POLYMER CLAY CRASH COURSE: From Basics to Pro Secrets by CRAFTOSAURUS

GETTING STARTED

3. Anything can become a tool You don’t need fancy tools to get started with polymer clay. In fact, the best tools 1. Prepare your work surface are often found objects or homemade. Polymer clay can stain, stick, or otherPins, knitting needles, drinking straws, wise damage many surfaces. Therefore, it is important to protect your work area. cheese graters, are just some examples of great found object tools. You can also There are many work surface options for polymer clay, including: silicon mat, make and bake your own tools out of the glazed ceramic tile, acrylic sheet, cutting polymer clay itself. Another handy tool is a pasta machine; they are good for mat, wax paper, plastic place mat,etc. creating blends and uniform sheets. 2. Condition the clay 4. Keep thickness consistent Before sculpting the clay, knead it well with your hands to soften it up and bring It is important to keep the thickness of it to the desired consistency (unless proj- your piece relatively consistent in order to ensure even baking. There can be ect specifically calls for unconditioned clay). Desired consistency usually occurs some variation, but try to keep it to a minimum. Try to keep thickness variawhen the clay is pliable, but not mushy or melty. If it ever gets too soft, just place tion within about 1/8” if possible, and it in the refrigerator for a bit to let it firm about 1/4” max. up. If your clay is too firm, add baby oil 5. Min & Max Thicknesses a drop at a time and knead it in. If your If you make your pieces too thin, they clay is much too soft, you can firm it up will brown or crack when baking. If they by leaching out some of the plasticizer. are too thick, they won’t harden all the To do this, place your clay between 2 sheets of blank paper, and set a heavy ob- way through. About 1/2” is the maximum thickness you should have in any ject on top. The plasticizer will leach up area. Anything thinner than 1/8” is in the through the paper, so be sure to protect danger zone. Thin pieces can be done, the surfaces on either side of the paper. Check every 5-10 minutes to see if it has but it is best to keep them small and set them gently with a heat gun, rather than reached the correct consistency. in the oven. Afterwards, they can be adhered to a larger piece. CRAFTOSAURUS

Isabel Krueger 2014

POLYMER CLAY CRASH COURSE 1

SPECIAL TECHNIQUES 1. Inclusions Inclusions are any products that are added and mixed into the polymer clay to add color, dimension, and or interest. Examples are acrylic paint, mica powders, metallic leafing, small pre-baked pieces of polymer clay, and even makeup powders. Inclusions are often used in combination with liquid or translucent polymer clay to create the illusion of semi-precious stone. 2. Canes Canes are made by piecing together tubes of shaped polymer clay to make a design or image when cut into slices, just like sushi, but not edible. Other than piecing the cane together, another often difficult step is slicing the cane, as it is easy to squish or distort it. For best slicing results: 1. Make sure cane is nice and firm. Refrigerate for a few minutes, if necessary to firm it up. 2. Set the cane on top of another block of polymer clay, and slice all the way down through to the block for a clean cut. If your cane is rounded, you may want to shape the block to fit the curve for added support. CRAFTOSAURUS

3. Larger pieces You don’t want to make any one area thicker than 1/2”, but you want to make a larger piece. How do you do it? You need to fill the inside of your clay piece with some kind of armature. As an added bonus, this will save you from wasting clay too. Aluminum foil and/or wire are your best options for an armature. Aluminum foil can be balled up by itself or around a wire frame, and then coated with a layer of clay. Balled up foil can also be used to prop up and support delicate pieces when baking. 4. Bake complex/layered items in stages Baked clay can be put back in the oven again in order to cure added raw clay. If the piece you are working on has many small intricate parts, baking the parts separately can help guard against major mistakes. TIP: Use cornstarch as a releasing agent. Sprinkle on molds or texture sheets to keep clay from sticking to them.

