You’ve most likely heard most of these simple polymer clay tips and tricks before. But then again, maybe not. It’s never good to be that guy who’s standing there saying, “Whoa, I can’t believe nobody ever told me that!” It’s always better to be the guy standing there nodding his head saying, “Yup. Knew that.” So, with that in mind, here you go!
1. Hand Sanitizer cleans clay residue off your hands.
After working with polymer clay, there is usually a residue on your hands which soap and water will not remove. Alcohol dissolves polymer clay, so it works well to rub some alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel into your hands, and then wipe them clean with a paper towel. Follow up with a soap and water wash and you’re good as new. (And rubbing alcohol is pretty great to have in the studio, too!)
2. Cornstarch is your friend.
This one has several uses. Cornstarch makes a great mold release for molds and texture sheets. A bit of cornstarch on your finger is great for smoothing the fingerprints off of your clay creations. And finally you can bury your beads in a bed of cornstarch when baking to prevent the clay from browning or scorching.
3. Nail polish, spray paint, and solvents will cause sticky polymer clay.
For some reason, this polymer clay tip isn’t well known. It seems like such a simple solution to use nail polish to accent your polymer clay creations. Or use clear nail polish as a glaze. Don’t do it. Ever. Under any circumstances! The solvent in nail polish will begin to soften and dissolve your polymer clay, even baked clay, making it sticky and gooey over time. The same holds true for most varnishes and paints in spray cans can either degrade the clay or remain sticky. And also paints that are solvent based and require mineral spirits to clean your brushes may never fully dry on polymer clay. If you need a spray sealer to coat polymer clay, then you should use PYM II, or Helmar Crystal Kote. These are both polymer clay safe protective coatings. Read here for more information about polymer clay sealers, including which ones to use and which to avoid. (Note: Some brands of nail polish seem to work, most don’t. So beware. Also, artists oil paints do work on polymer clay but thin coats are best as it takes a long time to dry.)
4. You can change the texture of polymer clay.
If your polymer clay is too soft and mushy you can firm it up by a process called leaching. To leach clay, you just sandwich sheets of it between plain paper and then put a book on it for a few hours. Keep checking until the clay’s the consistency that you want. The longer you leach it, the more of the clay’s plasticizer will leach into the paper and out of the clay. This will cause the clay to be more firm. You don’t want to do too much, though, or the clay will be too crumbly. Conversely, you can soften clay that is too hard and crumbly by mixing in a small amount of baby oil, liquid polymer clay, or you can use a product by Sculpey called clay softener (previously called diluent). Again, don’t add too much or your clay will be too soft. If your clay is too hard to mix, you can chop it up and then let it sit a few days with the softener. It will diffuse through a bit, allowing the clay to soften enough to be able to be mixed. (Though in my opinion, life is too short…I just toss clay that’s this much work.)
5. Most Important of Polymer Clay Tips: You really do need an oven thermometer!
They’re around $10 at a kitchen supply store or Amazon (Affiliate Link – learn more here). And they’re indispensable! Even if you’ve been baking in your oven for years without a problem, that doesn’t mean that it’s accurate. And when it comes to clay, accuracy counts. You’ve got to bake it long enough and hot enough to get a full and complete cure. Otherwise your project will be spongy and brittle. On the other hand, some brands of clay are very susceptible to burning and high spikes in temperature might not hurt your casserole but it will completely toast your polymer. This is part of getting to know your oven so that it can be your friend and give you very good results. Learn all about baking polymer clay here.
6. Sharpie fades on polymer clay.
I see Sharpie Markers recommended in tutorials all the time and I have to tell you…don’t do it. Sharpie markers are a great little tool and I love them for all sorts of crafts. But Sharpies are a solvent-based dye-based marker. And that means that over time the dye will diffuse into the polymer, creating a “blur” or bleed. Use a pigment based marker instead, such as PITT Artist Marker or Microperm markers. See the article What’s the Best Pen for Drawing on Polymer Clay?
