Ever wanting to try new things, I have added a millefiori technique to my polymer bead making skills!!! Oh what fun, because my pasta machine decided to go ape and comk out on me so I had to roll and cure by hand!!! Not good with arthritis like mine... BUT, it was worth it. Trouble is, I only thought of taking photos when I was part way through!!! So above is the result of a large flower formed of several sticks (six from one roll to make petals with inlaid lines, and one central stick). The original roll was about 2" across and 2" in depth. I squeezed and rolled to make the different size canes you can see below, close up.
I think it is so clever that the clay stays where you place it, basically!!! I think I will inlay the stipes for the petals deeper next time, as they got a little lost as the cane got smaller in diameter.
Above is the wonderful mixture of the clays left over, twisted and rolled, twisted and rolled again, to marble them together. I added some transluscent so they will glow with more depth when baked....
This is the finished bead cane, with lovely marbled effects and then I cut off half inch bead pieces of about quarter inch diameter. Big boys then!!! Yes, big beads as you can see below...
Oh they are yummy, arn't they??? I love all those swirls and twists. I noticed how different they were if you closed up the ends first before rounding off... the swirls were vertical through the piece and showed up if left without pinching.
This photo shows the little cane and tiny flowers I added to those beads. They are about quarter of an inch across and just thin slivers added to the main bead
When rolled and smoothed, the flowers integrate with the rest of the clay and look so pretty... I want to have a go with other colours next. I shall string them on pins with header beads etc then add each one to the next via a short length of chain to make a long necklace. There are some great demos on YouTube, and I will add the link I liked best when I have more time... Just off to do the horses with Freddie, so, thanks for looking and happy WOYWW this week... for those not yet au fait with that, here is the link to the wondrous blog that is
Julia's Stamping Ground
Happy New Year
With Love and Light
Frankie
xx
