Christmas tree bead rolling machine

How do you make dozens of tree shaped beads of the same size from polymer clay? A bead roller machine is the perfect tool.

The pictures show the smallest and the largest tree.

Height of the finished tree:

1: 1 cm

2: 1,25 cm

3: 1,5 cm

4: 1,75 cm

5: 2 cm

6: 2,25 cm

7: 2,5 cm

How is this used?

Take a slit-sized piece of well-softened clay and place it in the other half of the roller. Place the other half on top and move the pieces back and forth. Do this gently at first so you can learn to recognise if there is too much or too little. If the pieces don't want to move, you probably have too much polymwer clay, and if the bead is misshapen, falling apart or "flat", you have too much clay. If, on the other hand, the pieces don't move, add a little more.

Etenkin isossa joulupallossa kannattaa massapalaa muovata jo vähän valmiin pallon muotoon, keskikohdasta reilusti leveämpi ja alareunasta suipompi.

Once you have found the right amount, you should weigh it using a gram scale. Then either write directly on the surface of the beading machine or stick a sticker on the side of the machine, so you can immediately see how much clay you need. You can also do tests with various polymer clay cutters, roll out a flat sheet (with a paste cutter or measuring stick), cut a piece of paste with a cutter and roll it up. This way, you can always use a specific cutter to measure the amount of clay needed for the bead.

The polymer clay cutters are printed in Finland, from plant-based, biodegradable plastic. The cutter must not be heated or put in the oven. The cutter starts to soften at around 60 degrees Celsius.

Clean the cutter after use, wipe off any visible clay.