Step 3:

Cut the blended sheet in half sheet in half so you have 2 rectangles of clay that blend from Navy to White. You will use half for each part of the cane – one for the corner section and one for the flower

Step 4:

Fold one of the halves in half along the long side so that the White is against the White and run through the Clay Conditioning Machine on the thickest setting to make a long thin ribbon. Reduce the setting on the Clay Conditioning Machine and run the sheet through to make it longer and thinner. Repeat until you have reached a thin setting (about 2 playing cards thick). You should have a long thin strip. Roll this up, starting at the blue end, to make a skinner blend log

Step 5:

Create a custom Dark Blue color by mixing 5 parts Ultramarine Blue to 3 parts Black. Wrap a sheet of the custom Dark Blue around the outside. To do this cut a rectangle the same width as the skinner blend log. Roll round until the end meets, press to make a mark. Unroll a little and use this mark to cut – cut on the inside and roll to make a neat butt joint.

Step 6:

Using a credit card, or similar thin but blunt object, press into the side of the cane along the length, about half way in.

Step 7:

Do this around the edge to make 6 equal indentations to make ‘frilled’ logs.

Step 8:

Reduce and cut into 3 equal parts. Make sure each of these parts is at least an inch long as it is hard to handle canes shorter than this. You may need to reduce the cane a little further so it is longer. Put these to one side

Step 9:

Make a log of White clay slightly smaller in diameter than the ‘frilled’ logs and same length as you cut the ‘frilled’ logs. Wrap it with the same custom Dark Blue mix. Put this to one side.

Step 10:

Make a log of the custom Dark Blue polymer and pinch it into a petal shape. Add a layer of White clay around the top of the petal leaving a bit of blue exposed at the tip end.

Step 11:

Cut into 2 equal pieces. Take one of those pieces and reduce it so that it is twice as long. Cut this in half. You now have 3 parts that are all the same length. Position them together so that the largest is in the middle.

Step 12:

Add a thin log of White clay about half way up each of the outer petals; gently bend the top over the roll to make them curl out. In the photograph the petal on the right has been bent over and the one on the left hasn’t yet.

Step 13:

Add triangular wedges of White clay either side of the middle petal to keep them apart.

Step 14:

Add a layer of White clay around the whole piece.

Step 15:

Pinch to form a petal shape. You will need 2 pieces the same length as your other canes. Look at the next picture to check they are the right sort of size compared to your other canes.

Step 16:

Gather all the canes and place them together.

Step 17:

Add triangular wedges of white clay between the ‘petal’ shaped cane and the frilled round canes. Add triangles of clay on the other side of the petals. Fill the gap with a block of White clay.

Step 18:

Pinch the corner with the Blue wrapped canes to form a point.

Step 19:

Reduce into a triangle shape. Press the wide part of the cane onto a flat surface, keeping the point up. Press and pinch along the length to extend the cane whilst keeping one side on the work surface, turning the cane frequently to keep the triangular shape.

Step 20:

You now have a finished corner cane. It needs to be long enough to cut into four pieces each at least an inch long. One piece for each corner of the tile cane.

Step 21:

Take the other half of the skinner blend sheet and use the Clay Conditioning Machine again to make a long thin ribbon. Take an oval shaped log of navy clay and wrap the long strip of clay starting with the navy end around it going from side to side not all the way around. Start at one edge and wrap over the top, when you get to the other side bend the clay back around like a zig zag. You are adding a ‘U’ shape of clay.

Step 22:

Repeat until you have run out of clay.

Step 23:

Wrap the same part you have been covering with the custom Dark Blue clay mix in a ‘U’ shape. Pinch into a petal shape.

Step 24:

Reduce and cut into 6 equal parts (again make sure they are at least 1” long).

Step 25:

Make a center for the flower by taking a simple White log wrapped with the custom Dark Blue mix. Reduce it so that you can cut it into six equal parts. Make one part the center and add the other five parts around it. Reduce a little to join the parts and make them into a cylinder.

Step 26:

Place the flower petals together gently (we want to get them apart again) to see roughly how big the center cane needs to be. Reduce the center cane to be a similar diameter to the hole in the middle of the gathered petals. Getting the center the right size makes it easier to put the flower together neatly. Place one petal at a time around the center cane. Make sure the petal is attached along the length and the middle of the petal point is point in towards the middle of the center cane. The fourth petal should be opposite the first one. Add the final petals.

Step 27:

Take a log of White clay and pinch the top as you press it down against a flat work surface. This is to fill the gaps between the petals to make sure they keep their shape when we reduce the cane. This forms a nice shape to fit the gap.

Step 28:

Fit a triangle into each gap between the petals. Trimming them to the same length as the rest of the cane.

Step 29:

Cut strips from a thick sheet of white clay to fit the gaps left. Gently push the triangles in a little, pushing on opposite sides at the same time and turning the cane to keep it round. It should now look white all the way around the flower.

Step 30:

Put four equal lengths of the corner cane together so you can see how much you need to reduce your flower cane to fit the gap.

Step 31:

Reduce part of the flower cane to the right size and place the corner canes around it. The corner canes should just about touch as they surround the flower.

Step 32:

Reduce the cane until it is a suitable size for the beads you want to make. Placing the cane on a smooth flat surface and rolling along the length with the acrylic rod, turning frequently is a good way to reduce whilst keeping the square shape.

Step 33:

Cut six even slices of the tile cane. It is easier to work with them quite thick. These are about 1/16” thick.

Step 34:

Lay one of the slices of tile cane onto a chunk of white clay and using it as a guide trim the white clay into a cube with each face the same size as the tiles.

Step 35:

Apply a slice of the tile cane to each face of the cube.

Step 36:

To get a neat join press down into the gap between the slices of tile cane with a pointy tool such as the Sculpey Etch and Pearl tools before gently pushing the edges together with your fingers. Work round each seam in this way. Once the pieces of tile cane all meet neatly smooth over the seams. Rolling gently with the Etch and Pearl tool works well.

Step 37:

Using your fingers press the bead into a round shape. Roll gently between your palms to round it further. Roll a few times clockwise and then a few times anticlockwise, this will stop the pattern being distorted so much with the rotation. Pierce a hole with a needle tool. Give the bead a final smooth by leaving it on the needle and rolling it on the palm of your hand. Place the beads on fibre fill batting and bake as directed.

Step 38:

Cut a cube of White clay using the tile cane as a guide again so that the bead will be the same size as the Delft tile beads. Reduce some of the flower cane so that they will fit on the face of the cubes. Cut six slices and place one on each face of the cube.

Step 39:

49. Press the flowers into place with your fingers and smooth the edges with the Etch and Pearl tool. Don’t rely on rolling to smooth the flowers into place or they will become very distorted. Once the flowers are pressed into the cube of white clay you can finalize the shape with some gentle rolling. Place the beads on fiber fill batting and bake as directed.

Step 40:

Note from designer - I wet sanded the beads with 400 grit wet and dry sandpaper before putting them in a stone tumbler with some river rocks for 48 hours. They were then lightly buffed on a polishing wheel.

Step 41:

Thread the beads onto stretchy cord alternating with spacer beads. The spacer beads in the bracelet shown were made from Navy premo! Polymer Clay that was rolled on a texture sponge before curing.

Step 42:

Take 2 slices from the delft inspired tile cane about 1/16” or slightly thicker. Using a needle tool make a hole for a jump ring. Cure on a flat surface. When cooled thoroughly attach a jumpring to the tile bead. Attach another jumpring and an earwire.