When you first get started with any new hobby or craft, there is always the initial start-up phase where you’re excited to begin making things but don’t yet know exactly what’s involved. The tendency is to buy EVERYTHING. What tools and supplies do you need to get started with polymer clay? Is there such a thing as a polymer clay starter kit? I looked around a bit, and yes, there are a few kits for sale out there. And there are a few lists created by online shops. That’s fine, but then the list is full of things you need to buy. And I don’t think it should cost a lot to get started working with polymer clay.
So, what tools and supplies should you buy? Which are the most important and which ones will wait? Here are my recommendations for what should be in your polymer clay starter kit. I’ll start with the “must have” items that everyone will want to gather, and then add another list for when you get further advanced and even another list for “someday dream items”.
What Polymer Clay Tools Should Beginners Buy?
- When getting started with polymer clay, don’t buy too much. It’s easy to buy things you won’t need.
- Most of what you need can be found around the house or very cheaply in craft or hardware stores.
- Below are lists for a Basic Beginner Kit, and Advanced Kit, and a Dream Kit.
- Start with the Beginner Kit, then add more supplies when you know what you like to make.
Basic Beginner Polymer Clay Starter Kit
Tools
You will likely find these items in your local craft store for just a few dollars. If you do other crafts, you’ll likely even have them on hand already.
- X-acto or other craft knife – Just the usual #11 blade works great. I keep both a dull one and a super sharp one for different purposes. Watch out, though. When new, these are like scalpels.
- Needle Tools – You can buy one, or even better, I have a tutorial showing how to Make Your Own Needle Tools.
- Ball Stylus – Use this for making decorative holes and adding tiny dots of paint.
- Long Scraper Blade – You don’t need a super sharp blade for general cutting work. I have a fairly dull and stiff blade that I used for chopping, lifting, shaving, cutting shapes, and cutting clay off a new block. For more advanced techniques, you’ll need a super sharp tissue blade, but that comes later.
- Roller or Rod – I prefer an acrylic rod, but plastic works nicely as well. Don’t use a wooden rolling pin as the clay’s plasticizers will soak into the wood.
Clay
All polymer clays are not created equal. Each brand has very different characteristics which can lead to frustration if you choose an unsuitable clay. If you know already what you want to make, have a look at my article What’s the Best Polymer Clay Brand for more insight on how to make a great clay choice. Not sure what you want to make? For a great all-purpose clay that will work for most anything you’ll want to create, start with Premo or Fimo (either Fimo Soft or Fimo Professional). Sculpey Original, Bake Shop, and Sculpey III have their uses, but are often frustrating for beginners due to their soft texture and brittle results.
Household or Hardware Store Items
Most of the items I use to work with polymer clay have been gathered from around the house. And if you don’t already have these things in your home, you can pick up the rest on a quick trip to the hardware store.
- Ceramic Tiles – These are great bakeable work surfaces that go from table to oven. They’re also good for holding the heat ensuring even baking. I like them so much I’ve written a whole article about using Ceramic Tiles with Polymer Clay.
- Foil Pans and a Binder Clip – Polymer clay can brown easily when your oven misbehaves. To protect your project, it’s handy to bake inside of a foil pan, the second inverted as a lid. Clip them closed with a binder clip. Read more in my Baking Tips & Tricks article.
- Home Oven – You do NOT need a dedicated polymer clay oven. You can safely and easily use your home oven to bake your polymer clay creations. Many people choose to use a smaller oven for convenience, but beginners are just fine using the one in the kitchen. Read about Choosing a Polymer Clay Oven.
- Travel Spray Bottles (2) – The small size and fine spray of these small bottles works well with polymer clay. I fill one with water (for a mold release and for thinning paint) and the other with rubbing alcohol. Rubbing alcohol dissolves polymer clay so it’s great for cleaning your hands, work surface, and tools.
- Old Toothbrush – These are surprisingly useful for everything from creating texture (bristles and handle) to cleaning and scrubbing residue from baked clay before painting.
- Coarse Grit Sandpaper – I use this to create texture on the backs of my pendants. It disguises fingerprints and small blemishes, allowing your finished product to look more professional. You can also use a new green scrubber pad or other kitchen scrubber.
