|
ReBeads
Okay, boys & girls-- it's time for more arts & crafts!
YOU'LL NEED:
- Sculpey polymer clay in at least 2 colors (Sculpey's what I use-- you're on your own with other brands.)
- A toothpick (or straightened paperclip or whatever)
- A glass baking dish lined with foil
- An oven preheated to 275°F/135°C
- String, elastic cord, or some such thing (to put your beads on)
TO MAKE AN ICON BEAD:
1. Choose a color of clay, and make a marble-size ball of it. Squash the ball into a disc that's about ¼ inch thick. (Canadian kids: I know you're smart enough to make that conversion, so just leave us non-metrics be.)
2. Use a toothpick to poke a hole through the sides of the disc.
3. Use the toothpick to indent an icon design into the top of the bead. (Think about where you made the hole in step 2 so the design doesn't end up sideways!)
4. Bake the bead in your foil-lined dish for 20 minutes.
5. Take the bead out of the oven and let it cool COMPLETELY. You're not done yet!
6. Choose a new color of clay and smear it into the indents you made in step 3. Make sure the clay fills all the indents, then wipe away any excess.
7. Bake the bead for another 10 minutes.
8. Let the bead cool again, then rub it with a towel or a piece of cloth (I'm not picky-- I use whatever shirt I happen to be wearing). It'll get shinier the more you rub it.
Okay, now you're done. Well, sort of. 'Cause there's always
MORE IDEAS:
- Alternate between outlines and filled in versions of the icon design.
- Twist and smear a couple of clay colors together for a marbleized bead, or use Sculpey's Granitex clay for a bead that looks like the Medusa Bug hit it.
- Make lots of beads with different symbols from the show. You can use guardian icons, civilian icons, Phong's yin-yang icon, viral icons, Mouse's mouse symbol, Matrix's "M" symbol, etc.
- Make a bracelet by stringing together icon beads with regular beads on a piece of elastic cord.
- Make a medallion like this one:
It has a hole punched through the front and back instead of the sides. This lets it hang down, and makes it especially good for a simple necklace.
- Don't punch any holes in the beads and use them for Bobopoly tokens instead!
- Don't punch any holes in them, and wing 'em at your little brother! Um... er... that is... I've been under a lot of stress lately, and you should probably just forget I said that. Probably.
(back) |
