Making Lentil Beads That Don’t Go All Wonky
Video #301: Roadtrip #1-06: Giggling with Stephanie Johnston in the The Dalles, Oregon.
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IN THIS POST: —lentil beads — stephanie johnston — the dalles — washington — aha moments — rolling lentil beads — rv — pct roadtrip — interview — (Topics marked with an asterisk* are discussed in the Comments Section below).
As a teacher, it is always so rewarding (and fun) to see students having an Aha moment … suddenly understanding a technique that was previously a challenge for them. Well, that is exactly what happened with Stephannie Johnston when we stopped off to see her in the Dalles, Oregon on our August PcT Roadtrip. She finally discovered how to roll a swirly lentil bead… so that they no longer turned out all wonky.
When Stephanie met up with us in the RV, it was midafternoon on a hot day. We had woken up very early that morning, starting out from Spokane, WA with plans to hit Portland, Oregon by early evening. Those who have been following along will know that we had visited Carlee Nave earlier in the day (back in Pasco), before having to drive several more hours to rendezvous with Stephanie.
We had pre-discussed meeting up with Stephanie at a large Rite-Aid parking lot, and it was agreed for us to call her when we arrived. Thankfully, there was a spot where Doug was able to pull the trailer alongside of some nice shade trees that did a fine job of keeping the trailer (and us) protected from the hot sun.
Even though the visit was pretty short, it was really fun! Stephanie is such an incredible woman to spend time with. She is just so warm, friendly and excited about learning polymer clay. It was heart-warming to get the chance to teach her something while we were there.
I don’t often get the chance to be live in person when someone is learning one of my tutorials. So just being there, across from Stephanie’s excited hands as she saw that swirl develop in her lentil bead, was priceless! See for yourself…
00:00:03 –> 00:00:07 (C) Hi guys its Cindy Lietz, your Polymer Clay Tutor and we are here in The Dalles,
00:00:07 –> 00:00:09 it’s called.
00:00:09 –> 00:00:11 And I’m with Stephanie, one of our members from this area.
00:00:11 –> 00:00:13 (S) Hi everyone.
00:00:13 –> 00:00:19 (C) And we were sitting here talking about clay and all that stuff, of course, and she
00:00:19 –> 00:00:27 saw one of the Lentil Beads from this necklace, oh this is an oldie but a goodie, this Lentil
00:00:27 –> 00:00:30 Bead here, and she says she doesn’t know how to do it.
00:00:30 –> 00:00:35 So I’m gonna show her how, it won’t be the same of course, but something like this.
00:00:35 –> 00:00:36 So can you see this Doug?
00:00:36 –> 00:00:43 This spot here?So I’m just gonna take a couple of colors of clay.
00:00:43 –> 00:00:44 Something that has a little bit of contrast.
00:00:44 –> 00:00:49 You could use a piece of cane or something like that.
00:00:49 –> 00:00:59 And what I’m gonna do is just turn it into a ball here, and warm it up.
00:00:59 –> 00:01:05 And having some different colors in the…in your clay when you have it started will help
00:01:05 –> 00:01:07 you get some swirling of colors.
00:01:07 –> 00:01:08 (S) Okay.
00:01:08 –> 00:01:13 (C) Now what you can do when you have… and these pieces here, we used sections of cane.
00:01:13 –> 00:01:18 And you’ll see in the tutorial, some of the other ways of going about it.
00:01:18 –> 00:01:24 Being in the trailer and I don’t have my normal little thing that I use, but I have this little
00:01:24 –> 00:01:30 tiny die cutting plate, it’s a little piece of plastic, so this will work.
00:01:30 –> 00:01:35 I just checked it out and the little scratches on there aren’t gonna cause much of a problem.
00:01:35 –> 00:01:42 So I’m just going to put this, flatten it out a little bit, to kinda start, not too
00:01:42 –> 00:01:43 much.
00:01:43 –> 00:01:47 And I’m gonna make sure I have now all 3 colors kind of showing up at the top.
00:01:47 –> 00:01:52 And I’m gonna put my fingers on so that they’re sticking down.
00:01:52 –> 00:01:57 And the trick is that you have your, I don’t know if Doug can see, but you have your fingers
00:01:57 –> 00:02:03 on the surface like that and when you’re moving it, it’s keeping it even.
00:02:03 –> 00:02:06 What happens when you’re trying to roll it sometimes if you have it at a funny angle
00:02:06 –> 00:02:09 it’ll go all wonky.
00:02:09 –> 00:02:12 So I’ll show you and then I’ll show you what things can go wrong and you can try it.
