Archive for the ‘Polymer Clay-Beginners’ Category

Polymer Clay

Has added a whole new dimension to my Christmas Village collection. I have always like Christmas Villages, I have collected a few items over the years, made a few when I was involved in Ceramics and bought some pieces here and there, now I am adding to the collection with a village made of Polymer Clay.

I have absolutely no idea where I will put it, but it small enough that it will fit anywhere.  The largest house is only 1″ x 2″ so space isn’t going to be a problem.  Also these little house don’t necessarily fit the Christmas theme, but could be on display all year round. The decorations will include candy canes, gumdrops, various flowers, Christmas ornaments all made using my imagination and Polymer Clay.

To make these little houses all you need to do is make patterns out of card stock the size you want the houses, then use the same pattern for each house.  You will notice one of mine is a Blue and Maize one…a tribute to our Michigan Football team.  Not to be outdone I am in the process of making one out of Michigan State colors.  Most of these still have to be decorated for Christmas…so going to my favorite craft shop today to look and see what I can find in miniature that will fit my needs. I have texture plates that I use to make patterns on the side of the house to resemble bricks, lap siding, log cabins are made by rolling clay and stacking one on top of the other. All very simple that children will have a lot of fun helping you make them.

Making mini designs for the dollhouse for any holiday is fun for the whole family, and with a little imagination you will come up with a wide variety of craft ideas for these miniatures The following paragraphs will talk about methods to create 3 mini Halloween dollhouse decorations created by using polymer clay.

Pumpkins are a vital dollhouse mini decor for Halloween, plus they are very easily made from polymer clay plus a knife. You’ll need orange clay and green clay. Basically begin by creating a rounded ball from orange clay. Crunch the ball a little bit to create an dimple on opposite sides of the ball. Now create a little tube of green polymer clay for the mini dollhouse Halloween decor.

Include depth on your dollhouse miniature Halloween design by developing portions within the pumpkin. Work with a knife and begin near the top of the pumpkin and rotate the knife straight down the side of your pumpkin and continue around the pumpkin. Repeat this many times to make segments in the pumpkin and crunch again. Use the green tube as the stalk and push the stalk into the pumpkin using the knife. You can decorate this pumpkin the same way you would a real pumpkin using paint. This one of a kind mini dollhouse Halloween design is fun for the whole family to make.

As an alternative to having to pay high-priced craft store charges to use with polymer clay, begin using these tips to locate low-cost and vital tools right in your own home.

There’s a device for each job, but one of the primary aspects of polymer clay is you can use nearly anything as a tool. There’s no reason to spend high-priced craft store prices to make professional-looking merchandise with polymer clay. Have a look around your own home and find out what you could put together. Will it slice? Are you able to press it into your clay to create a pattern? You’ll be amazed at what you’ll come across when you begin looking. The tiny toothpick is often an very helpful tool when dealing with tiny clay objects.

When going through your home or going to a garage sale, search for items like carving tools, punch tools, and knitting/crochet needles, dental tools. Something for cutting such as razor blades, cutters and any kind of pliers are much more handy than high-priced ‘official’ clay cutters. Toothpicks are ideal to etch patterns into your clay or to smooth rough sides on hard-to-reach places that are far too little for fingers. Old candles as well as, vases, and planting pots may be embellished and made new with clay. Pretty wine glasses, possibly from your collection that is not complete, make attractive pieces with clay vines and flowers twisted about the stem.

For individuals who like the thought of sculpting but have a problem dealing with traditional clay, polymer clay is a wonderful alternative. Polymer clay is not really earthen clay. It’s produced from Pvc material and it is only referred to as clay due to the texture-similar to modeling clay.

One thing which helps it be so exciting is the fact that it’s easily available in numerous vibrant colors. Metallic and iridescent colors are created with the addition of mica to the mixture. Children and grown ups equally find the clay simple and easy to work with.

The clay is cured by baking at lower temps, around 230 to 250 degrees. Once cured, it is actually hard and sturdy. Layers of uncured clay can be put onto the cured item and re-baked devoid of harm to the cured piece. It needs to be mentioned that curing the clay at too high of a temp can produce dangerous gases, but curing at the correct temperatures is only going to produce a slight odor. You can also find air dry variations of polymer clay.

Polymer clay was created during the early 1930s as being a toy maker’s reaction to having less plastic material accessible. However the substance failed to fit the aim and the formula was given to someone who used it to create Fimo. About the middle of the 1960s polymer clay shot to popularity amongst artists. Other brands, such as Sculpey and Modello, emerged as a result. Polymer clay is also known as “Sculpey” clay, even though Sculpey is actually a distinct brand name.

