Process Analysis: How to Make Clay Beads.
Why go out and buy fancy beads when you can make them yourself for a relatively inexpensive cost? Clay can be used to make thousands of different beads. The following process will allow anyone to create a simple, inexpensive clay bead that can later be used in stylish necklaces or other crafty projects of choice. .
The first step in the process involves taking a trip to a local craft store to buy the necessary supplies. The first supply needed is the clay. Fimo clay or something similar is needed. For this particular example, red, yellow, and green clay must be purchased. To make a complete necklace, other colored plastic beads would have to be bought along with a spool of beading thread and a silver clasp. Also, a sharp flat-edged cutting tool (for example, a razor blade) and a thick, large pin will also be necessary tools in the final stages of the bead making process. .
Once the supplies are gathered, the bead making process is ready to begin. The clay color that will make up the center circle in the bead (in this case, yellow) is the color that is first readied. A piece of clay with the diameter of a quarter and the width of a pencil is pinched off from the larger slab of clay. It is then rubbed between both hands in a circular motion until it is warm and no longer cracks when folded in half. Then, from that small, primed piece of clay, a smaller, nickel-sized piece is pinched and rolled on a flat surface. The clay is rolled into a cylindrical log that is approximately three inches long. It is important to ensure that the log is not too thin, meaning it does not easily pull apart. Once the log is rolled to the desired thickness (slightly thinner than that of a pencil) place it aside for later use. The same process if followed for the green and red Clay colors. Next, prepare three more logs of both red and green clay. .
After the three logs each of green and red clay are formed they must be shaped into a three-dimensional triangular prisms.