Using a Makin's Clay Extruder and Clay Core Adapters you can make Tile beads with perfect holes every time!

Start with 2 dies and the 1mm Clay Core Adapter as shown:

Stack the disk with 4 holes on top of the disk with one hole, this will block 3 of the holes and allow clay to come out of the central hole only.

Now stack the dies on the Clay Core adapter.

Load the dies and the clay into the Extruder and start extruding! Use the same color clay as the base of your tile bead. I'm using Kato Pearl with a bit of Red concentrate to make a nice baby doll pink.

Extrude as much or as little as you need - I like to make lots of extra for future projects.

I bake the straws on the bottom of my bead baking tray. I push the ends down to stick them to the tray, this ensures the straws will stay straight while baking.

After the straws are baked, I trim off the flattened ends.

Next I prepare a strip of clay for my bead base. You can use any length/width you choose. This one is approx 3 inches wide and 10 inches long. Using templates on each end of the strip of clay, I figure out where I want the channels for my bead holes to be, then I use a Ball stylus to create the channel.

Lining the ruler up against the template means I can get the channels perfectly aligned!

The strip with channels.

Next, I cut the strip in half across the width, giving myself two lengths approx 5 inches long, and lay a straw in each of the channels.

Then, I take the second piece of clay and lay it on top, making sure the channels align with the straws.

I carefully roll the clay to adhere top to bottom, rolling first in the same direction as the straws, then I flip the piece and roll the other side.

Next, I adhere a thin sheet of clay on top to be textured. You could use Mokume Gane or an already prepared sheet of design for a veneer.

I put on a texture sheet and roll to get a good impression of the texture. Since I am making a backfilled bead here, I am using the postive side of this texture sheet or the 'outie' side.

Using a template again, I line up the lines on the template with the polymer straws, ensuring that the holes are perfectly centred where I want them to be. I then trim the excess clay from the top, bottom, and sides. The polymer straws cut easily and will not distort the raw clay at all.

Next, I cut the individual beads.

I got 6 beads out of this section of clay.

Side view of the beads with holes.

Next, I bake the beads for 10 minutes. This is long enough to make them hard enough for the raw clay to be pressed into the indented pattern.

I carefully press the raw clay onto the face of the bead, working from a corner and pushing the air out as I work across and up.

Next, I shave off the excess clay so that I can see if there are any air bubbles or places that need more clay pressed in. You have to be *really* careful at this stage not to cut into the face of the bead. If you don't want to risk it, you can bake it, sand it and press more clay in after sanding if needed.

I sand my beads with Micro Mesh.

Check the face of the bead often to make sure you are not sanding the pattern away.

When you've removed most of the excess clay, spot sand if needed.

A finished bead!

And the finished set!

Bracelet made with the set of tile beads. The spacer beads are lava beads.

Happy Claying!