Chunky Beads for Kids from Air-Dry Clay

  Here is something really fun to do with light-colored air-dry clay.  You will be making chunky beads with wide enough holes to be strung on almost anything you may have around the house.

  Note: Look below directions for another picture.  I used Prang metallic watercolor to paint these beads.  For a bolder color, use regular watercolor, tempera, or acrylic CAUTION: Acrylic, once dry, does NOT wash out of clothing!  And it can dry very quickly.


Materials:
1. Air-dry clay
2. Texture sheets, netting, or anything with texture that you can press into the clay without mashing it flat.
3. Watercolors
4. Drinking straws, cut into two or three pieces to make it easier to work with them.5. Yarn, twine, fishing line, or something similar for stringing.
6. A large-eyed needle or a piece of pipe cleaner that can be attached to the yarn and bent to grip it.

Procedure:
1. Pinch off a small ball of clay with a diameter of about one inch. Roll it in your hands to smooth out the cracks.  You may need to add a very, very small amount of water. Experiment with the shape. You might want a round bead, or you may want your bead to be more cylindrical.  Try to make some of each.

2. Pierce the bead with a piece of drinking straw, pushing it all the way through. 

3. Take your texture sheet and press it gently into the clay. Set the bead aside and repeat the process with each bead.

4. Give the beads a few days to dry. Then, use watercolors, tempera, or acrylic to paint the beads.

5. When the beads are dry, string them onto the yarn or whatever you have chosen.

Here is a closer view; I apologize for the blurriness: