How to Make Fimo Beads

Fimo beads make great imitation jewelry without having to spend a fortune.  How to make fimo beads is simple, but requires creativity and patience.  One thing you need to consider is that fimo beads can be as intricate as any other type of beads.  It's also necessary to understand the material used for these beads before learning how to make fimo beads.

Fimo is fabricated from a synthetic material much like a modeling clay, which makes it easy to mold into thousands of designs.  Fimo beads can be assembled into necklaces and other types of jewelry.  However, for the benefit of beginners who want to know how to make fimo beads, we'll use a simple pattern to describe the process. 

Steps on How to Make Fimo Beads

Initially, get all the necessary supplies ready from a craft store or department store, like fimo beads in green, yellow, and red colors.  Additionally, prepare a clasp, spool of thread, a cake tin, and kitchen oven.  In the final stages of making the beadwork, you will also need a cutting tool (like a razor blade) and a large pin to finalize your creation.

Once the materials for making fimo beads are raedy, get down and begin.  The bead that you intend to place at the center should be the first to prepare, in our example it's the yellow beads.  Pinch off a small piece of fimo from the larger slab to about the size of a quarter and the width of a pencil.  Next, rub fimo in a circular motion against both hands until it becomes warm and leaves no cracks when folded.

Then, pinch a piece about the size of a nickel from the prime piece and roll it on a flat surface.  The ensuing shape is a log about 3 inches long – make only one log for this color.  Ensure that the log is not too thin so as not to pull apart easily.  Place aside the small log (this time make sure the thickness is slightly thinner than the pencil) for use later.  Follow the same process for the other fimo colors, red and green, but make three logs for these.

After the logs are made, it's time to shape them like a prism (not a triangle).  How to make fimo beads with this shape is simple.  Simply place the logs on a flat surface, one by one, and pinch the fimo using the pointer finger and thumb in order to mold it into a small triangle.  Once the prisms are ready, press the base of the green prisms around the yellow log to firmly attach it, making sure the spaces are equal between the rest of the prisms.  Then press the base of the red prisms on the spaces not occupied by the green prisms. 

We are near the final process on how to make fimo beads.  From the new log created, roll it down on a flat surface until the log is smooth.  Then prepare a cutting tool.  When cutting the fimo into a quarter of an inch thick, roll the fimo while making the cuts to avoid distorting its shape.  Use a thick pin to bore a hole across the fimo beads by gently poking the pin on the sides through the middle.  The last stage on how to make fimo beads is to place the molded fimo into a baking pan, and baked until sufficiently hard to be strung on a thread.