Clay is a fragile material to deal with, so what exactly do you need to use to learn how to make antique jewellery from clay? Here you'll find a list of some specialized but inexpensive tools to use when crafting beads and patterns out of clay.

A cutter is important because you'll need a sharp edge to cut the clay smoothly. With a dull knife, the clay will break apart and you won't get any smooth edges. The prescribed cutters for jewellery-making are usually the Exacto knife or any dental tools. You can find all of these in flea markets. You'll also need something to smoothen out the edges. A smoother such as the end of the handle of a paint brush is good enough for this effect.

The best thing about clay is that it's reusable. Store the extra scraps in an air-tight jar and with a little water, you can
use the clay as your slip to hold small pieces together.

After the clay hardens in the kiln, you can use an emery board to file on the finishing touches. Sand paper can also be substituted for this. You'll also need a little olive oil to prevent the clay from getting too sticky. A metal mesh is also used to dry the clay before firing it in the kiln.

Beads and other 3D pieces need to be placed on vermiculite after drying to prevent any flat sides from forming. To create patterns on the clay, you can pat on lace, mesh or even textured leaves. Keep a spray bottle of distilled water handy to rehydrate the clay so that it's easier to mold into the shapes that you want.

You can find most of the things mentioned here in your house or your garage so it will be easy to stock up your tool box for jewellery making once you get to start creating your pieces.