7. Store polymer clay in Ziploc sandwich bags.
Polymer clay can react with and dissolve some plastics. But plain old Ziploc sandwich bags are polymer clay safe. Plus you can zip the bag shut, keeping out dust. And if you’d like, you can label the bag with a Sharpie, removing all doubt about what brand of clay you put inside. Read my article about what plastics can be used to store polymer clay.
8. Use white scrap clay to clean your hands and pasta machine.
When working with white polymer clay, you want it to stay pristine white. Fibers, dirt, or residue from other clay colors that are on your hands or in your pasta machine will contaminate your nice white clay. Here’s an easy solution. Take a ball of white scrap clay and roll it around in your hands. It will pick up any contaminants. Then run it through your pasta machine, allowing it to pick up any stray colors or fibers there. You can use this scrap clay over and over. Keep it in a Ziploc bag. (Bet you saw that one coming.)
9. Crumpled aluminum foil makes a good bead core.
When making a large bead or a large figurine, you save both clay and weight by using crumpled up aluminum foil as a core or armature. Just crumple it tightly and then cover it with clay, then bake.
10. To avoid bubbles, put clay fold first into the pasta machine.
Are you finding bubbles in your polymer clay after conditioning it with a pasta machine? Bubbles are bad because they will expand during baking, creating an unsightly lump in your work, often ruining a piece. When conditioning clay, try inserting your folded over sheets of clay into the pasta machine fold side first. That way air doesn’t get trapped inside. If you do get a bubble, just slice into it with your razor blade and then press the air out, sealing the hole shut with your fingers.
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188 thoughts on “10 Simple Polymer Clay Tips (that you surely knew – but maybe not?)”
Boy, am I ever exasperated!!! I wanted to print out the 10 tips, so what do I get? A thousand pages of all the remarks and answers. NOT HAPPY about using all that paper.
In the future when you print web pages, you can avoid this problem by highlighting the section you want to print, you can click on “selection only” in your print dialogue and only the selected section will print. It’s a standard feature in Windows for sure, probably in Mac as well.
Hi , I am new to polymer clay and your website is treasure trove.I have read a few articles , its very nice to see tips like these compiled in one place.Thank you so much for sharing them 🙂
If its ok with you, may I link this article on to an article on my blog ?
Aw, thank you Shilpa. You’re more than welcome to share the link, please do!
Awesome! Thanks for all the tips, some I already knew and some I wasn’t quite sure of. I would love to print your info out to share with my students so they will get their polymer adventure started right! Thank you so much for sharing! <3
Sent you an email…
In India we don’t get a lot of variety of colors in polymer clay.So,I wanted to know that,what should I do to make a lot of colors by using white polymer clay?Reply
You can use artist’s oil paints mixed in with the white clay to color it, but adding very much will thin the clay and make it too mushy. You can also use alcohol inks mixed in with white to change the color. Also, acrylic paint. But sometimes the acrylic paint won’t mix smoothly, it will give sort of a swirled or granite effect, which can work nicely, too.
Other than what Ginger has already mention, you can try using chalk pastel. Just scrap the pastel into delicate powder and then mix it to your white polymer clay. Also, If you can get main color (red, blue, yellow, black) other than the white you already have, you can try mix them to get new color, for example yellow + blue = green, red+blue = purple, yellow+red = orange
I’m getting ready to help my 10 year old make some doll food. We tried using this clay a couple of years ago to make buttons. Her hands couldn’t old up to get the new clay softened. It was very hard for me to work, too. We didn’t get any buttons made and gave all of our clay away. She wants to try again. Do you have additional tips for working new clay w/a ten year old?
Hi Debbie, old and hard polymer clay is no fun for anyone! Luckily, not all brands have this problem. If you can find a new brand called Sculpey Souffle (I wrote a review about it here), I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. It’s very soft and easy to work, it’s very strong after baking, and it comes in some really nice colors. I would avoid Sculpey III. Even though it’s fairly soft and easy to work, it can be very brittle after baking. If you can’t find Souffle, then my next one to recommend would be Premo. But make sure you give the package a squeeze before purchase so that you don’t get stuck with a hard one. You can find Souffle in Joann stores.
