You can purchase them at your craft store.  There will be a wide variety of molds for you to use, everything from feet, emblems, leafs, flowers, hands, faces, even body molds.  These molds are made of a flexible rubberized material. However, I have learned there are some tricks to using these molds to your advantage.

First if you have never worked with Polymer Clay the first thing you should learn is to condition it.  That means take a small amount of clay off of the block and knead it with your fingers until it becomes very pliable.

Next pick the mold you would like to use and measure out the conditioned clay to approximate size of the shape you are trying to mold.  In the case of a face, pinch a very small end for the impression of the nose.  Press your clay into the mold.  Remove any excess clay around the impression.   You want the clay to be level with the mold do not want it to overlap on the outer mold surface.

To release the clay from the mold, gently rub clay off the edge of the mold toward the center of the molded piece.   This will give you a nice clean edge on your molded piece.  The mold is flexible so if you are careful you can release your piece by gently pressing opposite sides and your piece should release from the mold.

All of this is what the manufacturer of the molds will tell you.  And it does work in most cases.  If you are challenged with your coordination, like I am, you will find it very frustrating to release your piece only to have it look misshaped.  I cannot tell you how many times I thought I had the perfect face, only to release it from the mold and have it look like something out of a Frankenstein movie.

I found this little hint in a magazine and I really would like the manufacturers of the molds to put it in their instructions.  It would have made my life so much easier!

After you put your clay in the mold, removed any excess, folded back the edges for a clean line, you can then add clay to the back of the piece and shape it.  For instance, if you are doing a head you want the back of the head to be rounded.  After all no one really had a flat head in the back.  So take a small bit of clay and work in onto the back of the piece to form the other half, being careful to not release the head from the mold.  It is also important even in this step not to have any excess hanging over the side.  Now once you have done that put the entire mold with clay attached in the freezer for about a minute.  The clay will become firm and when you go to release it from the mold you will not have a misshapen figure.

Another good hint I found in this article was when I go to smooth out seams, I wet my finger and the clay smooths so much easier.  I then finish my pieces by adding more clay where needed and decorating according to what the piece tells me to do.

Here are two of my newest creations.

I hope you enjoy these little creatures as much as I enjoy making them.  In weeks to come I have some ideas on what to do with the miniature birdhouses I made..Stay Tuned.

Polymer Clay also makes me happy..so why not combine the two.   I made Roses, Tulips, Dahlias, Canna and a few that I am not sure what they are, but flowers are free flowing, so I used my imagination.

Now that I have this veritable garden sitting in my hobby/computer room I am not sure what to do with them.  I will put some in little vases to either give to friends or sell at my yard sales this summer, but I think I will make a few more and make them into jewelry!

Each of these flowers is between a dime to a quarter in size, just to give you some idea.

In the winter I have to find things to keep me busy. The months between January-end of March are particularly nailbiting for me!

I have been collecting for the last 10 years, birdhouses. The kind that you don’t hang outside, but are purly decorative. You find them at store thoughout the midwest that cater to folk art, country decor. So I have about 20 of the life size birdhouses hanging around the house (not literally).

So I decided with my love of Polymer Clay, why not make miniatures of them! So I have been busy. Each one stand about 2″ high and 11/2″ deep. The width depends on the style of the house.

Here are some samples.

The house is not crooked, just my aim of the camera!

Little pine trees and shrubs make the house complete

I am using these on the tree, to decorate packages and a bowl of “fake” ones on the table in a candy dish.  I have no small children coming to my house, so I don’t have to watch for anyone wanting to eat them!

Click on picture for more instructions

Design by Marie Redmond

Last year around this time I was just starting my exploration of Polymer Clay. I knew from the start that this was something I would enjoy for years to come. One of my favorite aspects of clay is the miniature scenes, characters, and villages one can make. I like doing things in a small size.

I ran across this on my favorite Polymer Clay site Sculptey.com. The complete instructions for this and other crafts are there for both novices and experienced alike.

Happy Holidays!

This cute little guy was so easy to make, a child could do it. I am going to give you a link to a site that I use quite often for my ideas. Normally I would write down the instruction and then put them on here, but they have everything laid out so nice and simple. I figure it would be better just to send my readers there.

Santa Penguin

But be sure and come back for more ideas on holiday crafting right up until Santa time!

Happy Holidays

Look at this picture. These would be so easy to make out of Polymer Clay. All you would need is a small clay pot. You can purchase them at your craft store for pennies on the dollar. Then you would take the clay color of choice and drape them over the upside down pot. Add eyes, noses, hats, even card holders which can be made out of wire, and you have the perfect, inexpensive Halloween table decoration. You could even blend the clay to make varied color combination.

Why not carry this idea into the next season. Use the pot, some green clay and make a Christmas tree with ornaments. Oh! the ideas keep flowing!

Happy Halloween everyone!