Rolling Round Polymer Clay Beads By Hand
Video #325: How to move and position your hands so that your beads don’t get all wonky looking.
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IN THIS POST: —hand rolling — round beads — rolling round beads by hand — perfectly round beads — polymer clay beads — (Topics marked with an asterisk* are discussed in the Comments Section below).
Topics Covered In This Video:
- Challenges when rolling round polymer clay beads by hand.
- How to measure clay, so your beads are all the same size.
- The way to move your hands so that your beads don’t get all wonky looking.
- Reasons why it is important to let your beads ‘rest’ for a while after rolling.
- How to pierce your hand rolled beads so that the hole is perfectly straight.
- With a little practice, you’ll be rolling perfectly round polymer clay beads by hand, which believe it or not, is faster, easier and much more special than rolling beads with a commercial bead roller.
00:00:03 –> 00:00:08 Hi guys, its Cindy Lietz, your Polymer Clay Tutor, and in today’s studio tip, I’m gonna
00:00:08 –> 00:00:14 show you how to make a perfect hand rolled round bead.
00:00:14 –> 00:00:19 Now it’s a challenge for a lot of people that are learning how to make Polymer Clay beads
00:00:19 –> 00:00:25 is how to roll a round bead so that it’s actually round and not all kinda wonky.
00:00:25 –> 00:00:31 So there’s a few tricks, first of all if you wanna make beads… a bunch of beads the same
00:00:31 –> 00:00:36 size, it’s a great idea to roll out your clay and then use a cookie cutter, doesn’t matter
00:00:36 –> 00:00:45 the shape, to cut out some equal size amounts of clay so that all your beads are the same
00:00:45 –> 00:00:47 size.
00:00:47 –> 00:00:52 Then what you can do is just start by balling up your clay and then just rolling it into
00:00:52 –> 00:00:53 a ball.
00:00:53 –> 00:00:59 Now this is some flower petal clay that I have mixed together, I’m making some Rose
00:00:59 –> 00:01:05 Petal beads for Doug’s Mom for Christmas, this video will probably come out after Christmas
00:01:05 –> 00:01:07 so she won’t see it.
00:01:07 –> 00:01:12 But what I’m doing is, I’m just gathering together the clay and rolling it quite firmly
00:01:12 –> 00:01:18 in my hands to get out any creases, right now I’m not worried about shape, I’m just
00:01:18 –> 00:01:22 worried about getting out any creases.
00:01:22 –> 00:01:29 Now what I’ve got here is a ball of clay that is, you know, crease free, now what I need
00:01:29 –> 00:01:34 to do is roll it into… try to get the shape a little rounder.
00:01:34 –> 00:01:41 Now the wider my hands go in a circle, the more oval the bead will be, the tighter the
00:01:41 –> 00:01:44 circle, the more round it will be.
00:01:44 –> 00:01:49 Now what I’m gonna do is just roll a bead, and I’m gonna keep switching directions, so
00:01:49 –> 00:01:55 I’m going one way and then the other, and you can kinda feel it inside your hand there,
00:01:55 –> 00:02:01 whether it’s going… whether it feels round or not.
00:02:01 –> 00:02:07 If it’s very oblong, for example like this, like a football shape, you’ll feel it inside
00:02:07 –> 00:02:13 your hands, whether it’s feeling round or not, so that’s something.
00:02:13 –> 00:02:17 What you wanna do is just a grab a chunk of clay and just start rolling it and practice,
00:02:17 –> 00:02:22 you can roll tons and tons of beads, squash them up and try it again until you get a good
00:02:22 –> 00:02:23 feel for it.
00:02:23 –> 00:02:29 So I’m just going back and forth, back and forth in tiny small circles, now what I would
00:02:29 –> 00:02:35 do then is take, when I’ve got a pretty good shape here, I’m gonna set this aside and let
00:02:35 –> 00:02:36 it rest for a while.
00:02:36 –> 00:02:42 And what it will do is, it will cool the clay down and make it so that it isn’t so easy
00:02:42 –> 00:02:44 to squash out of shape.
00:02:44 –> 00:02:49 So I’ve got a couple of beads here that I rolled before, actually I rolled them yesterday,
00:02:49 –> 00:02:54 and so they’re quite firm now, and I will do a final roll.
