Technique: Pendant with beads and extruder detail
Win: Mostly
Challenge:
• Creating a round pendant with a circular cut-out
• Using extruder cane detail to decorate half of the pendant while also incorporating beads
• Making perfectly round beads
• Wrapping a bead with a strip of extruded pattern without distorting the shape
Lessons Learned:
• I am still struggling to make truly round beads.
• Wrapping a bead with a patterned slab requires much more practice than I expected.
• I seem to prefer making larger pendants rather than very small pieces.
Confidence Level: 8/10
Reflection
Today felt like a balancing act between structure and ornament. The pendant itself required precision in shape and cut-out placement, while the extruder detail introduced a decorative rhythm across the surface. Adding beads made the piece feel more complete, but also revealed how demanding small round forms can be. Polymer clay is wonderfully forgiving, but it also has a way of exposing every tiny irregularity when something is meant to be perfectly round.
I feel like this challenge is a workshop or laboratory for testing rather than just “making” something for fun. I am really happy to notice this.
