Create a pair of earrings with two bead embellished buttons, use a single button as a snazzy purse closure, or string a bunch together for a bracelet. Instructions are given only for the bead embellished buttons, not for the Fleur de Perle bracelet. Part of the June/July 2008 Beadwork challenge.

If you cannot bear to throw out your practice or broken lampworked beads, here are two tricks that may save many innocent and lovely beads from the trash bin.

Use polymer clay and semiprecious stones to create leaf and flower bud beads. You know those last blooms of spring? The lush green leave—flowers tipped toward the sun. This project will keep spring blooming all yearlong! Use these beads, buds, and leaves to create the Knot Just Ribbons necklace on page 44 of the March–April 2008 issue of Step by Step Beads.

Learn to bead with this basic necklace and then jazz it up with a handmade polymer clay heart pendant.

This project from Step by Step Beads magazine assumes an advanced understanding of Precious Metal Clay (PMC). Use an oval, sea-smoothed stone as an armature for draping and supporting a sheet of textured PMC3. By draping a richly textured PMC3 sheet on each side of the stone, then joining the resulting domed forms, the bead will conform to the shape of the stone used, creating a hollow form. This 9-page project is a large file (2.8 MB) and may take awhile to download.

The western-style Lazy-B Ranch bracelet includes rugged opal nuggets, ladder-stitched beaded beads made of smoky quartz rondelles, and a silver buckle clasp. This project was created by the editor of Beading Daily for the December 2007/January 2008 Beadwork challenge.

Learn how rubber stamps can be used to apply an inked image to the surface of raw or baked clay or to impress a textured image into soft clay. After the ink has dried, iridescent powders may be used to "paint" the beads. This project is from the book, Polymer Clay Beads by Carol Blackburn.

Project Tips from Author Carol Blackburn

Q: Do you have to use Fimo Puppen, or can you use another type of clay?

A: You can use any clay but Fimo Puppen clay gave a porcelain look which didn't need any finishing like sanding (and it was cheaper than regular polymer clay!)

Q: Do you have any special tips for controlling the iridescent powder? It seems to want to fly everywhere!

A: Just use a very little of the powder at a time and a small brush on the raw clay butterfly impression on the bead. After baking I coat the powdered areas with acrylic floor finish and, when dry, I applied another coat of the same finish to the whole bead.

Q: Do you use a certain type of ink for stamping on clay?

A: I use a water based Ranger Adirondack ink pad but I think any ink pad will do.

These polymer clay pendants take their cue from organic sources, capturing the same flow and energy. To create these pendants, you'll need blue, green, and yellow polymer clay, gold leaf, 28-gauge craft wire, and beads like pearls or crystals to use for embellishment. Instructions for a necklace using these pendant beads may be found in the November/December 2007 issue of Step by Step Beads.

Delightful discs and bubble beads in bold, beautiful colors! Instructions for creating a bracelet using these lampworked beads may be found in the November/December 2007 issue of Step by Step Beads.

It doesn’t take much more than some copper tubing, enamel powders, and a simple torch to make your own glass beads with this technique! This project is from the editors of Step by Step Beads.