00:02:54 –> 00:03:01 Now, this part of your hand is a little firmer, same with here, it’s a great place to roll,
00:03:01 –> 00:03:09 and you can use your fingertips and just roll really gently in small little circles, and
00:03:09 –> 00:03:14 you’ll feel the bead just perfecting, getting nice and round.
00:03:14 –> 00:03:20 It’ll also be quite smooth if you use this part of your hand, rather than the part that
00:03:20 –> 00:03:28 has a lot of fingerprints or veins and things in them.
00:03:28 –> 00:03:35 So there we go, I’ve got almost a perfect little bead, and it would be ready to pierce.
00:03:35 –> 00:03:43 Now as far as piercing goes, I’m just gonna use a bead wire here to pierce it, and I’m
00:03:43 –> 00:03:49 gonna look from as straight up and down as I possibly can.
00:03:49 –> 00:03:55 I’m gonna just take my needle and pierce it through the top, just twisting back and forth.
00:03:55 –> 00:04:01 What I’m gonna do before I start pushing in too far, is I’m gonna check it from side to
00:04:01 –> 00:04:04 side to see if it’s centered.
00:04:04 –> 00:04:10 So I’m gonna look at it from different angles and see if it’s going in the right way, once
00:04:10 –> 00:04:16 I feel like it’s going in the right way, I’ll also turn it from here and see if it’s centered,
00:04:16 –> 00:04:21 and once I do that, I will just slowly twist the bead down and you will see it will come
00:04:21 –> 00:04:25 through the center, and it will be quite perfect.
00:04:25 –> 00:04:31 If it’s a little off, you can just check here gently and twist it, just to make sure that
00:04:31 –> 00:04:36 it is properly centered and nice and round.
00:04:36 –> 00:04:42 Hand rolled beads have a wonderful charm to them that I prefer over using a bead roller
00:04:42 –> 00:04:49 any time, it’s faster, it’s easier and it is more handmade.
00:04:49 –> 00:04:52 So I hope you enjoy those tips, and that they were useful for you.
00:04:52 –> 00:04:58 If they were make sure to give us a thumbs up on the video that would be great.
00:04:58 –> 00:05:02 And if you have any problems or challenges that you need help with, make sure to leave
00:05:02 –> 00:05:04 us a comment.
00:05:04 –> 00:05:08 I hope this has been helpful for you, and I will see you next time.
00:05:08 –> 00:05:09 Bye for now.
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Resource Links:
- Related Video: Rose Petal Beads Tutorial Intro
- Related Video: How To Make A Perfectly Round Bead By Hand
- Related Video: How To Make Same Sized and Graduated Round Beads
- Related Video: Drilling Holes In Your Polymer Clay Beads
- Related Video: Square Cane Slices on Round Polymer Clay Beads
- Related Video: How Many Polymer Clay Bead Shapes Can You Make?
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Thanks for the timely video, as I have been working on a project requiring round beads. And, yes, I also prefer HAND made beads to bead-roller creations. The tip of using a cutter for uniformity was very helpful. Now I’m going to experiment to see what size of bead each of my cutters will create with my pasta machine on the thickest setting. That should be even more helpful. Thanks again.
I have tried so hard to get really round beads and I don’t think any of them are really round like yours. Always a little wonky. Tomorrow’s the day. I’m going to try your way. I do most of the things you mention. I always let my beads sit for a few hours before putting the hole in, but haven’t tried rerolling them at that time. Also, I haven’t tried rolling them on the side of my palm.
Round, round wholly round beads here I come.
Hi Cindy,
I just wanted to say that the necklace you’re wearing in this video — which I remember seeing in Video 040-2: Faux Coral Heishi Beads — looks fabulous! Beautiful colours and a lovely mix of bead shapes… love it! :D
Best wishes to you and the rest of the Lietz clan for the new year,
Sue
Thank you so much Sue, Happy New Year to you too! I for one am looking forward to all the cool stuff we will learn from one another this year. Think it’s going to be an awesome year!
Happy New Year to all of our Clay Family. Here is a great tip that I found on the Wire Sculpture blog about using a product called ProtectaClear for metals such as copper, bronze, nickel silver etc. Since most of us work with wire one way or another with our Polymer Clay you might find this useful. Enjoy!
