Shiny Beads



It's winter in Prescott and the cloudy skies and rain make me a bit depressed.  I needed to do something in color and Deb Crother's tutorial showing the techniques of liquid polymer clay was just the thing to brighten my day!  Thank you Deb!  http://www.debbiecrothers.com/product/curing-kato-liquid-clay-and-so-much-more-with-debbie-crothers

Generally my beads are in a satin finish.  I find I'm not a shiny glitzy girl!  But when I say the way Deb finished her polymer beads I just had to try.  Liquid polymer ( Kato's liquid polymer is the brand I used) is a milky white semi-thick liquid that I applied to each bead with a brush.  Then I used the heat gun to cure it with crystal clear shiny finish.  Wow!  What a difference.  The colors popped and the beads seemed to have more depth.  

The bead on the left has the liquid polymer coating.
Debbie Crother's tutorial is well worth the price since she shares set up, techniques and tips for more that just making beads shiny.  Lots of information and good demos.

The first day I used the liquid polymer on beads was a learning day of how to hold the bead and apply the liquid evenly;  how long to cure each bead; what to do when I was a little sloppy.  The second day I looked through all my beads and wondered how long it would take me to add the shiny coat to them!  By the third day, I was a little tired of holding the brush and realized I did not want all my beads to be shiny.  I like the satin finish too.  

My Happy Beads
After finishing a group of beads, I stopped and created my 'Happy Necklace'.  It makes me happy wearing and it is very comfortable.  It also goes with many of my outfits.....especially the jeans and knit tops!


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Location: Prescott, AZ, USA

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