How much give does a new pack have? Playdough like? Our first purchases didn’t give much at all. I assumed it was like real clay and just took a good working….
Souffle is very near to Playdough in its softness, but with a smidge more body. That is its blessing, and its curse. It’s too soft for many polymer clay techniques but will be great for children’s crafts. Premo is quite a bit more stiff but shouldn’t be too hard for a 10 year old’s hands. My kids played with it from a very young age. It sounds like the stuff you got before was old and hard. Also, if she decides she likes it and wants to make some of the complex miniature food like PetitPlat, you’ll probably need a stiffer clay than Souffle. But I’d try a few bars of that first, then switch to Premo if you find the Souffle too soft.
Thank you. We’ll give those a try. This is the type of food she’s considering. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zdAqkUbMac8/UWhvTBLx2HI/AAAAAAAACIY/eEY5WtL8CV8/s1600/IMG_069333.jpg
At first glance Petitplat looks more complex.
Those look great. I think you’re just about to have a whole lotta fun. One little tip…if you use silicone molds, you can bake the polymer clay in the mold itself. That means you don’t get distortion that you get when trying to take raw clay out of a mold. Enjoy!
Thank you!
Wow, I’m on my way to setting up an etsy shop and I’m surprised I didn’t know that you can’t use spray paint or nail polish. Pretty much everything I’ve made is coated in either nail polish or Krylon spray paint. Is there any way I can take these coatings off so all these pieces aren’t ruined? Also, about glazes, I have a few questions if you don’t mind. About future (or pledge floor polish or whatever) as a glaze, I’ve heard that it’s ‘not completely permanent’. What the heck does that mean? It’s going to eventually wear off? I would hate to sell something beautiful and glossy only to have it wear off once the customer got it. Also, I have seen people using the kind meant for wood, when I was under the impression you were supposed to use the multi-purpose one? Does it matter? Also, about varathane, I’ve seen different types of it recommended. Some say to use the diamond kind and some say to use the heavy use formula kind. Does this matter at all, as long as it’s water based? ONE more question, about baking paint; that sounds super dangerous and toxic-like. Is that really safe to do? Thank you SO much if you do answer this gigantic wall of questions. I would be -so- grateful. Like I said, I want to open an etsy and I gotta get all these ducks in a row and it’s a huge bummer to me finding out that the Krylon spray coat shouldn’t be used (since that’s what pretty much everything I’ve made is coated with). I’m so glad I found your site, it’s been super helpful to me (obviously, lol). All your posts I’ve read are so well written and informative.
Hi Chloe, I’m on vacation, so a quick reply here. You might be able to remove the bad finish by using nail polish remover, but of course, that risks ruining your pieces.
Future isn’t “permanent”, well, that just means that it’s really thin and not very tough. So the shine wears off fairly quickly. There are many far more durable coatings and varnishes than future/pledge.
If you’re in the US, get Varathane, you don’t be sorry. It is a fantastic, durable finish. I wrote about Varathane and show the right one to get here.
Baking paint sounds dangerous, but you have to realize that clay temperatures aren’t really very hot. The paint doesn’t bubble and burn. I always bake my paint and sealers afterward, to set them. It really does make them stick better.
One thing to mention, though, is that polymer clay doesn’t actually need a sealer. It is durable on its own, and is more durable than any sealer you will put on it. The only reason you need a sealer is to seal and protect mica powders, surface treatments, foils, or paints. Or if you need to change the shine level of your project. In other words, to make a shiny piece matte or a matte piece shiny.
Some people had had good results with nail polish and krylon clear spray, so it’s not a foregone conclusion that your will degrade. Before you offer anything for sale, wear it, use it, give it a good testing just like a customer would do. That will tell you how the piece holds up. Sorry, I hope you don’t have too much time invested in those pieces. But now you’ll be on the right track and have reliable results. Good luck!
