I have to admit I was probably more chicken about making my first PMC project than I was learning to solder. I have little experience with clay, and since it isn’t exactly cheap, I didn’t want to make any mistakes. However, after flipping through Tim McCreight’s book Working with Precious Metal Clay, I found this project on how to make a leaf bead. It looked so easy that my confidence was restored, and I thought this would be a good way to get started.

To make a leaf bead, you’ll need:

a small ball of PMC (This depends on the size of your leaf.)
a leaf (I used one from a pepper plant.)
a clean surface to work on
8 playing cards
a small rolling pin (I use a piece of pvc pipe.)
olive oil
Exacto ® knife
2 inch piece of plastic straw
kiln
vermiculite
jeweler’s file or emery board

1. Start by placing a small ball of PMC in the middle of your work surface.

2. Set two stacks of card with 4 cards each on either side of your clay.

3. Add a little dab of oil to your roller.

4. Then roll out the clay. The cards will help you roll the clay to the proper thickness.

5. Now place your leaf over the clay, and again roll. This will impress the image of your leaf into the clay.

6. Remove the leaf from the clay.

Next Page->To finish the beads & a printer friendly link

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