Bella's First Masterpiece

Hi Everyone
Bella's Doughnut Beads are complete and she has threaded them onto a chain. The masterpiece has been created !




Last week, you may remember, Bella took her beads to the workshop for curing. She picked up the cured beads at the end of the day and has finished them over several short sessions at home. Bella followed instructions from the kit and although she had lots of study work (every day) she still found time to work on her necklace.
First, she washed the beads with mild soap and warm water and left them to dry thoroughly, overnight. Next, Bella gave the beads a light sanding with some fine wet grit sponge (this came in her kit). This little sponge pad tool slightly polishes the surface and prepares the surface for the paint treatment.

Bella chose to give all the textured beads a layer of acrylic paint. Initially, Bella planned on texturing three from the five beads but eventually, she textured all but one bead. The idea of the paint layer is to embed a colour into the grooves of the bead surface. A contrast colour of paint highlights the texture patterns. Bella chose three different acrylic paints for her bead treatments, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Umber and Titan Buff. After drying, excess paint is sanded away using the damp grit sponge. When the beads are prepared to their required finish they are left to fully dry once again.
The final layer is then applied, it's a polish of wax - applied with a piece of denim cloth (wax and denim supplied in the kit). With a rigorous hand polish the beads have a lovely sheen.


Bella chose to use a brass chain to thread her necklace. She was undecided about which threading material to use. After a few days of thought, Bella decided on the chain. Wax cotton was her original choice but finally she went for the brass. Bella is so pleased with her efforts she will make another necklace (with different colours of beads). Next time, she will use the wax thread.

Thanks for reading.