The Penguins are ready for the holidays. Are you? I have started making small Christmas Ornaments for friends, neighbors, and anyone who happens to be passing by the house. This is a very easy project to make and takes very little time.

The individual penguins are made up of one black ball approximately 1″ in diameter with a white ball sitting on top that is about 3/4″ in diameter. The eyes are no more than a 1/8 inch ball of white clay with a black dot painted on after baking. As for the hats…make a cone out of any color you want and fit it to the heads. And don’t forget the beak…orange 1/8″ ball worked for me.

I used blue metallic for the base and made it so that both penguins could sit on it comfortably. The tree was made with a 1/2 ball of green clay shaped into a cone and textured to resemble branches..then I rolled the tree in different color small glass beads.

The sign can be a little more advanced for the beginner, but still easy to do. Get some liquid Sculpey. On transfer paper print the greeting you want the penguins hold up. Take your liquid Sculpey and put an even coat on the transfer, place it up side down on a tile and bake. Once cooled remove the paper backing and place the greeting on a very thing sheet of clay…color of your choosing. Use a small amount of liquid Sculpey to the transfer to have it adhere to the little sign. Sometimes this will take some practice and you might have to do it a couple of times if you have never done it. Be patient as Liquid Sculpey is going to become your next best friend.

Finding interesting polymer projects to post on here is not a problem.  The problem is after I try them which ones do I post?

Carol Duvall who is the “queen of crafts” as far as I am concerned always had wonderful ideas and instructions for most crafts, but she is no longer on TV.  So I have to rely on other sources and my own imagination.

My daughter collects watches.  So I am in the process of making her one for her birthday, which is coming up.  Happy Birthday Jenn!

Project courtesy of Lynne Manning of Milton, Mass.

Materials and Tools:
blue, white, pink and black polymer clay
watch with watch attachments
15″ elastic
20 large-hole 6mm beads, silver colored
super glue
pasta machine
acrylic roller
thin slicing tool
cardboard
clay-dedicated oven

Steps:

1. Condition your polymer clay by running it through the pasta machine about 20 times.

2. To make the face cane: Draw a face design in a 2- to 3-inch circle. Start making the eyes of the cane by rolling a black snake 2 inches long. Run some white clay through your pasta machine at the #1 setting. Wrap this around the black snake, making sure the ends meet. Smooth the seam. Do another wrap with the white clay. Make sure to smooth the ends again.

3. Run some black clay through the pasta machine at the #5 setting. Wrap this around the white clay, making sure the ends meet. The end of the cane will sort of look like a bullseye. Flatten this piece slightly lengthwise so that the ends look oblong.

If you are new to Polymer clay you are sure to hear both of these terms used. Both terms refer to a type of clay loaves. Clay loaves are created by layering tiny sheets or ropes of colored clay. The technique itself is an old one that was originally used with glass and ceramic clays to obtain some really beautiful patterns on objects. The same technique is used to make colorful candy during the Christmas season, or to make layered candles.

The trick to the whole process is to start very large and then stretch and reduce the diameter of the cane or loaf so that the image appears smaller. It is also important to have a very sharp blade to use for slicking, so that the design is not distorted by the drag of the blade itself. I used a wallpaper replacement blade from the hardware store and it worked great.

The millefiori canes will last up to six months and can be used on a variety of projects. You can also purchase canes from several clay manufacturers.

Here is an example of one of the easier canes to make:

Checkerboard

It takes a little practice to make so I would suggest not using your favorite colors the first time around. Stick with black and white for now.

First roll two ropes of contrasting colors. Be sure the diameter of the ropes are as close to size as possible. Flatten the top slightly by rolling with a brayer or rolling pin. Then cut the ropes into equal sizes.

In my previous article I gave you formulas for making different skin color tones. Hopefully some of you found it helpful.

Most skin color tones base color is beige with a touch of raw sienna or ecru. Has anyone found ecru in a polymer clay? I haven’t…so what is ecru and is there a color that you can use as a substitute? What is the difference between beige, ecru, cream, off-white, and eggshell?

It depends on who you ask I have found out! Apparently the color ecru is determined by the amount of
of yellowy brown in each of them as it changes from white. We know it is in the beige family, but not really what we think of as beige.

A very light beige as one answer put it. So isn’t that cream? No it is between white and cream???????????

Still another opinion: Sort of like cream, but lighter and more yellow-ish. I think. It is also similar to the color called Champagne.

Aha! Now I am getting somewhere. I did see Champagne polymer clay somewhere and it was very light beige.

So I did my own color mix of 2 parts beige and one part white and came up with a color that I think is ecru.

The important point here is that if you can’t find the color you are looking for in a polymer clay, don’t be afraid to experiment with different blends until you achieve the color you are looking for.