Polymer Clay to the rescue!

In addition to being a polymer clay addict, I also have an addiction to beadweaving. I love beading around cabochons, and ammonites are one of my favorite things to work with. Imagine, I can hold in my hand an actual fossil that is aged to 360 million years ago! The problem that arises is that the ammonite is not flat.

As you can see from the photo, the ammonite sits at an angle. In order to bead around it, I would like the darn thing to be level. How to fix this? With polymer clay, of course!

I condition and run it through the pasta machine to a thickness that comes close to leveling out the piece. Next, on a tile, I squish the ammonite into the clay and keep playing with it until it is level. Next, I take out an exacto knife and cut around the ammonite, keeping the blade straight, not at an angle. Bake the piece on the tile. After baking, test to see if the clay is firmly attached to the ammonite. If it isn't, use a little E-6000 to glue it in place. And Voila! you have a level piece that can easily be beaded around!

Happy Claying (and beading!)

Nora Pero
President, Austin Polymer Clay Guild