Page McNall added a free 2-page photo tutorial on Flickr for her segmented polymer bead necklaces last month. Now that the holiday hubbub is over, let’s give her instructions a whirl. She shows how on page 1 and page 2.

She blends color gradients into short thick plugs which she threads onto on a knitting needle. She nurses and shapes the plug, removes it from the needle and cuts it into five segments.  She gently refines the shape of the cut pieces and places them back on the needle to bake.

After they’re baked Page distresses the beads and adds color accents with shoe polish. Mounted onto short lengths of wire, the segmented beads are then arranged into necklaces. Her pictures make it all quite clear. Follow Page on Facebook and see her influences on Pinterest. (PCD follower Patrice Pfeiffer thought you’d want to see this and I agreed.)