Form Ellen Kharade's amazing faux jade jewellery from polymer clay

What you need...

• BEADS: Turquoise, half drilled, 4mm x 3, Seed beads, coral
  
  FINDINGS: Polymer clay, Fimo: green (53); white (0); transparent (14); chocolate (75); tangerine (42); sunflower (16); raspberry (22); peppermint (39), Cuff bangle blank, rhodium-plated (DF-BA-011), Earwires, fish hook, silver (NVK 058X), Wire, silver, 0.7mm, Bead caps, with peg and loop, 3mm, Chain, belcher, loose, silver x 70cm (WVB B00), Head pins, flat ended, Jump rings, 5mm
  
  
  TOOLS: Grater, Pliers, round-nosed, Stamps: decorative mat, Block Patterns, Personal Impressions (PICS017); Asian Writing Set (U-2146), Cutter, round, 1.5cm, Blade, tissue, Adhesive, polymer clay, Bake and Bond, Paint, acrylic: brown; black, Varnish, gloss, clear, Needle
  

instructions

1. Roll out a 4cm ball of translucent clay, a 5cm ball of white clay, a 1.5cm ball of green clay and a 5cm ball of chocolate clay. Roll the balls into long sausages and twist them together until the colours combine. If the sausage is too large to roll, chop it in half and work the pieces separately. Using a grater, grate the clay into shreds; if it is too soft to grate, pop into the fridge for half an hour to firm up a bit, then try again.

2. Using your fingers, bring the pieces slice off the sides at a slight angle, then the top and bottom and finally, take off the bottom corners. Use your fingers to gently re-mould and form the piece into a pouch shape as shown.

3. Make pilot holes in the clay by gently pushing a fine needle through one side of the piece and out the other, then push a head pin through the pre-made holes with equal amounts of pin either side. Turn the ends of three head pins into neat loops, trim to 1cm and push into the base of the pouch. Roll out a thin sausage of leftover jade clay and wrap around the top of the pouch, then gently score in a diagonal pattern. Put the pouch to one side.

4. Mix up a large ball of translucent clay with a little tangerine, sunflower yellow, and raspberry and make five 8mm coral balls. Make a 5mm ball from peppermint clay. Bake all of the pieces, including the pouch, for 10 minutes at 110°C. Once the pieces have come out of the oven and cooled, but are still a little pliable, cut the balls in half using a kitchen knife to make cabochons.

5. Mix up a little black and brown acrylic paint and using a sponge, rub it into the pattern on the pouch. Leave it to dry for a minute, then rub off the excess with a damp cloth. Place a blob of bake adhesive onto the back of a cabochon and position on the pouch. Roll out a thin sausage of jade clay and wrap around the fake stone, trimming the ends to meet. Use a cocktail stick to dot the sausage to look like milling. Repeat for four more coral cabochons, plus a peppermint cabochon in the centre. Bake again for 20 minutes at 110°C.

6. Glue bead caps onto three half drilled 4mm turquoise beads, allow to dry and attach to the looped head pins at the base of the pouch. Trim the horizontal head pin to size and turn into a neat loop. Attach 5mm jump rings to the end of a 70cm silver belcher chain and attach to the loops. Apply two coats of clear varnish to the cabochons for a glossy finish.