DIY Network

Polymer Clay Canework Necklace From "Jewelry Making" episode DJMK-111

Syndee Holt's finished canework necklace.

Guest Syndee Holt shares her technique for creating a polymer clay bead necklace with the look of Italian millefiori.

Materials:

Sculpey Premo Gold, Green, Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Red, and White – 1 package each
Clay blade or sharp razor-type blade to slice the clay
Clay-dedicated manual pasta machine
Needle tool or long needle to make holes
Assorted glass beads in gold for assemblage
Thread and clasp

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1. Combine two parts white clay with one part green clay to create the turquoise-green color. Roll out this mixed clay on the widest setting on your pasta machine and cut a rectangle, roughly 10 x 5 cm.

2. Roll the gold clay out on the widest setting and create the same size rectangle.

3. Cut each rectangle from one corner to the center of the opposite side. Repeat with the Gold rectangle.

4. Reassemble the pieces by switching the two small pieces.

5. Place two reassembled rectangles on top of one another and run through the pasta machine (opened wide), wide side into the machine. Fold top to bottom and continue running through the machine, always folding top to bottom, until the blend is smooth.

6. Set pasta machine to a lower setting (such as 5 or 6), and run the piece of blended clay through narrow side down, so you are running from one color to another. You should have a long thin strip of smoothly blended color that you can roll up now. Roll from the green end to the gold end. I’ve rolled mine so you can see the color gradation on the end.

7. Squeeze the roll together and roll out to smooth and create a roll of clay approximately 1.5 cm in diameter. Cut a piece 5 cm long. This will be the center of our largest and most elaborate mille fiori or "cane".

8. Roll half the package of Alizarin Crimson out on the widest setting, then roll it through 2 settings thinner.

9. Lay the gradated cane of clay on the sheet of crimson and trim it even with the back of the cane. Use blade to trim the crimson sheet to the same width as the cane of clay sheet.

10. Slowly, lightly roll the cane of clay, wrapping the Crimson sheet around it until the cane is wrapped in crimson. Trim the crimson so there is no overlap around the original cane of clay.

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C

11. It's time to add the checkerboard. First, make a layer on the next to widest setting on the machine of both the remaining blended green and gold clay. Cut rectangles of each that is the same length as our wrapped cane of clay and stack the 2 rectangles together lightly. Now cut "match sticks" of these combined layers. Alternate the "match sticks" around the outside edge of our cane of clay (figure A).

12. Add a similar wrap of crimson around the outside edge of the checkerboard and then a wide (widest setting on pasta machine) wrap of red, ending with a final very thin wrap of gold (figure B).

13. To make the large roll of clay smaller, squeeze the can in the center to create a "dumbbell" effect. Squeeze and rotate clay, out to each end. Place twisted cane on work surface, then smooth out sides and roll to make a little smaller.

14. Use blade to quickly slice down center of cane.

15. Set newly assembled cane aside to rest before slicing off beads.

16. Take the remaining cane of blended green/gold clay and pinch up the top to create a teardrop shape. Cut this into 3 pieces and assemble together to make the other bead for the necklace.

17. After the canes have rested, slice beads off (figure C) to about 1/2 cm wide. (Try to slice after resting about 15 minutes; if it is too difficult to cut, allow to rest another 15 minutes).

18. To add holes to beads, lightly begin spinning the needle tool through bead, until about halfway through. Turn the bead around and repeat from the opposite side.

19. Place beads on an index card, file folder, heavy piece of paper so that they don’t touch. Put this paper on a cookie sheet of flat pan and bake according to the clay package directions.

RESOURCES :

Belle Armoire
Art to Wear Magazine
Website: www.bellearmoire.com

GUESTS :

Syndee Holt
E-mail: syndeeh@cox.net
Website: www.sculpey.com