00:02:12 –> 00:02:13 (S) Okay.
00:02:13 –> 00:02:18 (C) So normally I have one that’s a little clearer than this, but I’m just gonna go around
00:02:18 –> 00:02:21 and around, like this.
00:02:21 –> 00:02:26 And if you press lightly, I’ll have to move my fingers down a bit, this is a bigger ball,
00:02:26 –> 00:02:33 if you press lightly and keep it even you’ll get a very, very pointed circle, see that?
00:02:33 –> 00:02:34 (S) Oh, yeah.
00:02:34 –> 00:02:35 (C) The points to it.
00:02:35 –> 00:02:39 Always go in the same direction, so I’m going counterclockwise.
00:02:39 –> 00:02:44 I’m going around and around and try to keep your pressure really even.
00:02:44 –> 00:02:48 And what will happen is as you keep going and going and going, and Doug probably can’t
00:02:48 –> 00:02:53 see any of this, but you can, that’s all that matters.
00:02:53 –> 00:02:56 What will happen is, is you will get it starting to twist.
00:02:56 –> 00:02:57 (S) Oh, yes.
00:02:57 –> 00:03:00 (C) Can you see that, Dougie?
00:03:00 –> 00:03:05 So what will happen is if you press too hard, see how flat it’s getting?
00:03:05 –> 00:03:10 So if I press really hard, I will have a really hard time getting any kind of circle out of
00:03:10 –> 00:03:11 it.
00:03:11 –> 00:03:17 If I press lighter and keep it up here, then it’ll start getting pointier and pointier.
00:03:17 –> 00:03:23 So you can try rolling this yourself, so just put your fingers on either side.
00:03:23 –> 00:03:27 Now you have the fingernails so you’ve got an extension.
00:03:27 –> 00:03:28 (S) That’s true.
00:03:28 –> 00:03:30 Okay, and you, you were going counterclockwise.
00:03:30 –> 00:03:37 (C) Yeah, so if you go around and around, now if you have it more to the center of…
00:03:37 –> 00:03:39 yeah see how it flattens right out?
00:03:39 –> 00:03:40 (S) Yeah, I flattened it out, yeah.
00:03:40 –> 00:03:46 (C) So you can always just straighten it up again, and just keep going, and keep it probably
00:03:46 –> 00:03:51 more to the center of your thing, and you can’t see it as well there ‘cause it’s
00:03:51 –> 00:03:52 cloudy.
00:03:52 –> 00:03:54 (S) I’m probably pressing too hard huh?
00:03:54 –> 00:03:57 (C) No, see how it’s starting to come to a Bicone?
00:03:57 –> 00:04:02 Now if you’re finding it’s going out of shape, it could be that you’re tilting it too much.
00:04:02 –> 00:04:04 (S) Okay, (C) So keep trying it.
00:04:04 –> 00:04:07 (S) So I need to make sure that my fingers are against the top.
00:04:07 –> 00:04:12 (C) And then just start sliding it around and around, there you go.
00:04:12 –> 00:04:17 Tilt this one down, I can see its flattening, it’s coming.
00:04:17 –> 00:04:21 Now this clay, I would have expected it to be a little bit softer ‘cause it’s warm
00:04:21 –> 00:04:22 in here.
00:04:22 –> 00:04:23 (S) Uh huh.
00:04:23 –> 00:04:26 (C) But its…oh, it’s starting to come so keep going.
00:04:26 –> 00:04:30 (S) So, ok I think before I must have been pressing too hard.
00:04:30 –> 00:04:37 (C) Yeah, so just keep going, and you can go…if the circle’s big, you end up with
00:04:37 –> 00:04:39 sort of a wider…
00:04:39 –> 00:04:40 (S) Oh, look-ee there.
00:04:40 –> 00:04:44 (C) Yeah, and you end up with… and it starts turning into kind of a real Bicone.
00:04:44 –> 00:04:45 (S) Yeah.
00:04:45 –> 00:04:52 (C) And the tighter the circle is that you keep in, the more flattened out it is, keep
00:04:52 –> 00:04:54 it more flat.
00:04:54 –> 00:04:57 (S) Alright now I’ve really flattened it out.
00:04:57 –> 00:04:59 (C) But it’s starting to work, see that?
00:04:59 –> 00:05:00 (S) Yes, yes.
00:05:00 –> 00:05:01 (C) It’s starting to work.
00:05:01 –> 00:05:02 So the more you continue to…
00:05:02 –> 00:05:04 (S) So the more you continue to swirl, the more this will swirl…
00:05:04 –> 00:05:05 (C) Right.
