Polymer Clay Project: Skull Beads

This is a fun polymer clay project to make when you have a little bit of extra time to devote to it. Sculpting with polymer clay takes time, as with any other sculpting medium. These skull beads are great for necklaces, bracelets, art dolls, and other jewelry and art projects. You can make them in any size and use them for a variety of purposes. This article will describe how you too can make these really cool polymer clay skull beads.

For this polymer clay skull bead project, you will need white polymer clay, sculpting tools and some brown acrylic paint. I like to use Sculpey III for small sculpting projects like this, because it is easy to work with. You will need several sculpting tools for this project. You can use professional sculpting tools, or whatever works for you. I often use pins, backs of paintbrushes, butter knives. Whatever does the job is the perfect tool to use. You will need to experiment to see what works best for you.

Sculpey III is usually soft right from the package. You won't need to condition the clay for these beads if the clay is soft enough. Simply roll the clay into small circles, about a half an inch in diameter each. You can make a bunch if you have several projects in mind for your skull beads, to save time by getting them all cured at once.

Take each ball and form it into a human skull shape. You can use a picture of a skull for reference if you need to. Start with the head"s basic shape, and squeeze out the chin from the bottom of the head. You should try to make it all in one piece for maximum stability. Pinch out the tiny triangle shape for the nose bone with your fingers. Next, use the round bottom of a small paintbrush to make eye sockets. You can use a sharp sculpting tool or a knife to cut in the mouth and teeth.

Use a large safety pin to poke a hole through each bead, going through the head, right about where the ears would be. You can enlarge the hole, if you want it bigger, by gently moving the pin around in a circular motion, while its still in the bead hole. Cure the beads, face up in a pan lined with foil, in an oven set to 275 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Make sure you let them cool completely before you paint your skull beads.

Water down some brown acrylic paint (just a little bit) and rub the paint all over each skull. Them wipe most of the paint off with a cotton ball, leaving it in any crevices, and especially in the eye sockets. After the paint is dry, your beads are ready to be used in whatever art project ore jewelry creation you want.

You don't have to make these skull beads perfect. In fact, a little roughness makes them more appealing and hand-made looking, which is the effect you are going for.