a food processor to mix custom colors which would also be a great way to condition large quantities. Click the link by my name for more info on using a food processor for conditioning clay.
There are definitely more courses and tutorials coming. If you haven’t already checked out what’s in the members library, here’s a link to see a list of the video and recipe titles over there: Polymer Clay Tutor Members Library Back Issues
Hi Cindy,
Thank you for your site. I stumbled upon a blog the other day and was inspired to start making some fimo accessories. But thanks to your site I can learn step by step on how to start. Thank you for sharing! I am a homemaker and in a foreign land and it was devastating in getting a job. Anyway, I am looking for some craft which I can do from home so I have more time with my son and perhaps sell them. Hopefully this works for me. Thanks again.
Hi Mei Lin! Welcome!
I am glad you are learning from this site. It would be nice if you could make enough money with your bead making, that you would not have to work outside your home. It is possible if you do things right.
Have you taken my Polymer Clay Bead Making Course yet? That would be very helpful for you in getting started. Click the link by my name for more info on that.
I am curious, which foreign country are you from? Is working and crafting from home, popular there?
what tempture and how long do you bake the clay
Hi Kay! Type ‘baking’ into the search box at the top of the page or click the link by my name for that info.
Hi Cindy,
My first polymer clay experience has turned out to be just that. It was a test for me, my clay and my oven with a thermostat. My bear cookie cutter turned out to be too big. I had no idea how much clay to cut from the piece and so after much experimenting found that to get a piece 5″X5″ was impossible with the pasta machine. I added more clay and thought I had conditioned it enough (but now I think not) and rolled it out between two rods with my roller. Another false thought was that I had no air in it. This piece was was sienna with a bit of black to darken it. Then on to the face
which was white, black for the eyes, nose and a smiley mouth.
All stacked on a piece of paper on the tile piece, I added a
piece of parchment paper and another tile faced down. Into the oven it went after the temperature had risen to about 265′. It took an awful long time to get the oven to heat up that high, the control was on 300’and that brought the heat up to the 265′ mark. I thought I remembered that it should be baked for a minimum of 1 hour and after a time (don’t recall how long but not the hour yet) I smelled an odd odor and thought it was just my new oven. Well, it turned out that the clay was burning! Lesson #1 learned. But now for the description of the finished product: The darker brown clay had turned black, the white turned brown and the poor bear
needs a trip to the veterinarian for its acne (LOL). This used up a lot of clay and I don’t mind that but I’d like to try again on a smaller item using the same technique of layering the head, face and eyes. My thoughts: the clay probably was not conditioned enough so with that amount of clay I might have used a food processor (though I don’t have one and never used one), maybe I should invest in one as I do have arthritis and it was a chore to condition the clay as much as I did; with using the white clay maybe I should have baked the pieces and then glued them together? Your thoughts? I need to have some success before the girls get here (12 yr. old twins arriving June 10th).
Cindy,
I did have an oven thermometer, forgot to mention that.
Hi Joyce! Sorry to hear you had some trouble making your first item. :-( Like you said, it is all part of learning.
Since polymer clay does not burn due to length of time, but only because of temperature, my gut says that either the oven kept getting hotter after you checked the thermometer, or the thermometer is not working right.
I’ve baked pieces for far longer than an hour at 265F with no scorching at all. Especially since it sounds like you did all the right things. (Unless you used a metal pan or something or put the tile right next to the element?)
Next, starting with a few smaller and simpler items like beads is a good idea until you got a feel for the clay and your oven. There will be a lot less waste that way. Don’t throw out your burnt pieces though. You can grate them up and add them to fresh clay to make faux stones, so all is not lost!
As far as the conditioning, make sure you aren’t trapping air into your clay when running through the pasta machine. Also, if the clay is super soft, it will trap air easier and cause the unexpected ‘acne’ on your pieces. Watch the videos in the course you bought to help you with conditioning and making your clay stiffer, should you need to.
Keep practicing and if you need any more help, do let me know!
*If anyone wants to see what’s in the course I was talking about, click the link by my name for more info.
Hello Cindy,
What I can say about your tutorials, blog etc, is you are very dedicated person, very helpful, very professional, “unfortunately” I can not found something bad, so you can improve on that. Also, business-wise, I believe you are using all the good methods for the products too. So, just carry on as you are and you will be as good as it can be :)
I am sure this did not help you much, but, if you know more about me, you should take this as a extremely big compliment, because I just don’t take BS, and you will have mouthful if you are not nice and helpful as you are. Way to go my dear, thumbs up!
