A Bit Late!

 With a request for a necklace of red patterned polymer clay beads as a Christmas present, I have only just started to make the beads, 5 days before the deadline! I forgot to take a photo of the initial conditioning of the clay and the making of the patterned rods, but it's readily available in books if you'd like to try it.

 The first batch of beads from the multilayered first rod. I wanted about 20+ beads and only just had enough to make them, so I made another smaller batch with a different  rod, which could at a pinch be combined with this first lot.

 Making the holes is always tricky as you can end up with misshapen beads. As it is, some of these are a bit odd, but I always think that it adds to the handcrafted look if they aren't quite perfect. Here the beads are ready to bake in a small dedicated toaster/oven.

Here are the beads baked and with a first coat of varnish. Another tricky thing is not to have the varnish on the brush too thick, as you can end up with bubbles of varnish which can be visible on the beads. They need a second coat and be properly dry before I can have the fun of stringing them, probably with small commercial bead separators.