What are Fimo Beads?
These are handmade beads that are created using polymer clay with the brand name of Fimo. Polymer clay is a special kind of clay that came from PVC plastic and plasticizer chemical making it soft and moldable until it is baked. Fimo clay doesn’t need any special kiln for baking. An ordinary oven at home can be used in making Fimo beads.
Materials for Making Fimo Beads:
* Polymer clay – Using the Fimo brand is the ideal one to use.
* Molds – Circular beads can be easily formed using your bare hands. But for a more decorative Fimo beads, molds are really very useful anytime.
* Pasta machine – This is used to flatten out the polymer clay before molding it.
* A crocheting or knitting needle – Very useful in making the holes in your beads.
* Bead baking rack – A gadget that you can use to speedily make lots of beads.
* An oven – Used to bake the beads to strengthen them.
* Fine sandpaper – Used to smoothen any rough spots from the beads.
* Paint and varnish – To decorate the Fimo beads according to your imagination.
Steps in Making Fimo Beads:
1. Knead the polymer clay until it becomes soft and flexible. Be sure to take out any air bubbles from the clay while kneading it.
2. To have a more attractive Fimo beads, use different kind of colors and mix them together to make your own color hue.
3. Use your bare hands or molds to make your desired shape. Circular shapes are the easiest to make, but you can also do butterfly, flowers, hearts, and other shapes to have a unique appearance for your beads.
4. Punch a hole through the center of your beads with crocheting or knitting needle. Rotate the needle while pushing it forward to avoid any deformation and discoloration while making Fimo beads.
5. Bake your Fimo beads for about 30 thirty minutes in the oven with the temperature in between 250 and 275 degrees Fahrenheit. This is an important step in making Fimo beads in order to harden them.
6. Let the beads cool down before sanding it with a fine sandpaper to smoothen out any rough surfaces.
7. Paint the beads according to your desired patterns.
8. Do the finishing touches with the beads by varnishing them in order to protect the colors as well as reflect a wonderful shiny finish.
Health Warning:
Even if most polymer clays are non-toxic, it is very important to be very vigilant in making Fimo beads especially with children around. Ingestion of residue and inhalation of fumes from the oven will lead to an exposure of phthalate plasticizers to some level.
