Precious Metal Clay Dragonfly Pendant

1. Create a polymer clay bead base by rolling a scrap of clay into a snake. Cut the base bead one inch long from the center of the snake using a craft knife.

2. Form stripes and spirals with clay scraps. Run a scrap of clay through the pasta machine at the thinnest setting into a sheet. Trim the edges to form a rectangle. Cut thin strips from the ends of the clay sheet and stack them (figure D). Trim the edges, cut the stack in half and stack the two halves together. Press together to form a striped piece of clay (figure E). Cut thin cross sections to be applied to the base bead.

3. Roll another scrap of clay through the pasta machine, trim the edges to form a rectangle and roll it up starting at one short end (figure F). This will be a cane. Roll the cylinder very thin on the work surface using your fingers (figure G).

5. Cut bead to 1inch long.

6. Then use a headpin to create a hole straight through the bead (figure I).

7. Bake in toaster oven according to manufacturer's instructions.

8. Trim off any jagged edges with a razor blade. Lightly buff the bead with a felt-polishing wheel attached to the rotary tool.

9. Wrap a spiral with the wire using flat nose pliers, string on the art bead, a spacer, the wings, a spacer and a 6mm bead.

10. Using the round nose pliers, wrap the pendant with wire to form a bail and tighten up the wire under the loop.

11. String on a silver chain.

Website: www.humblebeads.com