Isabel Krueger 2014

POLYMER CLAY CRASH COURSE 2

TIME TO BAKE

1. Check your temperature TIP: Store polymer clay in airUse an oven thermometer to be sure tight plastic bags in a cool, dry your oven is at the correct temperaarea, to maximize shelf life. ture. If the temperature is too high, the clay will become brown and brittle; too low, and it will not cure 3. Don’t get a flat bottom properly, thus becoming prone to To prevent flat spots on rounded crumbling or breakage. pieces, don’t let them rest directly on the baking pan. My best suggestions 2. Remove fingerprints for achieving this are to either make This is the one time you can break a bed of cornstarch for the item to the solvent rule. To remove fingerrest on, or suspend items like beads print, brush the surface of the clay with rubbing alcohol, and they will on a wire. melt away. Try to avoid intentionally textured surfaces of the clay, because 4. Don’t brown your clay As mentioned previously, overly this will remove some/all of your high oven temperatures are going to texturing too. brown your clay. However, on finer pieces and when using translucent IMPORTANT! clay, browning is sometimes hard Never use any items or to avoid, even with the correct oven tools used on the polytemperature. In cases like this, bury mer clay for food prepathe item in a hill of cornstarch to ration. That also means, protect it from browning. never make/use polymer clay items to serve food. That is, unless you enjoy eating PVC.

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TIP: Hand sanitizer is great for removing polymer clay residue from both your clay tools and hands. Isabel Krueger 2014

POLYMER CLAY CRASH COURSE 3

FINISHING

1. Liquid Polymer Clay Applying a coat of liquid clay can give your item the look of wetness or depth. Inclusions can also be added to liquid clay to add another point of interest. Once applied, liquid clay will need to be set with heat, either in the oven or with a heat gun.

3. Add color and details Paint in any desired details using acrylic paints.

4. High shine polish If you want a nice strong shine on your piece, apply a coat of Future Floor Finish. It’s an acrylic floor polish that can usually be found in the cleaning aisle of the grocery store. If 2. Smoothing you want your piece to be so shiny Use ultra-fine grit (ex: 400 or 600) wet/dry sandpaper to smooth baked that it looks wet, first apply and cure a coat of liquid polymer clay, and clay. Once sanded, you may buff with a cloth for a soft shine. Sanding then apply the Future Floor Finish. and buffing may be done either by hand or with a Dremel tool.

WARNING: Never use Sharpies, nail polish, or other solvents on polymer clay, as they will degrade the clay. Only use water-based products in combination with polymer clay.

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Isabel Krueger 2014

POLYMER CLAY CRASH COURSE 4

ADHESIVES When adhering polymer clay to... 1. Wood or paper Use a white PVA glue such as SOBO or Aleene’s Tacky Glue 2. Metal Use Titebond Cyanoacrylate 3. Polymer clay or plastic Use Liquid Polymer Clay (must be heat cured) or E-6000

SOURCES Allman, Ginger Davis. “10 Simple Polymer Clay Tips (that surely you knew- but maybe not?),” The Blue Bottle Tree Website, June 17, 2013, http://thebluebottletree.com/10-simple-polymerclay-tips/ (accessed May 23, 2014). Anonymous. “Polymer Clay for Beginners,” Polymer Clay Superstore Website, http://www.polymerclaysuperstore.com/Polymer-Clay-for-Beginners_c_20.html (accessed May 23, 2014). DiRago, Alicia. “5 Tips For Polymer Clay Beginners,” WHIMSEYBOX blog Website, February 9, 2012, http://blog.whimseybox.com/polymer-clay-tips (accessed May 23, 2014). Helm, Sarajane. “Polymer Clay FAQ,” Sarajane’s Polyclay Gallery Website, 2014, http://www.polyclay.com/polymer-clay/polymer-clay-faq/ (accessed May 23, 2014). Mishly, Iris. “Polymer Clay- How and Where to Start,” PolyPediaOnline Website, 2005-2014, http://www.polypediaonline.com/133688/Polymer-Clay-How-to-Start (accessed May 23, 2014). Newberg, Meg. “How to cut perfect polymer clay cane slices,” Polymer Clay Workshop Website, August 2, 2013, http://polymerclayworkshop.com/ (accessed May 23, 2014).

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Isabel Krueger 2014

POLYMER CLAY CRASH COURSE 5