Working with Beads and Polymer Clay

People who string necklaces or bracelets will often combine polymer clay and "regular" beads. But not many people have tried using polymer clay and beads in the same piece. It is possible, and in fact can produce some unique and beautiful designs. Here are a few tips for success in this type of "mixed media."

About the beads
Any beads you attach to polymer clay must usually be able to withstand the clay's curing temperatures. Glass beads do just fine. Plastic beads, on the other hand, may not be such a good choice. They could soften or even melt, and the fumes produced when they heat up could be toxic. So before you put beads and clay together make sure the beads aren't plastic; sometimes this is obvious, but other times it isn't.

It may be possible to glue the beads to the clay after the piece has been cured (see below). But the only glue that works reliably with polymer clay is cyanoacrylate (super glue), and you'll need to be sure it doesn't damage the bead.

Another consideration is the color of the bead. Clear beads will let some of the background clay show through - which may or may not be what you want.

As for bead size - I've found that beads look a whole lot bigger in clay than they do on their own. Seed beads, which are usually sizes 10-0 and up, may seem tiny until you put them in a pendant - and then they won't! If your design requires several beads, but you find seed beads too hard to work with, try "E" beads (which are about a size 6-0), or size 8-0 seeds if you can find them.

And don't forget that you can use one large bead as a focal point, with the clay design to support it.

Attaching beads to clay
If the bead has a hole in it - and most do - you'll find that the bead will want to sit in the clay with the hole facing up. I think this is because - with seed beads especially - the hole makes that part of the bead slightly flatter, and it's a more stable position for the bead. Unfortunately, having the hole facing up is usually not the way most people want their beads positioned; it makes the design look really strange. (I speak from experience here.)

If the bead is big enough - or has a flat side, like a cabochon - you may not have this problem. If you do, or if you're working with a lot of seed beads, it's best to string the bead(s) on something like thread or a thin wire. I've been using wire because I know it can handle oven temperatures, and I'm not sure about some types of thread.

Polymer clay beads will naturally adhere to polymer clay, but other types of beads won't. There are a few things you can do to get the beads to stay in place:
- Surround them with enough clay that they can't move; I've done this with my pendants that use flat-backed glass marbles (see the photo with this article).
- Glue them in place. If the bead is big enough to handle on its own you can press it into the clay to make an impression, then remove it, cure the piece, and glue the bead back on. This is a good choice when you want to use beads that can't go in an oven; it also works really well for rhinestones.
- Press the beads into the clay. The seed beads I've been using for my bead-and-clay pendants seem quite secure with this method - especially since I take the extra step of compressing the clay slightly after the beads are in place.

If your beads don't seem very stable you can always cover them with a coat or two of varnish to seal them in place.

A bonus tip
As I've said above, you can use beads as a focal point. But consider reversing this process and using beads to support a clay design. For example, if you've traced or stamped a pattern in the clay and were planning on filling it with mica powder or tinted liquid clay, try using seed beads instead. The pattern doesn't have to be stamped, either. One artist makes swirled polymer clay beads, then strings seed beads along some of the more pronounced colors (see the small photo here).

If you have a clay object that's nice but seems a bit boring, try adding some beads to it. They might be just enough to "wake up" your design.