The first thing we did was to make our own clay. For each batch of clay, we mixed 2 cups of baking soda, 1 cup of cornstarch, and 1 and one half cups of water into a cooking pot. While one of us stirred it over the burner, a friend added food coloring until we agreed that the tint was just right. The tutorial we read said that we would know the clay was ready when it looked like mashed potatoes.
When the clay had cooled, we took turns choosing our colors and rolling the clay into spheres, cylinders, hearts, and other shapes. Some of us liked to make beads from only one color, and some of us liked to blend colors. The line across our trays showed us how many beads we each needed to make.
The next step was to carefully bore a hole through each bead with a bamboo skewer. This part was tricky, because the clay was still soft! Then we let our beads dry for at least 24 hours.
When the clay had cooled, we took turns choosing our colors and rolling the clay into spheres, cylinders, hearts, and other shapes. Some of us liked to make beads from only one color, and some of us liked to blend colors. The line across our trays showed us how many beads we each needed to make.
The next step was to carefully bore a hole through each bead with a bamboo skewer. This part was tricky, because the clay was still soft! Then we let our beads dry for at least 24 hours.
After the beads were dry and hard, we threaded needles with elastic cord and sewed our bracelets.
We were all so excited to bring our gifts home to surprise our mothers!
What a delightful project and a graceful gift !
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