Great information, i am passing this on. I have used nail polish to give iridescence to my reptile creations and haven’t had problems yet. Keeping my fingers crossed, but it’s been 10 years. Maybe the amount and the placement had something to to with the longevity.
It’s probably fine now, I wouldn’t worry. I think only some combinations of polymer clay and nail polish brands lead to problems, but without doing exhaustive tests, it would be almost impossible to figure out which are the bad combinations. FWIW, though, there are some really nice iridescent acrylic paints out there. Golden has a line of artist’s acrylic paints that have some wonderful iridescent colors.
Amazing all the helpful information here plus comments. The suggestion using cornstarch to bake the beads is great to know since I had problems with scorching of some clay pieces. Appreciate the link to this site.
Hi, I am a newbie at this.. I want to start making little animal figurines. Which Polymer Clay do you suggest I get for this? I will be purchasing a small convection oven for my baking process and thermometer. Is it as easy as create and bake? No need for sanding or buffing or glazing right? Thanks for all your informative tips in working with Polymer Clay.. Please advise which clay everyone is using for such a project.
Hi Rose, Make sure that you use a strong clay for making figurines. I’d recommend Premo, Kato, or Fimo Professional. Make sure you avoid Sculpey and Sculpey III as they’re pretty brittle if you make any little thin parts like arms. Sculpey Souffle is a new clay on the market that is really easy to work with and quite strong. Yes, it really is as simple as make and bake. But make sure that you do test your oven first to make sure the temperature is holding correctly. Also, cover your items so they don’t get toasted in the oven. No, there’s no need for sanding or glazing unless you want to make them super glass-like shiny. Or if you need to seal in powders or mica. You’ll learn as you go along, of course, and the best way to do that is to just roll up your sleeves and start. Enjoy!!
Great tips – thank you so much for sharing! I come back here every now and then to refresh my memory and read the new comments and tips from readers, and of course, your responses.
I learned the hard way about Liquid Leaf (solvent based paint)… I was making some beads out of Super Sculpey for an Egyptian themed necklace and wanted to mimic antique gold (without the crinkles and expense that gold leaf affords) so I used Liquid Leaf. Four years later, the beads are STILL tacky and sticky. I kept them as a reminder lol. I find that Rub ‘n Buff works ok, but I’m still not entirely satisified with the realism factor.
I have a Dremmel and was thinking about upping my game by wet sanding and buffing – I’ve read that is how to get a wicked shine on beads without using any sealants.
Anyways, very wonderful site 🙂 Keep up the good work!
Hi Sabrina, Yeah, Liquid Leaf isn’t a good one, LOL. Have you tried Inka Gold? It’s water based, kind of like a creme eye shadow, but you can buff it up to a quite realistic shine. Comes in many colors, too. But it does need to be sealed (PYM II works great for that). Wet sanding and buffing will totally give you a super smooth surface and yes, you can get a very nice shine that way. But because polymer clay is really soft, it doesn’t stay shiny. It always goes back to a nice warm, soft glow. Very tactile and satisfying feel to it. BUT…you can sand and buff to get a good shine and then a coat of sealer will protect the surface, keeping the shine even longer. Or you could just buff periodically.
Ginger, that is so good to know (about how PC doesn’t stay shiny)! I will go ahead and use a sealant on my bead projects. I’ve never tried Inka Gold – looks like a cross between Rub ‘n Buff & Perfect Pearls!
I’ve often wondered if one uses a sealant, then a solvent based paint, & maybe another layer of sealant, if the clay would be protected or if solvent would still leach into the clay. I may have to experiment!
Thanks again for all you do!
Yes, it is kind of like Rub n Buff but with mica instead of metal. But it is less waxy and more water soluble. Rub n Buff is more permanent. As for layering, I think it depends on the solvent and the clay. Some solvent based paints actually do work with clay…other dissolve the clay itself….others just refuse to dry. So it’s really hard to make generalizations. Experimenting is always a good idea, I think!
I know that you have mentioned to not use paint over already done clay; does that include acrylic paint as well?
