Introduction

There’s nothing like a new season to get us excited about home decor. With so much inspiration out there, it can be overwhelming to know where to start and what will work in your own space. Each month, we’ll share our favorite DIYs and tips for how to bring them into your own home. First up: clay beads! We love the unexpected pop of color they add on any surface of the house—especially when they hang from a lamp or curtain rod. Check out the steps below (along with some tips) for making your own batch of clay beads!

The recipe makes about 300 beads, which should last you for a long time.

The recipe makes about 300 beads, which should last you for a long time. These beads are great for making bracelets and necklaces, but they can also be used in a variety of other ways. Use them to make charms for charm bracelets or keychains, add them to your handmade gift wrapping bows (like we did here), make jewelry out of them or use them as decor at home.

For this project, you will need:

• A pot with a lid (non-aluminum)
• A burner on which the pot will fit comfortably (either propane or electric)

Gather together all of your supplies.

Gather together all of your supplies. You will need:

• Clay (one type or a combination of types)
• Cornstarch
• Needle for poking holes in the beads after they are dried
• Scissors to cut off the ends of the cord (if you’re using one)

Start by making the dough.

Before you can make clay beads, you’ll have to make dough. It’s a simple process that involves mixing together flour, salt and water.

To begin, combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl or on your kitchen countertop. Slowly add water until it forms an elastic ball of dough (about 1/2 cup). Knead for about three minutes until smooth and shiny. Use your hands to knead if necessary!

Next up: add food coloring to create the bead’s color patterning. This is where things get fun! Your creative juices will start flowing as soon as they mix into warm liquid form—and they only get better from there! Let rest for 30 minutes before rolling out snakes with a rolling pin and cutting them into small pieces with kitchen scissors or cookie cutters (or any other tool of choice). You’ll want these small pieces to be no larger than 1 inch long by ¼ inch wide so they can easily fit onto pins during curing process later on down line when making jewelry pieces out of them afterwards too

Once the dough is mixed, let it sit for 30 minutes out at room temperature to dry out just a bit.

Once the dough is mixed, let it sit for 30 minutes out at room temperature to dry out just a bit. The dough should have a dry, not-too-sticky texture when you’re ready to start shaping. If it’s too wet, it will be hard to shape; if it’s too dry, the beads will crumble when you try to shape them. To help with stickiness, add 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch and mix until combined before kneading again by hand (or using your mixer).

Roll your clay into snake shapes about 1/4″ thick.

Next, roll your clay into snake shapes about 1/4″ thick. (You can use a rolling pin or a wine bottle.)

Cut the clay into 1/4″ thick strips.

Cut the snakes into small chunks, about 1/4″ long or shorter.

Cut the snakes into small chunks, about 1/4″ long or shorter.

Next, divide the dough into smaller pieces. You can make 100 beads at a time if you want to speed things up! Then roll each piece of dough into a ball by hand.

Once you have enough balls to make up one tray of 300 beads (about 8 trays), put them on parchment paper and let them rest for 10 minutes before baking them in the oven for 15 minutes at 300°F or until they’re completely dry to touch but still soft inside (this will help prevent cracking). When they come out of the oven, use a spoonful of cornstarch mixed with water as glue to apply 2-3 lines onto each side of your clay bead (don’t worry about getting too much cornstarch on there; just enough so that it sticks when pressed down.)

Now comes the fun part, shaping! To shape your beads, you’ll need a thin, sharp object to poke your beads with (I used a needle and my pin vise but you can use anything thin and sharp like an awl). Holding the bead with your fingers, gently push the needle through the center of the bead horizontally until it just pokes through, then push it back up through the opposite side so it looks like an “X”. Repeat these steps until all of your beads are shaped. If some of them break while shaping them, don’t worry! As long as most of them look good you’re good to go!

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Place all of your shaped beads in a shallow bowl one by one and cover them in cornstarch. Give each bead a quick turn so they’re all coated, then shake off the excess cornstarch into the bowl. This will help keep them from sticking together while drying overnight.

Place all of your shaped beads in a shallow bowl one by one and cover them in cornstarch. Give each bead a quick turn so they’re all coated, then shake off the excess cornstarch into the bowl. This will help keep them from sticking together while drying overnight.

If you’re working with a lot of beads at once, it may be more efficient to place each shape on its own plate or tray so that you can simply transfer them straight from the plate to their final storage container when they’re ready for use (just make sure each piece is completely dry before transferring). If doing this, remember that any excess moisture on your hands will also be transferred onto the surface of your clay beads—so make sure those plates are clean!

Look at all those beautiful little beads!

Once you’ve made your beads, you’re ready to start using them! Beads last many years, so this project can be used as a long-term supply of beads. You can use these rounds to make jewelry or decorations. Beads are versatile and can be used in many different types of crafts.

If you want to make necklaces, bracelets, or earrings with your clay beads:

• Get some cord/yarn that is thinner than what would normally be recommended for the size of your round (i.e., if the recommended cord size is 0.5 mm thick but your round is 0.75mm thick).
• Put the cord through one side of each clay bead until it reaches both ends (see below). This will keep the string from falling out through the hole on either side when you pull on it later!

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed it too! Here’s a little bit of my clay bead making process. I’ll be sharing more recipes soon, so stay tuned for more posts about this subject