CRAFTS : Roll Out the Fimo, and You’ll Have a Barrel of Beads

Fimo beads may look impossible to make, but even the craft-impaired, as a friend calls herself, can learn with relative ease.

Fimo, an acrylic modeling compound available in myriad colors, hardens into a durable plastic with home-oven heat. It came into its own as raw material for bead making in the late 1980s, and jewelry made of the beads as well as classes teaching how to make them now seem ubiquitous.

A popular and simple Fimo bead technique mimics an ancient mosaic glass process known as millefiori, Italian for “a thousand flowers.” Essentially, the crafter makes cylindrical “canes” that have internal patterns running their entire length. Each slice of the cane looks identical--they have flowerlike patterns--and can be used to embellish “base” beads or, if cut thicker, used as beads themselves.

Here’s how to make millefiori beads. The most important thing to remember is: relax. Somehow, these nearly always turn out all right, if not picture perfect.

You’ll need:

* Five different colors of Fimo blocks.

* Razor blades.

* A hard, flat, preferably immovable surface on which to work.

Pinch off a one-half square-inch piece of clay and knead it until malleable. The clay will be ready when it doesn’t crumble or crack as you work it.

Shape the piece into a long, thin tube, slightly thicker than one-eighth of an inch in diameter, by rolling it back and forth under your hands, keeping the hands flat and outstretched as if encased in mittens. (This tube is called the “bull’s-eye” because it’s surrounded by tubes of other colors.)

Repeat this process with a second color, creating five or six tubes for your second layer. (All tubes should be uniformly long but may be somewhat lumpy.) If the color beneath it peeks through, you may need to make another tube to fill in gaps.

Repeat again with a third color, making about 10 tubes for your third layer.

Encircle or surround your second layer of tubes longitudinally around your bull’s-eye so it’s completely encased. Surround your third layer around your second. Be sure to wrap each layer compactly.

Using the mitten technique, roll out this three-layer “cane” until it’s about one-half inch in diameter and completely smooth on the outside.

Cut the cane in two with a razor blade. Roll out one half until it’s slightly less than half its original diameter. Cut it into five equal parts. Cut the other half into two equal parts, set one aside and roll out the other into half its original diameter.

Make another bull’s-eye in a fourth color. It should also be about one-half inch in diameter, but only as long as the five cane parts you’ve just cut.

Surround the bull’s-eye with the five parts and roll out until smooth. Cut this piece in two, set half aside, and roll out the other half until it’s about half its original diameter.

You now have four canes: a large and a small three-layer cane and a large and a small millefiori cane.

Make a base bead--in any size and color you like--by softening, then rolling a bit of clay into a round ball. Then cut thin slices (about as thick as a penny) from each cane with a razor blade and gently press them onto the bead, embedding them slightly, in any pattern. Anything goes, but allowing some base bead to show through creates an interesting contrast.

Gently roll the bead in a circular motion between both flattened palms or between one palm and the table top. Keep rolling until the slices are fully embedded into the bead and its surface is perfectly smooth.

Pierce a hole all the way through the bead, working from both ends if necessary. Depending on the size hole you want, toothpicks, knitting or sewing needles or barbecue skewers make good implements.

Bake the beads for 20 minutes on a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil in an oven preheated to 250 degrees. (Susie Milette, a partner of the Bead Shop in Laguna Beach, recommends this setting, although package instructions may suggest differently.)

Remove the cookie sheet and let beads cool.

Remember:

* Fimo can be found at bead and craft stores. Each block runs from about $2 to $2.50.

* Glosses are available to give beads a shine.

* Beads can be shaped variously, from round to oblong to square.

* Silk cord is an attractive material with which to string beads for a necklace. Try knotting the cord in between the beads or alternating them with store-bought beads. Earrings can be made with findings available at bead stores.

Kneading the Fimo is probably the hardest part; don’t be discouraged if it takes a while. Pre-soften wrapped clay by sitting on it. Seriously.

* Clean your work surface if color from the beads builds up. Rubbing alcohol works well.

* If you smell anything while baking, turn off the oven, open the widows and go outdoors until the odor subsides. Dispose the aluminum foil it’s been heated on.

* After working with the Fimo, clean your hands with warm water and soap.