00:05:05 –> 00:05:06 (S) Into that swirl.
00:05:06 –> 00:05:11 (C) So in this case, I had a cane that had quite a bit of lines and stuff in it, so it
00:05:11 –> 00:05:16 really shows when it starts twisting towards the center.
00:05:16 –> 00:05:22 Now whatever color you have on the outside of the lentil, it will start pulling in towards
00:05:22 –> 00:05:23 the center.
00:05:23 –> 00:05:28 So if you had… say a cane or say we had decided to just put a nice flower cane in
00:05:28 –> 00:05:30 the center here ‘cause we thought that would look pretty swirled.
00:05:30 –> 00:05:34 What would end up happening is, it’s kind of like a vortex and it gets sucked to the
00:05:34 –> 00:05:35 center of the bead.
00:05:35 –> 00:05:39 (S) Okay (C) So if you want something to start working its way in, you have to actually stick
00:05:39 –> 00:05:40 it to the outside.
00:05:40 –> 00:05:43 (S) Oh (C) And the outside starts drawing it in, it’s really cool.
00:05:43 –> 00:05:44 (S) Oh, interesting.
00:05:44 –> 00:05:51 (C) So keep going, see if you can get a little bit more out of that, and you’ll…so keep
00:05:51 –> 00:05:54 your circles a little bit smaller otherwise you end up with a Bicone.
00:05:54 –> 00:05:58 And then if you’re lighter touched, then it becomes more…
00:05:58 –> 00:06:02 (S) I pushed too hard, I can tell that that’s what my problem is.
00:06:02 –> 00:06:04 (C) Oh, its working, it’s working.
00:06:04 –> 00:06:07 (S) It’s working, how cool is that?
00:06:07 –> 00:06:12 (C) So sometimes a really simple concept will be just this far from being right.
00:06:12 –> 00:06:13 (S) Yes.
00:06:13 –> 00:06:18 (C) And you know all it is, is it’s a little tilt, or it’s the pressure, and just getting
00:06:18 –> 00:06:21 the right feel for it.(S) Yes, oh, look at that.
00:06:21 –> 00:06:25 (C) Oh, yeah, she’s doing it, she is doing it.
00:06:25 –> 00:06:26 Isn’t that grand?
00:06:26 –> 00:06:32 (S) This is so cool because before they always turned out wonky as you say.
00:06:32 –> 00:06:41 And they turned out either just totally flat because I push too hard, but this is just
00:06:41 –> 00:06:44 so cool, I’m loving it, how exciting.
00:06:44 –> 00:06:48 (C) How exciting, it is exciting, isn’t it?
00:06:48 –> 00:06:52 Now if you were to put lots of different colors, you’d get lots of different things going
00:06:52 –> 00:06:53 on.
00:06:53 –> 00:06:55 And the more contrast, those colors really contrast quite nicely together (S) Oh, yeah
00:06:55 –> 00:06:56 they do.
00:06:56 –> 00:06:57 (C) That’s very fun.
00:06:57 –> 00:06:58 (S) I think that’s so cool.
00:06:58 –> 00:06:59 (C) That is cool.
00:06:59 –> 00:07:03 (S) There’s nothing neater than meeting Cindy everybody, very cool, and her family.
00:07:03 –> 00:07:05 (C) It is very fun to meet you.
00:07:05 –> 00:07:09 And it sounds like that… you’re just… have some big ideas for what you would like
00:07:09 –> 00:07:10 to do.
00:07:10 –> 00:07:17 (S) I do, I’ve looked at pictures in, I mean, you know, other people’s jewelry and I think,
00:07:17 –> 00:07:18 how can I do that?
00:07:18 –> 00:07:20 How can I learn to do that?
00:07:20 –> 00:07:27 And a lot of it is things that you’ve done, you know, and you’ve done tutorials on and
00:07:27 –> 00:07:31 other people’s stuff, and I just love these crackle beads.
00:07:31 –> 00:07:33 (C) Yeah, the Faux Raku?
00:07:33 –> 00:07:40 (S) The Faux Raku, yes, I just, I mean that almost looks like bits of pottery, almost.
00:07:40 –> 00:07:45 (C) Yeah, and that’s what it’s supposed to mimic, right, the broken Fired Raku.
00:07:45 –> 00:07:51 (S) And this one is just a round one with that on it, it’s just beautiful, I mean that’s
00:07:51 –> 00:07:53 just gorgeous, I’m so excited.
