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Faux Bone and Amber Bracelet

Design by guest Michelle Ross

Guest Michelle Ross shares her technique for creating faux bone and faux amber bracelets using polymer clay.

Materials:
3-ounce package of translucent Kato Polyclay
3/4 of 3-ounce package of white Kato Polyclay
A marble-size ball of yellow Kato Polyclay
1/2 of a marble of brown Kato Polyclay
clear medium Kato Polyclay Liquid Clay and dedicated brush
Pinata Inks by Jacquard - Sunbright Yellow, Tangerine, Calabaza Orange, Burro Brown, and Claro Extender
U.S. Artquest Essence of Pearl mica chips
alcohol
small round paint brushes
skewers (for use when buffing on a buffing wheel)
buffing wheel
small dish for mixing ink
cotton swabs
pasta machine, work surface, tissue blade, X-Acto, needle tool
pie tin (for sanding)
kitchen sponge (for sanding)
wet/dry sandpaper 600 grit
dishwashing soap (for sanding)
5/8" shape cutter
bead baking stands and rods
clay-dedicated oven
2" x 3" card stock template or a ruler
metal or plastic tool to spread the ink
paper towel
bowl of ice water
burnt umber acrylic paint, water and paper towel
Blue Moon beads - available at major craft retailers nationwide
1 toggle clasp
assorted silver colored spacer beads
Soft Flex beading wire, medium weight
4 crimp beads
chain nose pliers
wire cutter

Steps:
Recipe for Faux Amber Clay
1. Lightly condition translucent clay. The amount will depend on how many beads you want to make.

2. Roll clay through pasta machine on #1 thickness (using an Atlas pasta machine), cut in 2" x 3" rectangles.

3. On each rectangle of clay, put eight drops of yellow, two drops of tangerine, two drops of brown and two drops of orange Pinata Inks.

Recipe for Paint Mixture
1. In a small dish, mix one drop yellow, one drop tangerine, two drops brown Pintura Inks and four drops of Claro Extender.

Figure A

Amber Beads
1. Using the metal tool spread the ink drops around on the clay rectangles (Figure A) and let dry.

2. When the ink is dry, fold the clay and put it through the pasta machine. Repeat until the color is uniform.

Figure B

3. To make beads of the same size, use a shape cutter and cut out the number of shapes you want for each bead. This project used a 5/8" square Kemper cutter—three squares for each bead in the bracelet (Figure B).

4. Mix the three squares together, roll into a ball, then an oblong shape.

Figure C

5. Pierce the bead with the needle tool (Figure C).

6. Paint a very thin coat of liquid clay on the bead, avoiding the ends.

Figure D

7. Using a strip of clay that is not quite as wide as the bead, put it through the pasta machine on the thinnest possible setting and then stretch it as far as possible without getting too many tears (Figure D).

Figure E

8. Press some mica chips on the sides of the beads. Use the paint mixture of inks dabbing and painting randomly, and then wrap the very thin sheet of clay over the middle section of the bead. The ink will dry quickly. If it dries in the dish that you mixed it in, use the Claro extender or alcohol to reconstitute it (Figure E).

Figure F

9. Blend the edges of the thin strip of clay, and roll the bead till it is as smooth as can be. Avoid getting finger prints or dents in the bead (Figure F).

10. Put the beads on the rods and bead stands in the oven and cure at 275 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove the beads from the oven and immediately dump in a bowl of ice water. This will help the beads to be more translucent looking.

11. Sand the beads with 600-grit sandpaper, then buff. Sanding and buffing is a must for the beads to look like real amber. Depending on the clay and how smooth your beads are to start with, you may want to use more grits of sandpaper to achieve a good look.

Tip: It is best to use up all the clay that you have mixed with ink as the inks tend to dry the clay out. If you want to use the clay at a later date, you will have to mix in some liquid clay to re-soften it.

Faux Bone/Ivory Beads
1. Mix the white, yellow and brown clays together. This will make a cream or bone color of clay.

2. Condition some translucent clay.

3. Roll the bone colored clay on the thickest setting of the pasta machine and cut two squares that are 3" x 3". Do the same for the translucent.

Figure G

4. Stack the squares alternating the bone and translucent (Figure G).

5. Cut the stack in half, you will have two pieces that measure 1-1/2" x 3".

Figure H

6. Always make sure that you are putting the stack pieces back together with the colors alternating (Figure H). Stack the two pieces that you just cut together.

7. Compress the stack to measure about 2" x 4".

Figure I

8. Cut, restack, and compress. Repeat till you have the look you want (Figure I).

9. Roll a piece of clay (this can be any color because you will cover it) into an oblong bead shape.

Figure J

10. Cut thin slices of the faux bone stack and lay on the oblong bead shape (Figure J). Blend the edges.

Figure K

Figure L

11. Make a "scrimshaw" type design either with a rubber stamp image or with your needle tool (Figures K and L).

12. Pierce a hole in the bead and bake it with the other beads you’ve made.

Figure M

13. Antique the baked bone beads with the acrylic paint (Figure M).

Bracelet
1. String the amber and bone beads mixing with spacers and other beads of your choice.

2. Attach the toggle clasp.

Resources
Kato Polyclay
Prairie Craft Company/Kato Polyclay
Website: www.prairiecraft.com
or Website: www.katopolyclay.com

Pinata Paint
Rupert, Gibbon & Spider Inc. / Jacquard Products
Website: www.jacquardproducts.com

Essence of Pearl - Pearl FX
US Artquest, Inc.
Website: www.usartquest.com

Guests
Michelle Ross
Artist
Jewelry and decorative functional polymer clay art.
We apologize no contact information is available. Also in this Episode

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•	Faux Bone and Amber Bracelet

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