Red and White Swirl Holiday Lentil Beads

One of the things I love about Facebook is being directed to tutorials concerning subjects of interest to me.  For instance, I’d been playing with swirls and lentil polymer beads when I spotted a link chock full of helpful hints.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6Oq0G54jIYk  Thanks to Cindy Lietz, my beads look much better and I understand about getting the colors more or less where I want them.  If you haven’t seen this video, you just might want to!
 
A few months ago, I made red and white and ivory canes based on a quilt pattern design.  I made them in various sizes of squares and put them away thinking they would be great for the Christmas holidays.  This week they came out of their box and I started making buttons and earrings.

What to do with the scraps?  Lentil swirl beads of course!  I’m having such fun forming my polymer balls and putting the scrap canes in a band around the outside.   Then I take my clear acrylic sheet, start the circular motion and watch the bands become swirls.  Mesmerizing! 
I’ve tried making buttons from them by drilling a shank effect in the back and there is undoubtedly an easier way of doing that.  I still need to file the openings but needed to put this photo in the post.  Suggestions?
The drilled hole goes through the back of the bead.
Last night’s project was a necklace.  I took some square bone beads, some carved beads and my red/ivory swirl lentil bead and went to work.  This Holiday Necklace is the end result and will be my newest addition to my etsy shop   www.etsy.com/shop/lindabrittdesign 





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Location: Prescott, AZ 86303, USA

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 9, 2012 at 9:55 AM

    Linda, my dear friend, this technique is so cool, thanks for your amazing research job! Since my eyes are too weak at the moment for seed beading, I am making paper art, and am contemplating my first serious stab at polymer. You make me want to do it! Thanks so much for your inspiration, and the enthusiasm and fun polymer clay community!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Monique (A Half-Baked Notion)November 10, 2012 at 9:08 AM

    Linda, if you want the quick path to polymer clay excellence, look no further than Cindy's video tutorials. She has a 39-part "basics course" which covers all the, well, basics LOL. I worked in polymer clay for several years before I discovered Cindy, but I learned a lot from her. Are her tutorials free? No. Are they worth every penny? Absolutely! I just signed up for my second year's membership and looking forward to more of her great videos. Here's a link to her blog (wonderful community of clayers, experienced and beginners, from all over the world):

    http://www.beadsandbeading.com/blog/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda Britt DesignNovember 10, 2012 at 10:49 AM

      Thanks to 'A Half-Baked Notion' for the recommendation. I'll check it out.

      Delete

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