Techniques used:

• Water image transfer onto polymer clay
• Covering polymer clay with gold/silver foil
• Assembling a bracelet with elastic

I love mosaics and whenever I travel with my husband we always seem to seek them out. While I was working on creating some collage sheets to sell on my Etsy shop (tangentine.etsy.com) I came across some photos we took in Rome and Istanbul and thought that it would make a really pretty piece of jewellery. I also thought it would make a really nice tutorial on how to do image transfers on polymer clay. If you do not have images that you want to use for the image transfer, you can download this free .PDF I created of some photos of St Joseph lilies I took for my mum. (The images are 1inch across and the PDF is set to 300DPI).

In this tutorial I will show how to make a bracelet with rounded beads assembled on elastic.

Materials required:

• Polymer clay (pearl works really well)*  - for the image transfer discs
• Scrap clay for the bead core
• Polymer clay in another colour for the large round beads – I used chocolate brown
• Elastic
• Gold or silver leaf
• Varnish (Varathane, Johnson’s Klear etc.)

*I used Fimo Effect Metallic Pearl no.8

Tools required:

• Oven
• Scalpel
• Cookie cutters (if you have the right size)
• Squirt bottle with water
• Pasta machine (or roller with knitting needles to get an even width)
• Work surface (glass or ceramic tile)
• Needle or similar tool to make holes
• Printer or other images you want to use for image transfer

Step 1: Image transfer using water

Cut out the designs you want to transfer. Roll out your clay and put your pieces face down on the clay to ensure you’ve rolled out enough clay [image 1a]. We will use the excess clay to make small beads to finish the bracelet.

Squirt once or twice on the paper to make sure it is wet, but do not soak it [image 1b].

Gently rub the back of the paper to remove the top layers of the paper, but be careful not to rub too much, as that will remove the transfer as well [image 1c].

If you’re happy with the quality of the transfer use a cookie cutter or use your scalpel [image 1d] it out.

Remove the excess clay from the glass sheet. Remove any further paper that hides the design.

Pop it in the oven and bake according to your clay manufacturer’s instructions. After baking you will have the discs with the design on it. Put a layer of varnish on the design. For this bracelet you will need 4 round focal beads.

Step 2: Making covered disc beads with the image transfer

Condition and roll out some scrap clay on the thickest setting on your pasta machine. Fold the sheet in half so that you have a thick piece [image 2a]. Use your cookie cutters or scalpel to cut out circles in the same size as your image transfers and remove the excess clay around it [image 2b]. Sometimes the discs stick to the glass or ceramic tile, use your blade to pull it off without distorting them too much. [Image2c].

Make 2 holes through the each disc, you want to ensure that the beads will be stable and show the image transfer side when you make it into a bracelet. The holes should be big enough to let the elastic through 3 times [image 2d].

Use some liquid polymer clay to stick the discs with the image transfer on top of the other pieces [image 2e]. Bake according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Image 2f shows how the beads should look at this point.

Roll out some clay on the thickest setting of your pasta machine in the colour you would like to use for the backing, I used chocolate brown [image 2g]. Rub some gold or silver leaf over the top – ensure you roll out a big enough pieces to make 8 more round beads that we will use to make more beads to complete the bracelet.  Rub the gold or silver leaf lightly to ensure it sticks to the clay i.e. burnish it [image 2h].

Cut discs out of the clay but be sure that they are about 10mm bigger than each bead [image 2i] to ensure that bead core is covered properly when we wrap it around the back. Use some liquid polymer clay to ensure that it sticks properly [image 2j]. Before you adhere this layer to the bead core mark where the holes should be. Press the clay to ensure that it sticks all around the bead. Use your scalpel to get rid of any uneven edges on the front of the bead and use your fingers to smooth. See image 2k and 2l for the side and front view of the bead. Widen the holes you've marked in the sheet and make sure that they are neat.

Bake according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Varnish the beads. I usually put on three layers of varnish, wait for each layer to dry and bake it.

Step 3: Make additional beads to complete bracelet

In order to complete the bracelet we have to make some beads to sit between the focal beads. Use the plain colour with the gold or silver leaf; I used brown, to make 8 round beads. I made mine with a diameter of about 1cm.

Then make 16 smaller beads out of a colour that matches your design. I used the pearl clay from the rolled out clay that I used for the image transfer.

Image 3a, 3b and 3c shows the steps I used to make the large beads. When you make beads with inclusions, such as gold leaf, you have to compress the clay a bit more than usual to ensure that it sticks properly, i.e. so that it won’t come apart.

Make holes in the beads [image 3d]. The holes should be big enough to let the elastic through 3 times (at least). Bake according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Varnish the beads.

Step 4: Assemble the bracelet

We have enough beads to assemble the piece.

Cut two pieces of elastic of about 30cm each. String the beads in this order: small bead, large brown bead, small bead, focal bead. We will tie up the first string before doing the second because it is easier that way.

Push the elastic through until you’ve pushed it through the focal bead a second time.

Make sure the elastic is pulled tight and tie a knot.

Make a double knot and dab a bit of superglue on it. Wait for the glue to dry and pull the knot to the centre of the bead.

You should have elastic on either side of the bead. Take the piece of elastic on the left side of the bead and pull it through the centre of next bead, knot the elastic and put a bit of glue on the knot to keep it in place. Repeat a few times on either side to ensure that the elastic will not come apart.

Do the same with the other piece of elastic. Pull the ends of the elastic through one of the large beads, make a knot, glue it, pull it tight and cut it.

Step 4 a-h shows images of how this is done. So, I hope I did not confuse you with that part of the description. All it really means is that you should pass the elastic through more than once, knot it often, glue the knot and make sure that the knots, as well as the ends of the elastic, are hidden in the holes of the beads. It is just to ensure that your piece is assembled securely.

That’s it. You should have a pretty new bracelet.