Introduction and Materials
Introduction and Materials
After making my Polymer Clay Pumpkin Earrings, I thought it would be fun to make some 3D pumpkins. These beads actually remind me of those pumpkin candies available during Halloween.
You’ll need:
Green Sculpey III
Orange Sculpey III
Corsage pin
Lacquer (acrylic spray or liquid)
Wax paper
Rolling pin
Craft knife
Polymer clay setup
1. Start by pulling off a piece of orange clay and kneading it with your fingers to soften it up.
2. Divide your clay to even sized pieces.
3. Take your pieces and roll them up into ball as if you were making meat balls. You can make these any size. I made mine by about 1/2 inch in diameter.
4. Now take your knife and make the grooves around your orange balls. I think these make them look more like real pumpkins.
You don’t need to cut very deeply, you only need to score the clay with the knife. I found it easier to hold the knife and role the ball so I scored all around the ball.
5. Set aside your orange balls, pull of a piece of green clay, and knead to soften.
6. Roll the green clay into a tube with your hands, and then place it onto your cutting board.
7. Use your knife to cut off pieces that are about 1/4 inch long. You need a green piece cut for each orange ball you’ve made.
8. Now attach the green piece to the top of one of your orange balls. Press the green piece against the ball, and pinch the ends of the green clay with your fingers. This will make your green section cone shaped.
Add these green "stems" to all your orange balls.
9. Now you need to make the holes in your pumpkins so that they are beads. I found a corsage pin works well for me since many of my head pins and beading cords are about the same thickness. If you want to use a thicker cord, such as hemp or leather, you’ll need to make your holes larger. Position the corsage pin in the middle of the bottom of a pumpkin, and pierce the pumpkin with the pin making sure to keep the pin straight.
10. Pierce the pin through the pumpkin again coming from the opposite side - stem first - to ensure that your hole is as straight as possible.
11. After piercing all your pumpkins, bake at 275 degrees F for 20 minutes. These are beads. However, since they are pumpkins, they don’t need to be completely round. Therefore, it’s okay to have the bottoms of the pumpkins flat against your cookie sheet.
12. Let the pumpkins completely cool after baking.
13. Next, in a well ventilated area, cover your pumpkins with an acrylic based lacquer.
14. Let your pumpkins dry before handling.
Now what are you going to do with your pumpkin beads?
After making my Polymer Clay Pumpkin Earrings, I thought it would be fun to make some 3D pumpkins. These beads actually remind me of those pumpkin candies available during Halloween.
You’ll need:
Green Sculpey III
Orange Sculpey III
Corsage pin
Lacquer (acrylic spray or liquid)
Wax paper
Rolling pin
Craft knife
Polymer clay setup
1. Start by pulling off a piece of orange clay and kneading it with your fingers to soften it up.
2. Divide your clay to even sized pieces.
3. Take your pieces and roll them up into ball as if you were making meat balls. You can make these any size. I made mine by about 1/2 inch in diameter.
4. Now take your knife and make the grooves around your orange balls. I think these make them look more like real pumpkins.
You don’t need to cut very deeply, you only need to score the clay with the knife. I found it easier to hold the knife and role the ball so I scored all around the ball.
5. Set aside your orange balls, pull of a piece of green clay, and knead to soften.
6. Roll the green clay into a tube with your hands, and then place it onto your cutting board.
7. Use your knife to cut off pieces that are about 1/4 inch long. You need a green piece cut for each orange ball you’ve made.
8. Now attach the green piece to the top of one of your orange balls. Press the green piece against the ball, and pinch the ends of the green clay with your fingers. This will make your green section cone shaped.
Add these green "stems" to all your orange balls.
9. Now you need to make the holes in your pumpkins so that they are beads. I found a corsage pin works well for me since many of my head pins and beading cords are about the same thickness. If you want to use a thicker cord, such as hemp or leather, you’ll need to make your holes larger. Position the corsage pin in the middle of the bottom of a pumpkin, and pierce the pumpkin with the pin making sure to keep the pin straight.
10. Pierce the pin through the pumpkin again coming from the opposite side - stem first - to ensure that your hole is as straight as possible.
11. After piercing all your pumpkins, bake at 275 degrees F for 20 minutes. These are beads. However, since they are pumpkins, they don’t need to be completely round. Therefore, it’s okay to have the bottoms of the pumpkins flat against your cookie sheet.
12. Let the pumpkins completely cool after baking.
13. Next, in a well ventilated area, cover your pumpkins with an acrylic based lacquer.
14. Let your pumpkins dry before handling.
Now what are you going to do with your pumpkin beads?
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