Best regards
Srdjan from South Africa
Srdjan… Thank you so much for taking the time to send me your thoughts about the course. Sharing feedback like this really gives others great insight about what they can expect from the video tutorials. I truly appreciate your help.
Very much looking forward to hearing more about how your beads are coming along. Be sure to share your stories and/or ask questions here at the blog if you need assistance with anything.
Hi Cindy,
I am interested in trying these home vidieos, but would rather pay directly with a check. PLease inform me how to do this. Thank you. Holly
Holly – Thanks for your interest in my home video polymer clay basics course. I’ll email you with details on how to proceed with your purchase. Talk to you soon. ~Cindy
@Joyce, hang in there girl! Sure sounds a lot like one of my early days at this, lol. The best thing about polymer clay is that it waits for you, so you can take your time and refine each step.
Suggest you get the type of oven thermometer that registers tempurature in a marked tube filled with red liquid. They hang from the top shelf of most ovens, and are reasonably priced. You can watch how quickly your temps spike and fall, which helps you to bake it longer for more strength and durability.
I burned plenty. Learned to like the look of it too, it can be a lot like raku if there’s some sparkle or mica in it already.
I am new into beed making and saw your side whioch seems to be
educative but i dont now how to get the vedeo.
thank you
Welcome to the community Imam Ahmad. I can help you with this. Which videos are you interested in?
The 3 free Guest List Videos?
The 39 part beginner video course?
The weekly Friday video tutorial lessons at the members library?
By the way, it appears that English is not your first language. I’d love to know what country you are from.
Por favor quiero saber si el curso para principiante esta en español??
GOOGLE TRANSLATION: Please I want to know if the course is in Spanish for beginner?
Unfortunately not. The polymer clay course is only available in English at this time.
GOOGLE TRANSLATION: Desgraciadamente, no. El curso de arcilla polimérica sólo está disponible en Inglés en este momento.
Hi Cindy,
I just started working with polymer clay a couple months ago after seeing beads made from it on the internet. I got extremely lucky with the first 2 batches for not having worked with it before. The first thing I did was to try to figure out how to imitate opal realistically. I used thin sheets of translucent, mixed in some holographic & gold glitter, painted some with different shades of pastel pearlex paints, then alternately stacked plain sheets with painted sheets after the paint had dried. I cut the stacks in 1/4s & re-stacked, squished, twisted & poked. I never knew there was such a thing as buffalo snow! That would have added the finishing touch! I made a lot of other beads, in other color variations, too, and quite a few of my friends and family asked where I bought them (and they were picking out which ones they wanted, & putting in their orders for more)! Your course is what’s going to really help me refine my work. I learned a lot already from the basic course & cant wait to get my fingers back into the clay & to watch even more of your videos! Thank you so much for the work you’ve done and continue to do. Oh, and thankk you so much for the tip about putting tape on the end of the handle of the pasta machine.. I get so tired of picking that darn thing up off the floor all the time! :)
@Tanya L: Welcome Tanya! Nice to have you here. It seems like you’ve already got the clay addiction going full-force. This is a very friendly community here, so let us know if you need help with anything. There’s also a search box at the top of each page, if you want to find information on something. Most questions have been answered at least once here at this huge site. Type in whatever you’re searching for, and you’ll get a list of articles. Be sure to read the comments under the articles, as there’s often more info there (in the form of tips & tricks from members & answers from Cindy) than in the articles themselves! Good to have you!
~Kat, Riverside, CA USA — Where are you from?
@Phaedrakat: Thanks so much for the warm welcome and the advice! You’re right, I’m defintely addicted. I think I dream clay.. LOL! I see what you guys make and I’m amazed. I want to learn to create clay art as beautiful as I see here. And thanks, Cindy, for the link! I’ve been poking around quite a bit but there’s so much info here it can be a little confusing. I know I saw something somewhere but I tend to forget how to get back to it! I live in PA, between Reading and Lancaster. & Kat, I think I may have read somewhere that you have FM and can be pretty limited at times? If so, any advice on making things easier in any way would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again..
Welcome Tanya. It’s great to have you as part of the community. Congratulations on your early successes. ~Cindy
Great topic, and a goal of many of us here as a result of the economy. Seems to me you could put together a whole mini-course on how to do this once you get the desired feedback in this thread.
You sharing folks have been vital in giving me hope for the future, financially. I’d like to see as many opinions and experiences shared as the thread will hold, LOL!