- Basic Cookie Cutter Shapes – Especially when in graduated sizes, these come in handy in all sorts of ways. Make sure to get a round set, but other shapes are nice, too. Makins brand cutters are inexpensive and come in simple sets.
Supplies
Here’s a list of supplies that you will use up and will want to keep on hand as you work with polymer clay. Again, these are not expensive and most of them are already in your home.
- Kleenex and/or Paper Towels – Paper towels are an obvious choice, but I actually like Kleenex in a pop-up box because they’re easy to grab. I even wrote an article about how often I use Kleenex in my studio.
- Baby Wipes – Polymer residue can build up on your hands and baby wipes have the perfect combination of solvent and scrub-power. They just work. Read more tips in my article on Baby Wipes here. Note, baby wipes are not sustainable, so another option is microfiber towels that you use again and again.
- Scrap Copy Paper – Sometimes you don’t want your polymer clay to stick to your work surface, and plain paper works great for this. It’s also good for putting under your clay during baking to prevent shiny spots. I wrote an article about Using Copy Paper with Polymer Clay with lots more examples for using it.
- Ziploc Sandwich Bags – After you open your package of polymer clay, you will want to keep it sealed from dust. Ziploc bags are the perfect solution. Also good for saving your mixed color blends, too. Save and reuse packaging for this instead of buying new bags!
- Toothpicks – Although they’re a bit big for poking bead holes, toothpicks make surprisingly good sculpting tools. I also use them to mix paint.
- Cornstarch – Often used as an insulator and/or cushion for baking polymer clay, cornstarch is also a valuable product for smoothing out fingerprints on your unbaked clay. Read more about Using Cornstarch with Polymer Clay here.
Advanced Additions to a Polymer Clay Tool Kit
Once you have gathered your supplies for a polymer clay starter kit and you’ve worked with clay a bit, you’ll have a lot better idea of what types of things you want to be making. Now is the time to start investing in some more specialized tools and move to upgraded solutions.
- Oven Thermometer – Most ovens lie. Some a little and some a lot. An oven thermometer lets you know how much it’s lying and allows you to compensate by adjusting the temperature dial. It’s really important to know what temperature your oven actually is. Too hot and you’ll have discoloration. Too cool and your clay will be brittle and weak.
- Liquid Polymer Clay – I recommend Kato Liquid (Affiliate Link – learn more here) or Fimo Liquid. These can be used as a glue, a thinner for hard clay, as a glaze, a filler, and for many types of special effects.
- Sandpaper – To get a very high glass-like shine on polymer clay, you will need to sand it very smooth using wet/dry sandpaper, starting at around 320 grit and going through each one until 1500 grit or so. This must be done on wet clay with plenty of water. (And if you struggle with getting a glass-like finish, check out my Sanding and Buffing eBook.)
- Varnish – Some surface treatments, such as mica powders and metal leaf, need to be sealed for protection. Varathane is a water-based brush-on varnish. (Read more about sealers and clearcoats here.)
- Pasta Machine – This is a high priority tool to get. I strongly recommend the Marcato Atlas, but any machine made in Italy will be good. (Skip anything made in China…it won’t hold up.) It makes conditioning clay, mixing colors and skinner blends, and rolling sheets much easier. Choose the Atlas if you think you will add a motor later.
- Extruder – This tool pushes clay through a patterned disk to make a “snake” of clay in a certain shape like a triangle or a heart. There are whole categories of techniques that use extruders. It’s a good tool to have on hand and the inexpensive green Makins brand (Affiliate Link – learn more here) is a good one to start with. This brand will break with heavy use, but for beginners it’s great.
- Tissue Blade – If you need to slice paper-thin slices of canes or stacks of clay for making mokume gane, you’ll need a super sharp blade. Tissue blades used in medical labs are perfect. But they’re ultra sharp. Don’t use these for your everyday slicing needs or you’ll get cut.
- Texture Sheets and Stamps – Silicone stamps, rubber stamps, embossing folders, and texture sheets have many uses in polymer clay.
