Making Animal Beads with Polymer Clay

Animal beads look so cute, isn't it? Why not try making some of them? Making animal beads with polymer clay is so simple and fun that you'll just love it! It's very easy to mold polymer clay just by pressing and giving shape with hands. So, practically you can make any kind of animal bead with howsoever complex structure. After all, not all animals are straight lines and circles! However, if you wonder how perfectly will you be able to mold the clay to give a perfect shape to your animal bead, you have other option too- you can use a press mold to give shape of an animal to your bead.

How to Make Animal Bead with Press Mold

Get  some soft polymer clay, animal shaped clay molds (you'll find them in any crafts store), bead reamer tool, piece of cardboard, baking tray, varnish, paint. Now you are ready to make animal beads with your polymer clay.

• If your polymer clay is hard, take a small portion of it and make it soft (softening of clay is called "conditioning" the clay). To soften polymer clay rub it within hands. The warmth of hands and a little stretching and working with the clay will make it soft enough to place it in the mold for giving desirable animal shape.
• If you want a single color animal bead, put the clay into the animal shaped mold. However, if you want multiple colored animal beads, you have to mix required number of colorful clay before putting it into the mold.
• Now press the clay firmly into the mold. Take care not to press so hard that the bottom gets flattened.
• Fill up the mold until the clay gets even at the top edges and flat all the way across.
• Now, turn the mold over and slowly bend the rubber to release the animal shaped clay. If you see any  rough edges, smooth them with fingers.
• With the help of a bead reamer tool or a thin piece of wire, drill a hole through your animal bead shape. If the beads are too soft to make a hole, place them on a piece of wax paper and put them in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.
• After making hole, put your animal beads on a piece of cardboard on the baking tray and set your oven. To know at what temperature and for how much time you have to bake your beads, check the package of polymer clay as each brand of clay is different. Ensure  that the room is well ventilated.
• When you finish with baking, let your animal beads cool completely.
• Once the beads have cooled down, give your choice of finishing to them. You can varnish, paint or glaze them. You can even use a fine-grain sandpaper to give some texture to your animal beads.

That was about making animal beads with polymer clay. If you wish to make animal shapes with other beads through beading, read Beading Technique to Make Bead Animals