Faux Lava Rock

Lava rock beads and pendants add textural interest to jewelry designs and are especially popular in ethnic or organic styles.

Using this technique, you can create faux lava rock using a minimum of materials and tools-- not much more than black polymer clay and table salt-- so that you can have "lava rock" beads and pendants in whatever size or shape strikes your fancy!

Materials & Tools

Work surface
Black polymer clay
Table salt
Ball stylus &/or needle tool
Rough sandpaper (for texture)
Oven (& related)
Small bowl or tub of water
Old toothbrush
400 grit sandpaper
Worn denim rag (optional)
Matte acrylic finish (optional)
Paintbrush

Step 1

Thoroughly condition the black polymer clay.

Form it into the desired shape. You may use shape cutters, molds, bead rollers, or nothing more than your own two hands.

(Shapes with lots of small details may be less effective with this technique, but feel free to experiment.)

Step 2

Sprinkle some salt onto your work surface or into a small bowl. Either gently "roll" the bead into the salt or pick up salt on your fingertips and press it into the surface of the bead. Press firmly enough that that salt sticks into the clay. Continue until you have the desired degree of coverage. Try to vary coverage-- leave some portions of the surface with less salt than others.

The salt will later be melted away, leaving a series of tiny voids, and instead of being coated in salt, your beads will have an interestingly pitted texture.

Step 3

Next, create some larger voids. Use a ball stylus, needle tool, or other similar tool to mark all sides of your bead or pendant.

For a realistic look, avoid putting marks in a pattern. Instead, place them radomly, perhaps with a greater concentration of marks in one area and none in another. Make the marks in different shapes and sizes. You want a variety of shapes-- not a series of perfectly round marks.

If you're working with a soft clay, this step may slightly distort your bead or pendant. Not to worry! Carefully nudge the clay back into the desired form. While doing this, you'll notice that some of your larger voids change shape. This isn't a problem, so long as they don't completely close up on themselves. If they do, simply open them back up (or make new pits) with your tool-- carefully, to avoid distorting the overall shape again.

Step 4

If you don't wish to drill stringing holes after curing, take a moment to make them now. You can also place eye pins now. (Don't forget to remove and glue them back into place after curing.)

For even more texture, and to help disguise any fingerprints you may have left, gently press a piece of coarse sandpaper over your bead or pendant.

You can go over the piece as many times as you like, either covering the whole thing or just portions. Experiment to see what you like best.

Step 5

Cure according to the manufacturer's directions.

Dunk in water to dissolve the salt. You can do this straight from the oven or after the pieces have cooled. If necessary, use an old toothbrush to scrub away any persistent salt.

If you find that you've left behind fingerprints, now is the time to sand them away with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper. (You may proceed through a series of higher grits, if you prefer. For most applications, this shouldn't be ncessary.)

Finish by rinsing the piece in clean water and setting it aside to dry.

Step 6

Many lava rock beads are lightly oiled to give them a pleasant shine and to make them smoother against the skin. You can achieve a similar shine in a few different ways.

You can polish the beads by hand with a piece of worn denim, buff them to a high shine on a buffing wheel, or apply a coat of polymer-friendly finish.

In this photo, the large pendant on the left was shined on a buffing wheel. Meanwhile, the other three were given a coat of matte acrylic finish. To further tone down the shine of the finish (as in the two middle beads), you may wipe some of it away immediately after application. Leaving the matte finish as is will result in more shine (as on the bead furthest to the right).

If you buff the pieces, you'll probably want to follow that by rinsing them yet again (and perhaps use the old toothbrush again) to remove any lint that gathers in the voids.

Variations

For a touch of sparkle in your faux lava rocks, mix sand into the clay in step one-- or mix sand in with the salt and apply it just to the surface. (Don't run sandy clay through your pasta machine. It might scratch the rollers.)
Try different colors of clay for another look-- anything from earthy reds and browns to "fantasy" shades of purple, blue, or green.
For larger voids without the hassle of making them one by one with a ball stylus, try pressing rock salt into the surface of your beads. Any other material that can withstand curing temperatures and later melt away under water will also work.
Experiment with other texture tools. For instance, a toothbrush is great for imparting a "finely rough" texture.