Polymer clay is a fabulous medium. It comes in a wide variety of colors which can be used straight from the package, though I usually mix my own. It's also readily available at local craft stores.

The millefiore caning process involved a number of steps and can take a long time for more complex canes. The one I'm outlining here took me approximately 3 hours. A cane resembles a roll of extruded refrigerator cookies with the design running throughout the entire log. Once made, I cut cross slices from the cane and use them in my jewelry pieces.

For this cane:

I began with a leaf cane that I was less than happy with - I'd made it late at night when my judgement was questionable. The next day I regretted my color choices. (Upper left corner of the picture)

I then collected odds and ends left over from past projects. The beauty of this process is the elements don't need to look good together. In fact, the final product is more beautiful when they don't! I assembled these elements into a triangle shape and wrapped them with some colored sheets of clay. (Upper right corner of picture)

At this point, the cane was about 3 inches long and 2 inches tall. Now it was time to reduce it. The clay is quite soft - I gently squeezed and pulled the cane until it was twice as long as when I started. I divided in half, matched the two triangular logs together, and repeated the process twice more.

This formed the diamond shaped cane in the lower left corner of the picture.

I took some thin slices, arranged them pleasingly and added some strong graphic leaf slices to make the pendant seen in the lower right corner.

At this point, the piece is ready for baking. When it comes out of the oven, the clay is hard and ready to be strung on a cord.