@Jocelyn: I agree, Jocelyn. I think I’m kind of afraid to admit my “dream” of starting a small business of my own – in case it backfires.. I was laid off last year from a place where I worked for 30 years and with having fibromyalgia finding a job I can do a whole day, 5 days a week is tough. Polymer Clay is something I love to do, and I can do it when I feel good enough, resting in between, or even in the middle of the night during my periods of insomnia. It fits MY schedule! LOL! And everyone here seems so nice and helpful. It’s great!
LOL! Tanya, it’s like this here, “you pay to clay.” Want to reverse that a little.
@Jocelyn: Ha ha! I love it!
Cindy other than alot of gossip I cannot see what i have purchased from my back video purchase. I hope this is not a scam web site.
Hello Alice,
Please be assured this is not a scam web site. I am more than happy to help you resolve any issues you may be having, and have emailed you directly about the matter. Hopefully you are receiving my emails. If you are not, please check your email junk folder and be sure to “friend” or “whitelist” my contact information.
Sincerely,
~Cindy Lietz
@Alice Frei
Rest assured Alice – Cindy and Doug are both extremely creative and very dedicated to this site. They strive for the highest quality and do so with complete integrity. Many members here will completely support this.
I’ve purchased several month’s worth of back issue videos over the last year and fortunately have never had any issues with blog comments/gossip coming up for those. I can access every one of them as well as the current weekly videos 24/7. I’m sure it must be a glitch somewhere…give it some time, it should be resolved soon. It might even have to do with recent “bug” issues that have come up only recently. Hope you can access those back issues soon….I’m new to clay and learned an awful lot through those.
@Alice Frei: Hi Alice, I completely agree with what DJ’s assessment! This website is the real deal…Cindy and her husband Doug go out of their way to ensure we have a positive experience, and get an amazing deal for our money.
You can ask questions & read about upcoming videos (or past ones!) here at the blog. There’s a search box at the top of each page…helps to find information. Just about every subject has been touched-on at least once!
This ‘community’ has become pretty close over the past couple years, so occasionally you will find comments of a personal nature. For example, when someone has a surgery, or a ‘big’ anniversary. There’s also “polymer clay humor” sometimes…feel free to join in, and let us know where you’re from, if you like. There might be someone here from your own city! (Also helps when you’re looking for supplies.) A warm welcome to Cindy’s wonderful PC website — I think it’s amazing, and I hope you discover you feel the same way!
~Kat Riverside, CA, USA…..Where are you from?
I started with you in 2009 how much do I need to pay to get your past programs. I would like them all from the very being.
Hi Sandy – I’ve emailed you with some info about how you can get your library account back dated to the very beginning. That is wonderful that you are interested to invest in your polymer clay education like this.
Cindy, How do you make the tear drop skinner blend that you refer to in your tutorial..I did not see that as a topic in your Beginners Course
Natalie
@Natalie H: Here is a link to one of the blog articles about Cindy’s Teardrop Blend. And the actual video is available as part of the Volume-009 Back Issue Package [See Quick Skinner Blend Video].
There’s so much information on this site, and you might want to take advantage of the Search box at the top of the page to find what you want – just type in something like “teardrop blend” and you’ll find lots of useful stuff! There’s often great advice in the comments as well so it’s worth a read, but f you just want to skip to something specific then pressing CTRL+F and typing in a keyword is a great shortcut. Hope that helps!
Hello there, I love watching your YouTube videos! My family and I have made loads of polymer clay beads, especially around the holidays.
I’m branching out and would like to know how to make marbles with various colors, patterns etc… I’d like to learn how to make “flame” marbles as shown in this link to a marble discussion forum (scroll to the bottom of the page).
These are absolutely beautiful! If you have any info or tips, please let me know. Thank you so much!
Hi James, thank you for your kind comments! I’m glad you’re enjoying our YouTube Channel! I took a look at the marbles, and they are beautiful! I can see why you’re attracted to making them. They are quite advanced, and took the maker some time in developing that skill. The technique is done using multiple Color Blends, caning and layering techniques. Not to mention perfect execution of a round sphere and lovely finishing.
I don’t have any tutorial specific for making those, and am not aware of anyone else who does. If you want to pursue the skill, I would suggest that you get really good at making color gradients. I have an easy way to make them called the Teardrop Blend, a quick search at the top of this blog will take you to information on that. I’d also learn about caning techniques like Spliced Canes and Bargello (both of which I have tutorials) which will get you started with really understanding what the marble artist is doing.
Although the skills needed to make something like that are complex, they are doable if you learn the base skills. (Isn’t it always the way with art!) Good luck and great joy on your clay adventure!