- Kemper Kutters – These are sets of small brass cutters in various shapes with little plungers to push out the clay shape. They’re well-made and a good investment. I would certainly get the round set for sure and collect others as your needs expand.
- Gel Super Glue – There is no one perfect glue for all uses with polymer clay. But a high quality gel super glue will work for a lot of things. Loctite Gel is one and Lisa Pavelka’s PolyBonder is brilliant. Read more about Using Glues with Polymer Clay.
For Bead and Jewelry Makers
- Bead Pins – It’s easiest to make holes in beads before baking. But using a toothpick or a skewer can distort the bead. So I like using Bead Pins. They make a fairly small hole, but it can easily be enlarged after baking with a micro drill. Read more in my article about Bead Pins.
- Micro Drill – Using a Dremel to drill holes through polymer clay can be difficult because it’s easy to get off track. Using a hand drill is great, but the bits are a bit large. A micro drill from a hobby shop has a whole range of bit sizes from thick pencil lead size all the way down to thinner than a sewing pin. It’s perfect for enlarging the holes from your bead pins or for making holes after baking when you’re not sure where to put the hole until you’re making the jewelry. Read more about a Micro Drill in my article.
- Jewelry Findings – Jump rings, glue-on bails, chain, clasps, head pins, wire, ear wires, and accent beads are all going to come in handy if you decide to make polymer clay beads and jewelry.
- Jewelry Tools – You could go crazy here, but the basics that work well for me are wire cutters, chain-nose pliers (two pairs) and round-nosed pliers. You can do a lot with those.
Dream and Upgraded Tools
Once you have been working with polymer clay for a while and you’re past needing a polymer clay starter kit, it’s time to start thinking about upgrading your tools and getting the more advanced versions of tools. These are not beginner tools, but should be thought of more as an investment for the long term.
- Czextruder – The green Makins extruder works nicely, but if you find that you’re doing a lot of extruding work, I can’t recommend the Czextruder highly enough. Like all the items I’ve included in this section it’s pricey. But it should last a lifetime and also works well with the disks you already would have from your Makins. Read my review of the Czextruder here.
- Pasta Machine Motor – You do not need to have a motor on your pasta machine, but it sure makes it nice. Both the Makins and the Atlas brands have motors available. Motors are noisy, but they allow you to guide the clay into the machine with both hands and make the process go faster. They also help you avoid shoulder strain if cranking makes your arm hurt.
- Dedicated Clay Oven – A separate clay oven is not necessary, but if your claying area is far from your kitchen or if you bake clay so often that your oven is seldom free, you might want to invest in a claying oven. I can’t recommend a brand, but I do know that convection ovens work better because they distribute the heat more evenly, preventing hot spots and scorching.
- Slicer – There are many options here. But the cream of the crop is the LC Tools Slicer. I have one and I can recommend it highly.
Fun Craft Materials
Of course this list of polymer clay starter kit ideas would not be complete without mentioning the incredible range of fun craft materials that can be used with polymer clay. I’m not going to go into detail on these, but know that these products are often used by polymer clayers and are things that would be a lot of fun to add to your kit.
- Alcohol Inks
- Metal Leaf
- Mica Powders
- Crystals for Bling
- Epoxy Resin
- Silicone Mold Putty
- Acrylic Paint
- Pan Pastels
- Glitter
Information
In addition to having all the right tools and supplies to get started with polymer clay, there’s still lots to learn. It can be overwhelming at first! But I’ve gathered together a lot of information that will help you. Here goes.
Beginner Articles
- Polymer Clay Tips for Beginners
- 10 Simple Polymer Clay Tips
- Baking Polymer Clay
- Getting Up to Speed in Polymer Clay
- Avoid these 10 Sculpey Mistakes
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35 thoughts on “Make a Polymer Clay Starter Kit”
Is it important to use these expensive clays for youngsters? Is there an alternative brand or product? Colorful, but not so expensive that I cringe about their waste?