I did? I’m not sure what you’re referring to, because you can absolutely use paint on cured or baked polymer clay. (If I need to change the wording somewhere, let me know and I’ll fix it.) Acrylic paint is best because it dries fast. And some oil based paints will dissolve the clay and make it sticky.
Sorry, I reread your tips. Because you had mentioned of “being aware of what paint to use”, I thought you meant to not use most of them. But yeah, I just wanted to know if acrylic paint was okay to use.
These tips are really useful! For instance, i did not know I could use aluminum foil for my polymer clay.
Oh no! I used nail polish as a color, then glazed over it. Do you think it will still degrade my beads?!?
You might get lucky, but it’s hard to know. Some nail polishes don’t seem to have the chemical that softens clay. Unfortunately, only time will tell. Crossing fingers….
I have a question about polymer clay or fimo beads – if you were to make a bead and create a ring with that bead being the center would this bead material hold up to hand washing – water and soap?
Polymer clay is essentially waterproof. Soap and water will not hurt baked polymer clay. But it can affect the paints, sealer, or other surface treatments that you might use on the clay. I ran a test on the durability of buttons when they’re machine washed and dried, this article might shed some light on the subject. http://thebluebottletree.com/wash-polymer-clay-buttons/
Hello my name is Veronica. I used to work with clay years ago but had to stop because I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I couldn’t even condition the clay, it hurt so much. 11 years later, I have the strength to create again. I am so happy. I like your tips, very much. I was having trouble getting the clay off my hands. Lol. I make a lot of the little figures and Kawaii charms, my hands shake when I try to paint the eyes and mouth. Two black dots with white highlights and a little mouth. The tighter I hold the brush, toothpick, dotting tool, the more I shake. Do you have any ideas or tricks the might be able to help me to put the cute little faces on my charms? Being able to create and express myself artistically has really given a huge lift and brought new joy to my life. Thank you for your consideration, Veronica
Hi Veronica, congratulations on being able to take care of yourself through your illness. RA is a real drag (how’s that for an understatement). You might be interested in the new brand of clay, Sculpey Souffle, that just came out. It’s super, super soft and it will be easy on your hands. As for the faces, have you thought about using beads for eyes? That’s what Kater’s Acres does for her Parker figurines. You can make a mouth with a tool that presses one in. Maybe a cuticle pusher would have the right shape? Barring that, if you still want to use paint, then there are ways to stabilize your hand. Painters use something like this, but maybe you could adapt something similar that would work for you? Regardless, keep creating. Isn’t it truly wonderful how healing that art and creating can be? Best of luck to you!
Is there an inexpensive polymer clay – or another similar substance – that can hold it’s shape in water?
I’m hosting a craft for 150 girl scouts! I want to make snow globes – snowmen, glitter, and distilled water in baby food jars. We won’t have time to bake the snowmen, so we were planning on having the girls make their snowmen and then fill their “globes” with water at home after their snowmen have air-dried.
I found a craft online that suggested using Sculpey (they claimed that it worked fine, even unbaked). I used a cheaper brand (Polyform), but it dissolved. I tried Model Magic – same thing happened.
Do you think Sculpey would work? Or is there some other medium that would work? I’d sure appreciate any ideas. Thanks!
Amanda
Hi Amanda, I’m not sure what the cheaper brand you mean is, Polyform is the parent company of Sculpey. I don’t know how long you have to work with the girls, but it only takes about 30-45 minutes to bake polymer clay. Also, polymer clay doesn’t air dry, it will stay soft and workable (and mashable), so sending the snowmen home to fill the globes later seems to be unnecessary and they risk mashing their creations. Of course filling that many globes could be a problem, LOL. Any baked polymer clay will work and will withstand the water. Unbaked polymer clay might not withstand the water. Some brands (FIMO in particular) have a water soluble element that makes them dissolve over time. I would recommend Premo or Kato polyclay if you wanted to keep the clay in water. BUT, that would be very expensive on a scale like you’re talking.
