how to make cornstarch beads & jewelry

I don't even know how I got started on this project, but I ended up spending most of the day on it. I don't have any purple necklaces and I've been wanting one, so that's the color I decided on. Yes, it is actually purple. Like, Barney purple. For some reason the camera made it look blue. The batteries died before I was able to capture it, but it still looks good as a blue necklace. :o)



To make the dough, use:

1 c. corn starch
1/2 c. salt
1 c. baking soda
1 c. water

Mix all of the ingredients in a pot, and set it to medium heat. Stir constantly while the mixture starts to thicken. This will happen quickly. Once it is about halfway thickened, turn off the heat and keep stirring until a thick paste is formed. Spoon it on to waxed paper until it is cool enough to touch. This whole process only takes a few minutes.

When you're working with the dough, the salt might crystallize as it cools. If you want a finished product with a smoother texture, knead it back in before making beads.

Poke a hole in the bead with a toothpick. If you opt to dry them in the oven, the hole will shrink but it will still be big enough to thread.

Air-dry the beads, or if you're impatient like me, stick them on a cookie sheet and put them in a 250-degree oven for an hour or two. After the first 15 minutes, give the sheet a little shake so the beads don't stick to the pan. Check again after 30 minutes. Once the outside has dried, you won't have to shake them anymore. While they're in the oven, it smells like you're baking corn chips, haha.

Once they've hardened and cooled, it's time to paint them. You can either use spray paint, acrylic paint and a glaze, or you can use nail polish. You'll probably need a few bottles of nail polish. Round beads are tricky to paint. I ended up putting a toothpick into the hole and painting them, then I poked the toothpick into a bit of styrofoam while they dried.

To string the beads into a necklace, I used a thicker carpet/ button thread, but you can use whatever you want.

I like that the beads aren't perfectly smooth and round, and I think the next time I make one I'll thread a small glass bead between each clay bead. Maybe I'll even paint some with glitter.


Oh, and not that it really matters, but this necklace is gluten free!

More importantly, the dough can be used as a gluten free play-doh. Of all the random things, Play-doh is not gluten free. I remember trying that stuff when I was a kid- it was really salty- and full of gluten!

Anyways, gluten-free tangent aside, this was fun and I can't wait to wear it!