Super soft and sticky clay just frustrates children because they can’t make the clay do what they want. If the clay’s hard for you to use, it will be more hard for a child to use. Souffle (assuming you can find it) is a phenomenal clay for children. Expense is a relative term. No, I would not use these nicer clays for 3 year olds who are just doing sensory play. But if they’re actually trying to accomplish something with their vision (for slightly older children), they will just be discouraged by using difficult clay.
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And varathene, which one do you use? Sorry I’m pelting you with question.
When I use the Varathane brand, I use the one mentioned in my Varathane article. But I use many varnishes, depending on what I’m doing. You can see how well others do in my sealer tests here.
Is there any alternatives for rubbing alchahol? My mother and I are bit of “go green” organic-be-nice-to-nature freaks. Any ideas anyone? Would appreciate it
Then rubbing alcohol would be an excellent choice. Certainly better than other options. Acetone can do many of the same things, but it’s much more toxic.
Just a little tip, if you don’t want to be expensive metal leaves, buy some metallic spray paint, spray some onto aluminium foil, wait for it to dry.
When dry, scratch it with your finger nail and it will come of flaking. If big chunks, break it up. This is good because it doesn’t stick and go everywhere. Just put glaze over it if desired.
That’s a neat idea. Not so much a cost savings, though, and I don’t like to use spray paints (talk about noxious fumes!) One thing that might come into play, however, is that spray varnishes and paints seem to become soft and never fully dry on polymer clay, even on cured clay. So I wonder if the spray paint flakes would get gummy after being on polymer clay. I don’t know, of course, I’m just guessing. Have you tried doing it on clay?
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Hi I recently purchased a starter kit the clay was very hard, they then gave me a softener to mix but still to hard to warm in my hands it does not soften a lot ,I suffer from arthritis, is there another way by softening the clay.
It’s unfortunate that many kits out there are shipping with old clay that is quite hard. You can soften hard clay by warming it on a heating pad or in your pocket (bras work, too). You can then mix a clay softener into the clay. But you may find that it’s easier to just buy a new package of Premo or Souffle at a craft store and use that. Here’s more about softening hard, crumbly clay.
Thank you so much for taking the time to help a beginner like myself! I love your writing style, concise and helpful, 2 thumbs up!
I’ve been collecting ideas on Pinterest for playing with clay, and this article is just what I needed to seriously get started. I’m all for using what’s on hand rather than spending a fortune for tools I may not need. This list tells me what I should really consider spending on, and what can be ‘invented’ by what is hiding in all my other craft stuff….lol.
I’m intrigued by polymer clay having recently discovered a whole world of possibilities on Pinterest where I have been busily collecting tutorials. Your starter kit post has given me a clear indication of where to begin. Thanks for sharing your recommendations and for the thoughts of your commenters. Very useful.
I wish i had those materials but still i like your idea of making a starterkit for polimer clay
Just came across this. I’m not a beginner at this, but I do have a question. I use fimo clay both soft and classic and mix them together. I always use white as I hand paint the finished product. I’m looking for more depth of color in the final product. Can u paint with the alcohol inks? Thanks Debi
Yes, you can. You can also paint with artist’s oil paints, which are nice because you can layer the colors and build up neat depth.
I made a slightly more simplified variation of this for my nephew when he showed an interest in polymer clay. I got one of the Sculpey sampler kits, the Sculpey Firefly toolset (the purple plastic tools), two sets of the cutters (square and circle), and from the dollar store a set of three foil rectangular tins and a flexible cutting mat (decent work surface). Everything but the mat fit inside the tins, and there being three meant that he could keep everything in one while the other two were on baking duty.
For absolute beginners, I usually tell them to get the Firefly kit, not because it’s the best (it’s not), but because it’s the most complete for the best price, with the raw basics in one place, including a roller. I have other tool sets I like better – but they don’t come with a roller. The kit above ran me about $25, and while my nephew’s interest seems to have waned a bit, there’s enough in there to get properly addict — er, started, and know your interest levels to start adding in other, better, tools.
Sounds like a good all-around solution. You’re good to get your nephew involved. You never know with kids, which things will stick and which ones won’t. But they do remember that they were loved.
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I’d have loved to have this list when I started off couple of years ago. I’m really bad at sculpting/shaping with my hands so I get every tool available to help. The starter list is what I still use primarily with all my work.
