Polymer Clay Projects: Bead and Clay Pendant

Supplies needed
- Polymer clay in color(s) of your choice
- A handful of glass seed beads in color(s) of your choice
- Small tray with a lip to hold the beads while they're being strung. A jar lid will do.
- Craft wire, 28 gauge or higher (34 is the thinnest I've seen)
- Something to cut the wire. If it's thin enough you can probably use scissors; otherwise, you'll need a wire-cutting tool. These can be found in the jewelry-making department of any craft supply store.
- Flat piece of glass (like that removed from a picture frame, or the bottom of a large jar)
- A clay cutting tool, like a tissue blade (Sculpey calls them Super Slicers) or craft knife
- Fairly thin knitting needle (size 1 - 2), nail, or skewer
- Cornstarch

Procedure
1. Form the clay into a shape that's at least an inch bigger than the size you want the pendant to be. Make sure the clay is at least a quarter inch thick.

2. Cut a piece of wire about 12 inches long, bend one end back on itself (to keep the beads from sliding off), and string the beads onto the wire. When you have 3 - 4 inches of beads strung bend the other end of the wire back on itself; now both ends are secured. Try to keep the wire ends as short as possible.

3. Decide on a center for your pendant, then take the end of the wire, bend it slightly, and push it straight down through the clay to anchor it. If it's short enough it won't go all the way through and come out the back. If it does, just trim that part off. You can deal with it later (in Step 6).

4. Slowly start wrapping the beads around and around in a spiral pattern. As you wrap each few beads push them gently into the clay to keep them from moving. Stop when you run out of beads, or when you like the way the pattern looks.

5. As you did at the beginning, bend the end of the wire slightly and push it into the clay.

6. If the wire ends went through the back of the pendant and had to be clipped off, you should now add another layer of clay to the back. This step is optional if the wire ends didn't go all the way through.

7. Turn the pendant over so that the back is now facing up. Brush a little cornstarch on the clay and flatten it slightly by pressing down on it with the piece of glass. This will push the beads even further into the clay, lessening the chance that they'll work their way out later. But don't push too hard; you don't want the beads to go through the back! Also, as you push on the glass, the clay - and the bead strands - will spread out. In the black pendant in the photo, the strands originally were right next to each other. They're now about a sixteenth of an inch apart.

8. Cut the pendant to the size and shape you want and use the knitting needle (nail, etc.) to poke a hole for the cord.

9. Cure as directed for the clay.

10. If you're concerned that the beads may not stay in the clay, or if you just want to protect them or make the pendant shinier, cover it with a coat of clay glaze or varnish.

Final words
These are just directions for the basic pendant. Feel free to experiment with other ideas. Here are a few things you can try:
- Multicolor clay designs, like marbling, mokume gane (with the surface smoothed), and Skinner blends; just remember that the beads will cover some of the design.
- Use clear beads to show the clay background, or opaque beads to obscure it. Silver-lined beads are a favorite of mine because they look like little crystals.
- Use beads of different colors, maybe arranged in a pattern of their own.
- Square off the spiral, or don't do a spiral at all; consider back-and-forth patterns.
- Play around with different pendant shapes. For example, the pendant doesn't have to be round even if the design is spiral (check out the photo for other ideas).
- Try wrapping the beads around the entire pendant. Just be very careful during the final compression at Step 7.

This project is a great way to combine beads and clay, but it doesn't use a large amount of either. If you have a few beads lying around, or some clay you don't know what to do with, make one (or two or three!) of these. It's a good way to have fun, be creative, and add to your jewelry collection - all at the same time.