Polymer Clay Tips by Tyra Smith1. Working and Rolling Out the Clay: Polymer clays need to be worked to soften them prior to rolling them out on a surface. Some brands of clay (such as Fimo) are stiffer and tend to take more work to soften them up. Roll and squish the clay around in your hands a bit. If the clay is very stiff, warm it up by putting it in a warm place (such as your arm pit, under your leg, etc) on your body.
Generally body heat is enough to soften the clay so you can work with it. Once it is softened, you need to roll it out on a flat surface. If you are manually rolling out the clay, roll it out on a piece of wax paper as it will make it easier to remove it from the surface without distorting your clay piece. If necessary, brush a little baby powder on the rolling pin if the clay sticks to it. One thing to note here is that if you clay becomes overly sticky, it is too warm. Set it aside and let it cool down a bit. The best thing to roll out the clay with is an acrylic brayer. However I have used wooden and plastic rolling pins with equal success. Roll out the clay to an approximate thickness of about 1/4 inch and you are now ready to begin. If you have a pasta machine (also called a clay extruder), you will not have to roll out the clay manually, but do set it on a piece of wax paper prior to working further with the clay.
2. Cutting the Clay: Once your clay is rolled out and sitting on a piece of wax paper, you can easily cut it with an exacto knife. Be sure to hold the knife perpendicular to the work surface (straight up and down) so that the sides are even. Do not let the knife tilt to either the left or right as that will cause the sides to not be even top to bottom. When you first begin to cut a shape in the clay, do not cut all the way through the clay, only cut about half way through the clay. Once you complete the shape, then go back and cut along the line you first made, cutting through the entire thickness of the clay. Basically, when cutting you need to make two passes with the exacto knife. This will allow for a clean cut edge and less warping of the clay shape as you cut it.
3. Baking the Clay: Generally, you bake the clay at 275 degrees (F) for 15 minutes for each 1/4 inch of thickness. If the clay is 1/4 inch thick, you bake 15 minutes, if it is 1/2 inch thick, you back 30 minutes, etc. When in doubt, always be sure to read the baking instructions on the package of clay. It is important to NOT over bake your clay pieces. You can use a cookie sheet to put your clay pieces on to bake them. Ceramic tiles work VERY nicely for baking clay, and are very cheap to buy at about any home improvement type store.
4. Adding Color to the Clay: You can paint baked clay with about any type of paint. Naturally, some types of paints will work better than others. My preference is the Jacquard Lumiere and Neopaque acrylic paints. If in doubt, bake a small piece of the clay, then try painting on it with your paints. Gold leaf is also quite stunning when applied to the top of a baked clay piece. Color can also be added prior to baking your clay. Powdered pigments (such as Pearl Ex, Powdered Pearls and Faerie Dust) are quite stunning when brushed on top of unbaked clay. Simple dust the unbaked clay with a soft brush that has the powdered pigment on it. After you bake it, you will need to spray it with a sealant. An alternative sealing method is to brush the unbaked clay with the powdered pigment and then add some clear embossing powder (such as Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel, Liquid Glass, Amazing Glaze, etc) on the top of the clay piece and bake it. The heat of the oven during baking will melt the embossing powder and seal the powdered pigment. If some of the clear embossing powder melts over the edge of the clay piece during baking, let it cool thoroughly first then you can cut off the excess with an exacto knife very easily.
5. Release Agents: When stamping into polymer clay with a stamp, a release agent is needed to the stamp will come cleanly off the clay surface. Dry release agents would be, but not limited to: baby powder, talcum powder, baking soda, etc. A wet release agent would be embossing ink of any type, normally clear embossing ink.
6. Using Stamps with Polymer Clay: Rubber stamps are very effective tools when working with polymer clays. Be sure to use a release agent on the stamp prior to stamping it into the unbaked polymer clay. This allows you to remove the stamp easily and gives you a crisp stamped impression. One thing to keep in mind is that a stamp will create a negative impression when stamped into the clay. If you wish to have the positive impression, you need to make a reverse mold with the clay first. Roll out your clay, then stamp into it with your stamp. Trim away excess polymer clay and bake. Now you use the reverse mold as your stamp. The reverse mold technique is used most often with stained glass window pieces, as well as making a reverse stamp mold to use with Sealing Wax. Be sure to clean your stamps well after using them with polymer clays so that no clay is left on the stamp. Generally, water and a toothbrush works well to clean the stamp effectively.
7. Health and Safety Issues: Due to the nature of polymer clays, fumes are released during the baking process. It is recommended you do not use your kitchen oven for baking, especially if you plan to create several polymer clay pieces. Rather, it is recommended to use a separate oven, such as a toaster oven, when baking polymer clays, and to also bake the clays in a well ventilated area. Used toaster ovens can be easily, and cheaply, found at garage sales, Good Wills and Salvation Army type stores. It is also most helpful to have an oven thermometer to check the temperature of the oven in use. Any utensils used when working with polymer clays (such as knives, forks, cookie sheets, pasta machines, rolling pins, etc...) should not ever be used for food preparation, even if you thoroughly clean them. Be sure to wash your hands and clean your work surfaces well after working with polymer clays.
Tyra Smith Polymer Clay Tips® by Tyra Smith.
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