Jewelry Lovers

A cane is a rod that’s made up two or more colors of clay. When the clay is cut crosswise, a multi-colored design is revealed. Canes are the basic components of the clay, male fiori—style bead. Mille fiori means a thousand flowers. These beads are known for their stunning multitude of patterns and colors.

Jellyroll cane

A jellyroll is the most basic cane you can make. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Roll clay to a sheet of uniformed thickness approximately 1/16th of an inch. Repeat with a second color.

2. Place one sheet on top of the other. Trim the layered clay into an even rectangle.

3. Depending on how wide you want your beads, start rolling the beads from the narrower or wider edge. Rolling the clay from the wider edge gives you a narrower finished bead. Rolling the clay from the narrower edge gives you a wider finished bead. Gently squeeze the rod to remove air bubbles. Reduce (or decrease the diameter and increase the length of) the cane by gently rolling it. Roll it until you get it to the desired width.

4. Chill the cane slightly in the refrigerator, approximately 15 to 20 minutes, to firm up the clay for cutting.

6. Cut the cane crosswise with a thin blade to reveal your beautiful pattern.

For best results use a very sharp, very thin blade to cut the slices for your beads. Many clay companies make their own cutting blades for this very reason. Other clay cutting options include a razor blade, boning knife, fishing line, or piano wire. Experiment and find what works for you.

If you want to string the beads, pierce holes in them with a toothpick. You can choose to add wire hooks to the beads to create earrings or pendants later. An eyepin is an ideal addition to your beads at this point. Just poke it where you want it, bend a loop with your round- nose pliers, and you have a little loop to hang your bead later.

8. Bake clay according to packaged directions in an oven safe glass container.

9. Let the beads cool before stringing. Basic speckle cane

Try this project to perfect your cane-making technique. The pattern is fairly random, so you don’t need to stress over making it look perfect. The beauty of this cane is in the handmade, colorful feel of the finished project. Choose three complimentary colors for this one. I chose green, purple, and yellow.

Condition the same amount of each color of clay separately. Roll each piece into a log.

For best results, clean your hands and workspace between working with each color to keep the colors from blending together. Baby wipes are a great choice for this kind of quick cleanup.

Place the 3 logs close together. Gently squeeze them together. Roll the 3 logs gently in order to form them into a single bundle, which is now the new cane you work with to complete this project.

Reduce the size of the diameter of the cane, until the length is approximately 9 inches (so your cane will get thinner and longer). Cut the cane into three equal parts.

Place the 3 cane sections next to each other. Gently squeeze them together. Roll the three sections into a single bundle again to form a new cane. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until your cane is as speckled as you want it.

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Jewelry Time, Advanced Clay Bead Techniques