beadcaps

Bead Caps In this tutorial you will learn to roll out, texture and cut out pieces of metal clay and then dome and layer them to create caps for your lampwork or polymer clay beads.
Materials Needed: PMC3 - clay and slip (Paste) Teflon work surface olive oil shaping and cutting tools - roller, cards or slats, tissue blade, paint brushes, needle tool or craft knife, texture sheet or rubber stamp circle template emery boards finishing tools - wire brush, burnishers or tumbler particle mask kiln
	Rub a small amount of olive oil on your hands and the roller. Flatten a small piece of PMC3 with your fingers and then roll it out 2 cards thick (when I photographed this tutorial I was still using playing cards to measure thickness. I use purchased slats now and much prefer them.) Try to have a good idea of what you are going to do before you take the clay out of the package. You can't spend too much time working with it or it will dry out. Your can keep your clay hydrated while you are working with a small spritz of water from a spray bottle. Give the remaining unused clay a small spritz of water, roll it into a small ball and store it in a Clay Vault or small airtight cup.
	Rub a small amount of olive oil on a texture sheet or rubber stamp. Place the texture source over the clay and press down lightly with your hands or use a roller.
	Use a needle tool or craft knife with a circle template to cut out circles.
	Cut out circles in 2 sizes (I have used 1/2" and 1/4" here)
	Place the PMC3 circles on large marbles and allow to dry and then refine edges with an emery board. Always wear a particle mask when sanding. PMC is non-toxic, but inhaling any small particles is bad for your lungs.
	Place a small dab of PMC3 paste on one of the large circles. You can make your own paste. Put all the little dried up pieces that you have left over along with whatever you have sanded away into a small airtight container. Add a few drops of water and let sit overnight. Stir and add more water until it reaches a nice consistency.
	Moisten the back of one of the small circles with water and place on top of one of the large circles.on top. Run a small bead of water around the edge with a small paintbrush. Allow to dry.
	Drill a small hole through the center of the cap, going through both layers.
	Place a small pile of vermiculite on a kiln shelf. Lay the caps on the vermiculite , place in the kiln and fire at 1650 degrees for 2 hours. Allow to cool. Brush with a wet, soapy brass brush and then tumble for 1 hour or burnish by hand.
Sit back and admire your work.