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Homemade Clay Beads

Oct 17, 20139,923 views
Crafts
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by TurkeyMom in Crafts

Ages3–7 yrs
Prep10 min
Activity30 min
Leveleasy
MessMedium
Works for1:1 · Small group · Class

Roll tinted homemade cornstarch clay into tiny beads, poke holes with a toothpick, and let them air dry for a day. Then kids thread their own beads into bracelets and necklaces for great fine motor practice.

⚠️ Safety first

  • The beads are small and can be a choking hazard. Supervise closely, especially with kids who still mouth things, and keep them away from babies and toddlers.
  • The clay is not food. Don't let kids eat the clay or the beads.
  • Toothpicks are sharp. Supervise little ones while they poke holes or stack balls.
  • Gel food color can stain hands for about a day. A bath should take care of it.
  • An adult ties the knots on finished jewelry. Supervise children wearing necklaces made from string or cord.

Before the kids arrive

  • Make a batch of homemade cornstarch clay and tint portions with gel food color (the author made orange, yellow and purple).
  • Roll beads, poke holes and flatten medallions at least a day before threading so they can air dry.

Steps

  1. Tint the homemade clay with gel food colors, one ball of clay per color.

  2. Roll the clay into tiny bead-size balls.

  3. Poke a hole through each ball with a toothpick.

  4. Flatten a few balls and press a mini pumpkin scatter piece into them to make flower-like medallions.

  5. Stack leftover balls on toothpicks to make little creations, like an ice cream cone.

  6. Leave the beads to air dry for a day.

  7. Thread the dried beads and medallions onto string or cord.

  8. Adult: tie the knots to finish bracelets and necklaces.

  9. Wear your homemade jewelry, maybe even trick or treating!

Tips

  • A few beads cracked while drying, but it did not matter since we were primarily using them for a fun threading activity.from the author
  • Gel food colors give vibrant colors kids will enjoy. The downside is they stain, but only for a day. A bath should take care of it.from the author
  • Even our 3 year old got really into threading, simply because she "made" her own beads!from the author
  • With 2 kids under 5 I couldn't finish it in one sitting, so it turned into a fun afternoon family project. Let the kids help roll the beads.from the author

Make it your own

  • Make Halloween jewelry to wear on Halloween day or while trick or treating.
  • Use toothpicks to stack clay balls into sculptures like an ice cream cone or a squid.
  • Press flattened clay with small objects to make medallion pendants.

Questions readers asked

Is gel food coloring better than regular food coloring?

The author thinks gel food colors give more vibrant colors that kids will enjoy. They do stain hands, but only for a day, and a bath should take care of it.

The story behind it

By TurkeyMom · October 2013
clay for beads
We followed the recipe from our previous homemade clay post and made 3 gorgeous colors! I used gel food colors, and the orange, yellow and purple were vibrant!
1 / 10

Homemade Clay Beads: the original post

Recently, we whipped up some homemade clay using a simple clay recipe the other day. We made pumpkin spice fall ornaments****. Continuing with the same theme, we made some fun and cute little beads for fine motor play through threading and jewelry making. We followed the recipe mentioned in our previous post and made 3 gorgeous colors! I used gel food colors to get the color I wanted. The orange, yellow and purple were vibrant!

clay for beads Since this was technically “supposed” to be a surprise for the kids { I was thinking Halloween jewelry on Halloween day!} I rolled out tiny bead-size ball and make small holes using toothpicks.

clay beads for jewelry However with 2 kids under 5 I couldn’t obviously complete a project in 1 sitting. Since I’m a horrible “hider” of things the project was spotted easily and the children wanted in. Sure. It became a fun afternoon family project. My almost 5 year old used toothpicks to stack her tiny balls and made an ice cream cone and a squid-like looking thing. { shh.. I can’t use such a tone- she gets offended when I can’t identify her creations properly haha)

finemotor with beads

We also flattened a few balls and made “flower” like impressions on them. We actually used mini pumpkins table scatter for this purpose.

homemade beads

We left the clay to air dry for a day. A few cracked but it did not matter since we were primarily using them for a fun threading activity.

dried clay beads

Even the 3 year old got really into it- simply because she “made” her own beads! Those colorful clay beads were perfect for her to enjoy a such an enriching fine motor activity.

threading

My 5 year old was eager to use the pumpkin pressed “medallions” in one of the necklaces.

threading beads

She made a bracelet and I helped her with tying the knots.

clay bracelet

Here are the fine jewelry the kids threaded. Cute!

jewelry

We are thinking of wearing these when we go trick or treating!

homemade bead jewelry

For more Halloween crafts for kids and other activities visit our category page

Thanks for reading

What readers say

💬 2 comments ✍️ 1 answered by the author

Answered by the author

“Is gel food coloring better than regular food coloring?” · Sixtine et Victoire

Author Gel food coloring gives more vibrant colors that kids will enjoy. The downside is that it stains, but only for a day; a bath should take care of it.

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Gel colors are vibrant but stain

Asked about gel versus regular food coloring, TurkeyMom said gel gives more vibrant colors kids enjoy, but it stains hands for about a day.

“The downside however is they do stain- only for a day though! Bath should take care of it.”
TurkeyMom, Oct 2013

Tried it?

Reviewed before it appears. No links, and please no children's names.

Read all 2 comments

  1. Sixtine et Victoire · Oct 2013

    What a brilliant idea! Thank you for sharing! Have you used food coloring in the past? Do you think gel food coloring is better?

  2. TurkeyMomAuthor · Oct 2013 · replying to Sixtine et Victoire

    I think gel food coloring have more vibrant colors kids will enjoy! The downside however is they do stain- only for a day though! Bath should take care of it.

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