Bead making appeals to children of all ages, and they make unique gifts.

YOU WILL NEED:
About 1/4 recipe of at least TWO different colors of Play Clay or ½ recipe Uncolored (white) Play Clay
Wooden picks or skewers
Wire rack set in a shallow baking pan, covered with a paper towel

Desired colors of quick drying paint (optional)
Small tip paint brushes
Block of plastic foam
Spray or brush-on clear acrylic to seal
Thin cord, yarn, narrow ribbon or fishing line
Necklace clasp and/or earring backs (optional)
Quick drying craft glue or low temperature glue gun

1. Shaping
Knead all colors of Play Clay until smooth.
For beads, roll eight pieces of Play Clay into balls, making four ¾"-inch diameter balls and four ½-inch diameter balls. Push a wooden pick through each bead and place on paper towel covered wire rack set in the shallow baking pan. Make extra beads for earrings if desired; push a wooden pick partway through bead and place on wire rack.

For tube-shaped beads, roll ¼-inch thick Play Clay ropes. Cut ropes into 1 ¼-inch long pieces. Push a wooden pick through length of bead and place on wire rack.

2. Oven Drying: Preheat oven to 350ºF, then turn the oven off. Place the baking pan in the oven and leave it until oven is cold; turn the beads once or twice to help them dry evenly. Repeat until dry. (When reheating the oven, be sure to take the baking pan out before turning on the heat.)
Air-dry Play Clay overnight on wire racks, turning occasionally to speed up drying and make the beads dry evenly.

3. Assembling and finishing the Necklace and Earrings:

• When beads are completely dry, hold each bead by the pick and paint stripes, one color at a time, leaving space to paint another color. Paint second color after the first color dries. Insert the wooden pick in a block of plastic foam to allow paint to dry.
• Coat beads on all sides with clear acrylic to seal. Let dry.
• When dry, thread beads on cord, yarn or ribbon; tie ends of cord together or attach clasp. If making earrings to match, use glue to attach earring backs. Let glue set.