Long ago – about 20 years – I made one of my first batch of Fimo polymer clay beads. They were lovely marbled beads with white, silver and a pretty teal Fimo colour. The necklace I made with those beads is one the recipient (hi mom!) still wears occasionally. The beads seem very simple to me now but I can’t deny they were great beads.

 This tutorial from the kind folks at WooJr is pretty much the same deal. The colours in the instructions are a good pick, too, but really… marble whatever colours strike your fancy. The more twisting and mixing, the finer the streaks in your marble. If you want nice chunky colour chunks, marble less or add that colour strand later in the mixing. If you want finely marbled streaks,use thinner snakes and mix longer.

My basic bead making tips: bake beads in accordion folded copy paper or card. Hole your beads before baking by twisting a pin through in one direction and then back through from the other direction. This helps keep the holes from deforming your beads. Make sure whatever you use to pierce your beads makes holes large enough for you to work with because reaming lots of beads is really tedious. If you want to string your beads on 1mm cord, for example, make sure your holes will take that with a bit of wiggle room. Want beads for your dreads or macrame? Use a pencil (and larger beads) or knitting needle to make your holes.

Looking for beading supplies? Check out these jewelry-making supplies at BeebeeCrafts . For more DIY tutorials on making projects with beads check out our sister site Craftbits.com where we have a full section with over 100 bead craft ideas dedicated to DIY beading crafts and projects.