00:07:53 –> 00:07:58 (C) That has been one of the really neat things for all of us, like the whole family here,
00:07:58 –> 00:08:03 going on the road and getting to meet people like you, and everyone… and everyone’s got
00:08:03 –> 00:08:07 their own personality and their own things that make them excited about Polymer Clay
00:08:07 –> 00:08:11 and it’s just been so much fun.
00:08:11 –> 00:08:15 So I guess we better go, it’s starting to get pretty warm in here, The Dales, or The
00:08:15 –> 00:08:22 Dalles, its hot just like the desert here, the wind blows through up through the valley.
00:08:22 –> 00:08:26 We’ll have to put some pictures, Willow’s been snapping like crazy from the car, so
00:08:26 –> 00:08:28 we’ll put those up too, it’s a beautiful place.
00:08:28 –> 00:08:29 (S) Thank you.
00:08:29 –> 00:08:30 (C) So, it was nice meeting you today.
00:08:30 –> 00:08:34 (S) It’s nice to meet you and thank you for inviting me to meet you.
00:08:34 –> 00:08:38 (C) No problem, well we’ll see you next time, bye for now.
00:08:39 –> 00:08:39 (S) Bye.
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Loved this video! Caught myself grinning at my laptop afterwards like an idiot…Stephanie’s happy reaction to the swirled lentil filled me with joy, too! I have really loved seeing all the goodies from your trip. Look forward to more in the future–thanks!
Phadreakat, how wonderful to see you!! We have missed you around here. Glad to see you are enjoying the videos from the roadtrip. It really has been so neat getting to meet everyone. Would of course love to meet you too one day. Hope you are well. ~Cindy
watched it and it’s so useful :) cant wait t o try it :)
Stephanie is a baby doll! This video made me smile!
Hi
After watching your video with Stephanie on how to make a lentil bead, I tried to do it again and wow, they no longer look like bicones…. It’s that light touch that does it ..thanks for the review .. I used some scrap clay for practice and I will post them on Flickr .. Don’t know how to post on your site
Doug … Could you explain how I can do it … Not that great on the pc with doing pictures
Natalie
Sorry this took me so long to respond…. the easiest way to share photos of your work is by posting them at the PcT Members Gallery on Facebook.
Cindy, tried the swirl lentil beads today and it works. Thanks for the tips.
P.S. Can’t wait for for those color chips for November. Luscious!
Stephanie, I can just FEEL your excitement at ‘getting it’. It really is SO COOL ! Thanks Cindy and Doug…so much fun with you guys.
For all of you folks who camp, boat, or rv, this site is the bomb. Primarily boating sourced, but, you can find so many “right” sized items that can go on land too. Enjoy.
Thank you everyone for you kind words and encouragement. It was such an honor to meet Cindy and her family. They are all so welcoming and warm, I am so glad to have had this opportunity.
How cool for you, Stephanie!! Glad you got to get a up-close and in-person tute!! I’m so far behind in all the wonderful tutes Cindy has been puting out.
It has been a very difficult year for me and my family. I lost my dad and then my mother-in-law and just last week my aunt. My sons moved out on their own and a new chapter is begining for them and us. Polymer Clay and this site is a welcome distraction that gives me a chance to “get lost” in creativity.
But, one good thing happened this year and that is my Detroit Tigers are in the World Series! My hubby got us tickets to the first home game, Oct 27, so we are very excited. Just wished I could have shared this with my dad since he was a big fan, too.
Oh, BTW, I was so excited to have been able to go to one of the Play-Off games that I made a Pandora bracelet with Tiger stripe beads!! I wore it to the game and I know it brought them luck!! :-)
My heart goes out to you, Catalina, with the losses you are suffering this year. I believe your Dad will be right there with you Oct 27th. I will root for the Tigers though they were not my first choice. Being from St. Petersburg, FL I was hoping the Rays would be in the finals, but, maybe next year. How exciting to be able to be right there in the ballpark.
What would we do without polymer clay and the Lietz family? I don’t believe they will ever know how much they influence our lives and help us to move on from situations like you are experiencing. Lucky are those who are fortunate to have a personal visit and the rest of us who can watch the videos thanks to the generosity of the Lietz Team.
Hope we’re rooting for the winning team!
Thank you for the kinds words for encouragement, Joyce. This clay family of ours is amazing!!!
WOW! That is my bestest friend in the world, Stephanie. Your so awesome,and very talented. I’m so happy that you got to meet Cindy. I’ll be looking forward to seeing your beads also..
Stephanies ‘How exciting!’ exclamation, really put a smile on my face! Lovely! :D I reckon she will be making loads of them now! :D
The bug picture is my favorite too. He’d make a cool bead…hummmmmm!