Great find Dixie! I am going to have to look into that. I see that it is safe against skin and prevents tarnish, corrosion and oils. Sounds like it should work beautifully for coating copper and brass earwires that can sometimes turn peoples ears green. Also would be great for copper wire and copper sheet necklaces and bracelets that can also leave some people with green skin. Looks like it is easy to apply too. Thanks for the product tip!
Wow, that turned out Beautiful !!
Happy New Year Everyone :D
Great instruction as usual. You know something about everything! Love it! Happy New Year.
What a wonderful and meaningful gift. It will be cherished forever.
Round beads have always given me a fit! Either I press too hard or not hard enough. Guess what I will be doing for the few days? Yep- rolling ROUND beads. Thanks for your expertise!.
Waiting for Friday – what are we going to make?
I’m not telling Patt… it’s a secret!
Thank you Cindy, that was a great tip! You always teach us something different! The beads are gorgeous and I especially loved the golden one that looked like flecks of mica and gold in it. Was this a special bead technique that you have done a video on?
Those beads were made using the Rose Petal Bead Tutorial, Dixie Ann. Do you have that one?
I do have all your videos now Cindy! Did you do something different when you made the gold colored ones?
The reason I’m asking is it looks so much different from the Rose petal beads, almost reminds me of Amber and it is so beautiful along side the others. You have such a great eye for color.
Sorry Dixie, I didn’t have access to my records when I answered this and couldn’t remember whether you had all the videos or not. Also I see I misunderstood which golden beads you were talking about. The small round yellow flower beads were made with the rose petal bead tutorial, but the larger golden, sparkly and really clear beads are not polymer clay at all and are actually a gemstone called Ice Flake Quartz. They would be difficult to accurately copy them in polymer since they are so glassy clear. (Maybe with one of the other brands of translucent such as Pardo which is much clearer than Premo Translucent it would be possible, but that would have to be tested.)
On the topic of using gemstones with polymer clay:
I love to make jewelry projects where I use a mixture of real stones and polymer. It brings a weight and quality to the piece, as well as puts a spotlight onto the polymer pieces… showcasing them for what they are capable of doing that could be impossible with the real gemstone.
For example, you can make your polymer pieces in any size, shape, color combination that you want and aren’t restricted to what is available on the market. As well, nature is able to produce some amazing qualities that are difficult for man-made materials to ‘master’ exactly. So mixing the two is win-win. They each enhance the other and cause the viewer to value the piece in a higher manner.
Think of it this way… if you were to create a piece of art that combined 24K Gold and a folded piece of paper, would you tend to up the value of the paper, since it was valued so high by the artist that it deserved to be paired with the gold? Also, would you then question that perhaps the paper was possibly MORE valuable than the gold itself, since gold is known to be expensive and wouldn’t logically be used unless the paper was at least equal or more valuable?
The same goes with Polymer Clay. It is just a hunk of PLASTIC if you treat it like that and pair it with low quality metals (nickel etc), crappy beads and dollar store findings. It becomes ART when you decide it deserves better and pair it with, better metals, higher quality beads and finer finishing techniques.
Just something for everyone to think about as they go into this New Year. Do I want to improve my work and make nicer pieces? And want are the little things I can do, that make all the difference in the world, between what makes a piece a 2 (on the scale of 1 to 10) and a 8,9 or even a10?
Thank you so much Cindy, you explained it so well and I highly agree with you on the quality of one’s work. I started doing this last year and it has really paid off. I think thats why I spotted the gemstone right away. It did not detract from the beauty of the polymer clay but instead really enhanced the look and quality of the overall piece. Such a great teacher you are!
I get choked up looking at it because of the love that Cindy put into every second of this design and construction. While working on something like this you think about those who are gone and those who are here, and in this case, how beloved your Mom is to Cindy. It has excellent karma, if that makes sense. You must be so proud, Doug.
Hi Jocelyn… yes she did love them. They were made with flowers we preserved in memory of my Dad. Here is a picture collage of the resulting necklace and earrings. Happy New Year!
Cindy, those beads look lovely, do you have a picture of the finished set? I’ll bet Doug’s Mom just loved them.
Merry Christmas, sweet Cindy, to you and yours! Thank you all for all the gifts you’ve brought me since I joined! They are all coming in quite handy. Cannot wait for more!
Great tip Cindy! As always you are a great teacher! :)
It has been hard to roll a round bead. Cindy, thank you so much, now I know how to do it. This was so loving, of you to take the time to make us all understand how to do this.