Hollow polymer clay beads have been around for a while and I'm sure there are many tutorials available online. I have seen several great ideas how to build an armature for polymer clay beads and sculptures, especially if the aim is to achieve bigger size. It can be made with help of card stock, wire, styrofoam, polymer clay itself and many other tricks.
My hollow cylinder beads developed from the ruffled earring bead design I started to make back in January and the only armature I use are few small foil balls inside the cylinder while shaping the first end and then removed. Once out of curiosity I ruffled and closed both ends instead of just one, very soon I wanted to increase the size and that's how I started to make my cylinder beads. The finished bead is 4cm tall and 2.5 cm diameter and I really love this generous size.
Scroll down to have a look at step by step process and see the finished necklace below. Pictured beads are made from translucent polymer clay in four colours and I have used silk Chinese knotting cord to string beads.
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| Hollow Cylinder Bead Necklace / Valg Studio |
