Enlarging holes in beads without a drill

You can make holes in baked beads larger even if you don't have an electric drill.
Make a pilot thin hole in a bead before baking it. Then enlarge the hole gradually going from smaller to larger drilling bits.
To make it easier to hold a drilling bit, you can fix it in a craft knife instead of a blade; I managed to hold it on its own.
There is just one tip on this technique: after a few experiments I figured out that if you push a drilling bit through the whole bead at once, 4 of 5 beads will crack :)) You have to remove extra clay from inside the bead in small portions. You drill into a bead to a small distance, take out a drilling bit, shake off the clay dust. Then drill a little further into the bead, again take out a drilling bit and shake off the clay. Go this way to the middle of the bead, then do the same going into the bead from the opposite side of a hole.

Report on first outing :))

I am very slow in filling in my English blog at the moment, but I promise to get better in it :))
So there it was, our first craft market, as a group (Newcastle Craft mafia), and my first craft market ever.
First of all, I enjoyed the event very much! I've spent an evening among crafty and totally amazing people :)
The place was a bit quiet :) The market has been held in the backyard of "Art Works galleries", about 6 or 7 stalls were out, most of which were taken by our group. There were a lot more sellers than buyers :))) Still I managed to sell two bracelets and three penguin badges, which I think is a huge success :)))
In the following photo there are 3-4 buyers, the rest are sellers and their friends :)

My corner of a table.

My new beads. The first beads, to make holes in which I used my Dremel tool with it's workstation.



I've tried to wrap a pillow bead in a filigree wrap. I like the result, looks vintage :)


I couldn't leave without buying this cute bunny! I've noticed him a few days ago at Amanda's Flickr site, and it waited for me :)

My first "outing" :)

I was thrilled when the organizers of Newcastle Craft mafia offered me to join their group. On the website there is a photo of us from our first meting, I am the one in the center in a grey jacket :).
It was so wonderful to meet all these creative people (which are a lot more professional in crafts than me) and I feel very privileged to be in a group :).
Coming Thursday we are going to have our first group stall at The Art Works galleries in Newcastle, which is going to be my very first "outing" :))
I am very nervous about it :))
I took out of the draws all my beads to finish them into jewellery, they covered the whole table! I didn't realize, how far I went with clay :)))
Some mess in my clay room:

My table:

The Russian doll was bought by my husband when he visited me in Russia, it lives in my room now :))

I have lots of different findings, but I never have what I need :))

I continue experimenting with additives in clay. Paprika is certainly my favorite! Two sides of one paprika heart:

Do you remember my beaded beads? I decided to finish them as pendants on a chain.


I need to replace a wire inside the golden one. I've temporarily put a copper wire in it.
Bracelets, as usual :)

My English blog

I've decided to change this blog's function. From now on it will be an English duplicate of my Russian blog. Although I have removed the word "tutorials" from the heading of this blog, I will still post my tutorials here just the same.

A bead covered with seed beads

Here is an idea for recycling large polymer clay beads you don't like.
Materials: large bead, painted into one colour (normally, to match seed beads), seed beads, a needle and a thin invisible nylon thread.

I have chosen two shades of gold and blue seed beads. Mixed them in a dish.

To stop seed beads from sliding down from a large bead, place a stripe of a double-sided sticky tape.

Pass a thread through the bead and stick the end of the thread to a tape.

Take 4 beads and join them into a circle.

For the second circle take 3 beads, and join them into a circle with a top bead of the first circle. Pass the thread so that it comes out of the top bead of the second circle.

Make the full row around the bead.

For the second row take 3 seed beads and join them into a circle with a bead of the first row.

Now take only 2 seed beads, and join them into a circle with 2 beads (one of the first circle of a second row, and one of the first row).

Make a full second row around the bead, then make a third row.

To reduce a row, in some places (according to situation, depends on a size of a large bead) pass a thread through 2 beads of a previous row instead of one, and count those two beads as one. Take 2 seed beads, and join them into a circle consisting of 5 seed beads.

A few more rows, and your bead is ready :)

Making large oval beads

Beads like these:

I am pretty sure there is a lot easier way to do oval beads, but the more complicated the process is, the more interesting it is for me :))) And I think my way is very economic, uses mostly scrap clay.
The working area:
A two-layered square of clay. A layer of scrap clay at the bottom, the layer of nice ochre clay on the top. Lots of canes.

Filling area with canes' slices:
If you are interested in the process of filling are with cane slices go to see a slide show :) (I didn't out it in a blog, as it's a bit heavy)

Rolling out a flowery clay sheet:

Now it is smooth, except for the edges of the sheet.

Wrap a knitting needle in scrap clay:

Then wrap it into a slice of a flower sheet, adjust and smooth a joint line:

Cut a cylinder into segments (1.5 cm in my case)

Gently shape segments into ovals. My knitting needle is quite thick, so the hole in a bead will be quite wide, for the thick rope (as the one used on the photo above).
Bake the beads (I made a few pillow beads from flower sheet leftovers)

Here is the result

Covering Altoid tin with polymer clay sheet

I made a tartan cane following Dora's tutorial (Thank you, Dora!). I didn't reduce it too well, the pattern have got deformed. But the colours are still nice :)))
Roll a sheet out of scrap clay. Place cane slices in a row, trying to match lines and colours. When all slices are in place, roll them until smooth surface.

It is important to clean the box just before covering it with clay. Wash it with a soap, or wipe it with alcohol and let dry.
Place a sheet of clay on to the bottom half of the box. Make sure there are no air bubbles are trapped between clay and metal.
At the corners of the box press the clay gently toward the box. While soft clay takes a shape of the box corners.
Very carefully cut off the excess of clay. The best way will be cutting it off bit by bit, say, first cut away 5 millimeters all around the box. then another 5 millimeters all around the box again. Then 2 millimeters and so on. This way you are not going to cut off too much clay. Smooth the edge of the clay sheet with your fingers, hiding scrap clay.
Bake the resulting half-covered box.

Cool down the box and cover the other half of it with the second sheet.

Decorate the box as you wish. Bake the box.