Stephanie, your reaction to success delighted me. Willow, the pic series was amazing, thank you! And Cindy, went to try it immediately, and that little trick of flattening the ball just a little makes all the difference.
It was fun meeting Stephanie and sharing the problem with wonky swirls. These were great tips !!!
Thanks,
Vivian
I also got a few hints to try on this video. Welcome Stephanie! that bug is beautiful. Such a great pattern.
Greetings from the UK Stephanie, so nice to meet you
I think we all had that excited moment when our first lentil bead came right. Now I expect you will be busy swirling away and creating them by the dozen as it is certainly a cool way to use up scrap clay and ends of canes.
CINDY, loved your beach coloured Boho wrap and chunky curb-chain which looked so right for a travelling GAL.
DIXIE ANN that colourful critter also caught my attention, would be nice to know his/her name, (I mean species) as I’ve already named it Ringo, Perhaps FISHER studies bugs and can tell us what it is?
When I was a kid, my eldest brother used to take me on night-time collecting for moths and other flying insects. He would rigg up a white sheet with lights to attract the creatures of the night. It got a bit spooky with all the bats and owls flying in to see what was going on and to pick up a “take-away” ugg.But it sure made me appreciate the wonderful colours and patterns of nature. So a BIG thanks to WILLOW who I am thinking took these shots while DOUG put his feet up and took a rest after the long drive, (great SAT-NAV)
………………………………………….cheers xx……………………………………………………..
Thanks Elaine! Took me a minute to know what you were talking about when you said “great SAT-NAV”… afte thinking a minute I realized what you call refer to as our SAT-NAV or Satellite Navigation system, is what we call our GPS or Global Positioning System. That is what is so cool about speaking with people from all over the World… there is always more than one way to say something!
Love your stories! Love your comments! Thank you as always Elaine for being part of our community!
As you say Cindy, there is more than one way to say something. As a young lad my Grandfather used to work in the big London fish market. There they used to speak something called (CRS) You would need me to interpret for you unless you know Cockney Rhyming Slang…………………….
So me ole china, put on your whistle, pull on yer almonds an scoobys and stroll wiv me down the kermit to the nuclear for a couple of nelsons. Make sure you have plenty of bugs in yer sky an we’ll sit at a cain an ava good rabbit an meet up wiv a couple of me chinas what are pearlies, who was born wivin the sound of Bow Bells.
Might take you a while to figure this out as CRS is evolving all the time. It was thought to have been invented of by the East End criminal fraternity so they could talk to their (chinas) – china plates = mates in front of the peelers (policemen) It was then adopted by the market traders in the East End of London.
BTW is you don’t fancy a nelson you could have a gold watch and ten or a Vera and Phil………………………….cheers xx……………………………………….
I love your comment Elaine! Now I am going to need to get myself a Sherlock Holmes hat and see if I can figure out the code! :D
That was fun! Great to watch Stephanie’s ‘Aha!’ moment! The thrill that polymer clay can give is something we all want and to see someone finding their way is very inspiring. Thanks Cindy and Doug – looking forward to Willow’s photos too, what a fantastic family!
Great pictures. i didn’t realize it was so brown out there. Michaels and Hobby Lobby in the same shopping plaza. WHO KNEW !!!!
Very nice to meet Stephanie. She made me laugh at being so excited about the Lentil. I had the same reaction. It’s really fun to meet other clayers this way. Cindy your videos and pictures of your trip are just awesome. It looked like some really dry and hot areas you drove through. My biggest fascination is with the colorful bug you took a picture of.
It’s shell reminded me of a Mosaic Cane. Isn’t it amazing what color combinations Nature puts out there for us! Well with your hands on help, I’m sure Stephanie will be able to accomplish some really nice Lentils. Thanks so much for these “Memory Trips”
This continues to be so special. Nice to meet you, Stephanie. Interesting to watch someone
conquer a technique. Good job, Stephanie. Love the slide show, Cindy. What a beautiful country we have and how nice of you to share, makes me want to get out on the road too. Going back to take a second peek. Loving it.
This helped me a lot. Thank you.
What a fun video – for both of you!
Yea, that was fun! Hi Stephanie, great job on the swirly bead. Thanks for the tip Cindy on where to place the cane slices on the bead before you swirl. I’m going to try that.
Love the video! My lentils were a little wonky too. Got some pointers out of this one!
So lucky, getting to meet Cindy and family!
I am so jelousofyourguys opportunity to meet. Hi Stephanie looking fwd to seeing some photos of your lentil beads now that you know how to do them!
I am working on mastering the process!!!! Can you believe I got to meet and talk with Cindy and her family!!!! so cool