Ben Franklin Bonney Lake
Monroe & Bonney Lake stores
WASHINGTON STATE




Sculpey Red, White, and Blue Bracelet
Design by Rachael Cuttill - Project courtesy of sculpey.com

Sculpey Red, White, Blue BraceletMaterials Needed:
Pasta Machine for rolling sheets of clay (#1 is the thickest setting referenced for in this lesson)
Sculpey Super Slicer
Ruler or other measuring tool
Small tray for baking and transporting your finished project (small enough to fit into a convection or toaster oven)
Index cards, or a manilla folder
Small circular Rhinestones
Crazy Glue
18 gauge Artistic Wire in Silver, or color of choice
Small Round Nose Pliers
Flush Cutters or Toe Nail Clippers
Premo! Sculpey clay in the following colors and quantities:
White #5001 (Two 2-oz. bars)
Cadmium Red Hue 5382 (One 2-oz. bar)
Ultramarine Blue 5562 (One 2-oz. bar)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Blue Rhinestone Beads
- Condition all clay by running through pasta machine at the thickest setting, starting with the White Premo first.

- Mix one package of Navy Blue Premo! with 1 quarter package of White.

- Roll 3 Navy Blue balls about 3/4's of an inch wide.

- Press rhinestones into each of the balls in a staggered pattern.

- Pierce your beads with a needle tool to make holes. Or, if you prefer, you can drill the beads after baking. (See *note under baking instruction)

- Accordion pleat index cards or strips of a manilla folder to hold your blue rhinestone beads, and place in a tray with high sides so they don't roll.

Red and White Stripe Cube Beads
- Cut 2 strips each of White and Red clay about 3 inches long and 3/4's of an inch wide. Each strip should be about a medium thickness in the pasta machine (or a #3).

- Lay alternate color strips on top of one another, and press down to make sure there's no air trapped inside the loaf.

- Using your hands or a brayer, gently press down on the striped loaf, untill it's about 5 inches long. Slice in half, and stack. Lay one more strip of red on top of loaf, and compress gently to get out air bubbles.

- Using a ruler or other measuring tool, mark of 3/4 inch increments, and slice your striped loaf to create cube beads. Pierce your beads with a needle tool to make holes. Or, if you prefer, you can drill the beads after baking. Place on tray for baking.

Baking Instructions
Bake your beads at 275 degrees F for 30 minutes per 1/4 inch of thickness for Premo! Sculpey. Allow to cool before assembling.

*Note: You may have to take out any loose rhinestones and glue them back in place after baking. Use your thumbnail to test once the beads have cooled.

Assembling the Bracelet
- Snip a length of Artistic Wire approximately 4 inches long. Using round nose pliers, bend 1/4 of the way down to start a loop. Make sure to leave enough tail to wind 3 times at the base of the loop.

Snip a length of wire 4 in. long

- Slide cooled blue rhinestone bead onto wire and butt up against loop and coil. Make another loop and coil on the other side.

Slide bead onto wire make another loop and coil on the other side

add red and white bead
- Snip another 4 inch length of wire, and make another loop, but before you start the coil, add the blue rhinestone bead that's already been coiled, so that you start to form a chain.

- Add a red and white striped bead onto this stretch of wire, and close it again with a loop and coil.

- Continue making looped and coiled beads and adding them to the chain. I found that 6 beads is sufficient for a bracelet suitable for wrist 7-8 inches long.

Making a Hook and Eye Clasp

- Start with a length of wire about 6 inches long (you can cut later if it's too long). Make a loop and coil, attaching the loop to the end of your bracelet.

- Bend the long length of wire down about 2/3rd's of the way. This is the start of the hook.

- Look at how your bottom coil is wrapped around the wire. Does it go from left to right or vice versa? In the picture below, you see that the wire is coiling from right to left. You will need to bend the tail of the wire in the opposite direction (in this case, to the right, and around the base wire, until it meets your bottom coil. Trim any left over wire as it butts up to the end of the bottom coiled wire.

make a hook and eye clasp
bend tail of wire in opposite direction
bend the top to form the hook

Using your needle nosed pliers, bend the top of your clasp over to form the hook. Enjoy your new Bracelet!


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