I did find my pasta machine invaluable when working with any clay other than Sculpey: I used a cheap one from Amazon, it was about $25. Even though I eventually replaced it with an Atlas, I don’t regret that first machine that helped a lot with creating neat sheets when I wasn’t sure if I’d continue claying.
I’d also suggest experimenting with couple of packs of a specific type or brand before hoarding a bunch of clay (I’m still looking for a way to get rid of my old Sculpey).
I think it’d also be worth getting one tool similar to a knitting needle or the Etch n Pearl. The wipe out tool or needle tool could be used, but it’s much easier to wield a larger tool. Also, a small piece of glass or acrylic (I just ripped this out from my least favorite picture frame) is great for lentil beads and rolling out even cylinders of clay.
Final thought about basic cutters: the round cutter Makins set is super useful, especially for measuring out clay and such. Lots of tutorials also use this as a good way to measure out clay. I have my circle cutter set at the corner of my work surface all the time.
This article and the other beginner articles are super informative! I think it’d be great to put these into a category by themselves under the polymer clay info tab at the top of the site so people starting with clay can go in there and get all the information they need (unless there’s another way to get the whole suite of articles that I’m missing)! This site is becoming one of my go-to places to find anything related to polymer clay! Thank you Ginger!
Very good ideas. I should have added the acrylic block. I do use mine all the time, actually. Thank you for the kind words. You really got me to thinking about grouping the beginner articles together. I will talk with my web guru (aka my husband Gary) and see if I can’t incorporate it in some way. I’m thinking that a more general directory would be really helpful. The site is getting so big! Thank you for all your support, Krithika. Have a good one!
Ginger, I thank you soooo much for your invaluable posts which can help every clay artist. I also appreciate the time you spend makng sure that all the information is actually useful. Unlike some, I find that most people actually want to have a number good (and often inexpensive) tools with which to work. I especially like that fact that you have prioritized the almost limitless number of tools available into the basic necessities as well and the rather nice add-ons most of us appreciate as we progress in our exploration of clay in all its wonderous forms. I guess perhaps I’m just not as talented as those who can work with less than 5 tools. But since I am apparently NOT, I (and I suspect many of your thousands of loyal readers and supporters) certainly appreciate your hard work on our behalf. Rock on Girl!
Thanks Chris, you are a gem.
I think this is a LOT of fancy — and expensive — equipment for a starter. Heck, I have been working with, and selling, polymer clay for 20 years now, and I don’t have most of this stuff that you listed in the BASIC list. For years, I just had 4 things: a cookie sheet, a tile to bake on, a cheap needle tool, and some high grit sandpaper. Really that’s all you need. Your hands are the basic tools for measuring, rolling, shaping and carving. That worked for me for 5 odd years. Made plenty of beads, sculptures, filagree, etc. with just that. When you start telling folks they need to buy all this other stuff, it makes it sound like you need to be a millionaire to get started. And that is just not the case.
I can’t say that I agree with what you’re saying, but that’s okay. We’re all here to have fun playing with clay and learn from each other.
Excellent! Absolutely right on, from what is needed as a beginner, to moving through what you would like to have as you get more advanced. A great resource for us to send new people to. Thank you, Ginger!
So glad you found it helpful, Debbie!
Thank you so much! This couldn’t have been a more perfect post for me. I have gathered many of the basic materials and plan to play with clay for the first time this summer. This will help me be REALLY ready and not get totally frustrated the first time because I don’t have the right tools. And it will help me for subsequent play in these early days as well. I really appreciate this!!
Well, I did try to compile a list with maximal versatility that would allow one to do most every technique out there, and still not have to spend very much. When you look at most starter kit lists, they tend to include many of the more expensive items and they’re just not necessary. One list I found included a claying oven for a beginner…wow…just so not necessary! Of course, over time you’ll find great tools and solutions that work for you. We’re all different in that regard, but yes, this is just a starting point. Happy Claying!
This is also a great way to introduce someone to clay art. Maybe a Christmas or holiday or birthday present?
What a perfect idea!
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