Here’s what I’d try. First, if you can bake the clay (or have them bake the snowmen at home), that would be optimal. Barring that, I’d try Plastalina modeling clay. I think it’ll withstand the water, but you might want to check. It doesn’t air dry either, it stays soft. As for the polymer clays, Sculpey original is the one I’d aim for. It’s cheap and I think it will hold up in the water. I just now checked to see if there was any stickiness when I add water to some I have here, and it seems to hold up fine (short term). I hope that helps. Good luck!
Thanks so much for the info. After reading your reply I think I realized what the problem was. I used an air dry clay (Polyform Model Air) thinking that would do the trick, since we don’t have time to bake it.
I think I’ll try the Sculpey – trying baking and no baking – and see how it works. And take your suggestion to have them bake at home, if necessary.
Then, if all fails, I’ll try the Plastalina.
Thanks for your help!
I also have a tip: you can soften polymer clay by adding a little water in it. It then becomes like “soft cream” and you can use it in many projects like miniature food. And the question: can someone use liquid glass on polymer clay? And if yes, how you do it? I tried it after I baked the clay but the liquid glass just destroyed the clay and it became sticky and messy..
I have never liked the effect when I add water to polymer clay, but then I use Premo and Kato. I know that Fimo acts very differently with water. It sounds like something I’m going to have to try. It might not work for all situations, but it might be fun to see exactly how it does act. Thanks for the idea!
Glad I found this. I was using the regular oil based spray matte finish to seal my works after applying pastel and mica powder. When I found this blog, I was searching for why some soft pvc plastic decorations got sticky a few months after customizing. I’ve had a few polymer creations get sticky within a year after making, but not all of them. Some of them I got lucky I guess. Anyways I am stopping and getting a water based sealer. Though I didn’t see any warnings against using the oil sealant sprays on air dry or cold porcelain type clays?
I think it would be fine on cold porcelain and possibly air dry clay (depending on what it’s made of). Polymer clay is a plastic, and just as some paints will dissolve plastics, they can dissolve polymer clay. But the thing is, it’s not uniform. Some sprays do it, some don’t. Some clays have this issue, some don’t. So short of doing a comprehensive test over a long period of time (and then having the manufacturers change their formulas), it’s best to stick with a water based sealer such as Varathane (my favorite) or if using a spray, use PYM II.
How frustrating. Supposed got auto corrected to supported. I’m going to shut up now!
Oh no! My boyfriend and I have really gotten into making figures with polymer clay lately and he has been spraying our pieces with. Krypton aerosol acrylic clear top coat as a sealer! We’ve been making sculptures to sell on Etsy, and now I’m afraid of the consequences! One of my pieces, the paint dried slightly tacky/sticky too. So I don’t know if I sealed it without letting the paint set well first. I checked out the PYM II that you linked, it’s too pricey for my budget just now, so I’m ordering the rust oleum varnathane that you mentioned in reply to someone else’s comment.
Also, my boyrfried said never to bake acrylic paint because it would bubble, but is read here you said to heat set it at 200F. Do you think that would avoid the tackiness I experienced? And is there a paint brand you recommend? I’m making larger pieces like candle holders and such, much bigger than jewelry so craft paint in tiny bottles doesn’t go very far. We’ve been using Liquitex Basics which my bf had left over from his college art classes… Sometimes it dries to a nice hard finish and sometimes not. But, I may not have been giving it enough time between coats or something…
Anyway thanks for all the tips mentioned here 🙂
Oh darn, sorry I’m using iPad and it causes errors and typos. Above was supported to say Krylon but it auto corrected to Krypton, lol
LOL, I knew what you meant. In fact my brain never even registered that you’d typed “krypton”. Some people DO use that one and have no had bad results, so maybe you’ll get lucky. But I don’t know of anyone who has done controlled long-term tests with it. Sometimes sealer over paint can be an issue if there is an incompatability. Some paints stay sticky, too. The liquid varathane is awesome stuff. You’ll love it.
As for the acrylic paint bubbling…you’d sure think it would, but it doesn’t! I now heat set by paint and sealer by just baking it at regular clay-baking temps (typically 275°F). I’m usually baking more clay and I’ll just add the painted pieces in for a heat cure at the same time. So far so good. And I do use liquitex basics sometimes, I find them a bit rubbery. For painting on polymer, I actually prefer to use el cheapo craft store paint. It’s chalky, it’s opaque, but it has good sticking power and typically dries well. And I typically seal it with either varathane (if necessary) or paste wax. You can get craft paint on sale at michaels for 50 cents sometimes, that’s when I stock up.
I may have read this before,Ginger, but just read again! Thanks, this was so helpful! I was just wondering the other day how it might work to use a Sharpie on polymer! Now i won’t waste my time and money trying that approach! Thanks for telling me what WILL work instead!
And thanks for getting me started with polymer clay! I’m so loving it!
Oh Sharyl, I’m so happy that you’re enjoying working with polymer clay so much. I do enjoy seeing what you make and post online. You’ve got it figured out, that’s for sure! Nah, Sharpies just fade over time. And on some brands of clay it nearly completely disappears. PITT markers are so much better because they’re pigment based.
Thanks yo sooo much for these! Helped me a lot~ 😀
what kind of glue can I use to stick the things I have made together, i.e. made some roses and want to paste them on plywood board which I have painted, kind of a basket I have made with the clay as well as the roses.
To glue two pieces of polymer clay together, you can use liquid clay and rebake the piece. To glue clay to a plywood board I would think you could use E6000. But my favorite glue to use with polymer clay is 90 second 2 part epoxy that you get at the hardware store. It comes in two little tubes. You just mix equal sized drops together and then glue things together. Cures in 90 sec and works like a charm.
I’m late to the comments but thank you for these. I didn’t know any of them. I have hardly done much with my clay over the years and I’m just getting it out of the drawer again. I still have my first batch from 5 years ago. I haven’t done much rather than food miniatures.
Oh there is so much to do! The great thing about polymer is that you can pick it back up again so quickly because it doesn’t really require that many tools. You might want to buy new clay if yours is crumbly, but dive in and have fun. If you have any questions let me know!
Hi I too am new to Kato polymer clay got into Steampunk
I just used nail polish on some work…Do you know how long it takes to degrade? I’m so glad you posted that. Thank you.
Oh no! I don’t know how long it takes as I’ve never used it. Maybe a couple months? But the good news is now you know and can use other finishes in the future, right? I hope your piece gets lucky, though, and stays looking great.
Hi there!! I just discovered this great blog too! Thank you Ginger! I just wanted to answer to Kim…because unfortunately I did the same mistake with her, once. I glazed everything I had make with nail polish…and as the days passed everything got sticky and messy…it was a huge disaster. But because I wanted to do the experiment, I left them as they were for a couple of months.. But the nail polish never dried, it just became worst. What I did next, was to remove the nail polish with nail polish remover. Fortunately I managed to remove the nail polish and i saved all the pieces. I used cernit and fimo clay so I found that the best thing to glaze my creations is fimo glaze. I leave in Greece and until then fimo glaze was not sold in stores and I couldn’t find it online (it didn’t ship here) so I was experimenting with some other glazes but NOTHING worked.. I have never used the spray glaze Ginger suggested though..I don’t know if it’s sold here either.
wow! I’m a newbie and quite sure you’ve saved me from a heap of trouble.Thanks! Now if I can just find directions to make a cute turtle-not a sea turtle, more of a pet. I had a red eared slider for many many years,
We have red eared sliders around here in the creeks. They’re adorable! I see what you mean about how everything’s sea turtles and not cute turtles. I would think they’d be easy to do in clay, though, because you could cane the shell and the neck has stripes. If you ever decide to try making one, I want to see!
Thanks for the reply Ginger. I have made 5 turtles this week with my granddaughter, but with my being a newbie, they aren’t very good. I am still learning canes, and so my projects aren’t good quality, but great therapy.
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