Does anyone wo any crafts with polymer clay?

[debm55]

[woodsprite]

1. I do! Mainly jewelry, but I've done a couple of

Mermaids for friends. I enjoy doing faux stones and faux sea glass, couple them with beads and wire wrapping. For Christmas, hubby got me a whole set of the Cernit Pearl colors. It just takes the teeniest amount mixed in with Fimo translucent to make a pretty realistic faux sea glass.

[debm55]

2. I do the faux stones. I have been following clayboutique on Youtube. She's the best for faux stones.

Lately, I have been silkscreening my clay. I want to try the watercolor technique and marbling. I also following Jessica, I have tried wire before and just can't do it. Earrings seem to be the big thing now. Do you gift or sell your jewelry?

[woodsprite]

3. Mainly gift or for myself. I'd like to build up enough stock

To have a table at a craft show, but I don’t have enough yet. I don’t have a ton of confidence in the quality of my findings (always afraid they’ll turn someone’s ears green 🤣 and what price I should set for them. I have put them in a few shows before the pandemic hit, but they didn’t allow selling there.

Adding: I love Jessica and Yvonne Williams!

[woodsprite]

4. Oh, and I love doing the faux dichroic glass.

I found some awesome responsive pigment flakes. They’re a bit pricey, but I buy the small size and they go really far. They’re Lumiere Lusters from Jet Age Studios (https://www.jetagestudio.com/lumiere-lusters). They show best on dark clay and hold up well to baking and resin finish coats. I tried using a liquid polymer finish coat and got some nice muted tones.

[BigmanPigman]

5. My friend gave me over 20 assorted colors

of this clay and most of it is still unopened 25 years later since it is so crappy to work with. For some reason ot always is too dry, crumbles and takes forever to soften. It is so bad that my hands got cramps. I finally made a pipe that is really cool but then a friend said I can't use it since it would poison me since I never cooked the final piece in an oven.

[Ysabel]

8. paper clay is much easier to work with...

In the discussion thread: Does anyone wo any crafts with polymer clay? [View all]
Response to debm55 (Original post)Wed Jun 28, 2023, 05:42 AM
Star Member Ysabel (1,731 posts)

6. paper clay is much easier to work with...

the name brand is the easiest by far to work with there are however plenty of very easy recipes on how to make it as well...in addition most things will not work very well if they sit too long (including polymers and paints *see below* and / or umm er people)...

i absolutely love working with paper clay it is very (very easy - no kneading necessary) the name brand is however a bit expensive (approx. 2 - 3 times as much as polymers)...

p.s. it's actually (imo) quite soothing on the hands which i really need because i'm experiencing more and more problems as i get older (i'll be "officially" a senior citizen in abt. six months)...

oh and also - it dries hard (like a rock) with a dull finish and can be painted glossy or whatever (if you try it remember that some types of *paints* and other coatings might damage it but most will not) i can see why some pieces of papier mache' furniture last so long (this is basically the same thing but without all the gloppy-ness) when dry it is quite strong and hearty and does not crumble away like the polymer clays...

- sorry editing / paginating etc. problems (what the hell is it doing now for freaking sakes ?? i really don't like this stupid "new" on sale old piece of crap (of course on sale lemon - ha ha you sucker old woman fooled again by fly by night mother fuckers most likely a stinking fucking repuke nazi damn it) cheap grrr this particular chromebook)...

[BigmanPigman]

9. I developed thumb problems

Since Jan when I tried recycling candles (to heat my home and save money on heating, ended up costing more in doctor bills, grrrrr......) and screwed up my thump with repetitive movements so now I would never be able to do much with my hands these days. I may need surgery if the steroid shots don't work. Damn, I like my thumbs and I NEED them to do everything. Kneading clay is not in my current future, however.....

When I was in art school in NYC one of my freshman assignments was to use textures in a 3D design class. I made a mask out of paper mache and about 5 years later I moved to San Diego and the termites in the apt ate up my mask. It was full of tiny holes. I wonder if other things made out of "paper clay" find the same outcome. Do the paper clay sculptures get eaten up by termites in other locations?

[Ysabel]

10. hmm yeah good question...

Last edited Wed Jun 28, 2023, 10:27 PM - Edit history (20)

my thumbs got messed up recently too (from rubber screw on drink covers getting stuck) but also both my wrists have been broken and i've had an aneurysm in my right hand for many years which acts up if i put too much pressure on it...

anyway i do know that if a finish is applied to the hardened paper clay it will then have some protection - i don't know though enough abt what finishes are best (and i have so many allergies which also makes me leery and so little money to be able to experiment a whole lot - so mostly all can do is study as much as possible and or / talk with others about it)...

- i hope your thumb troubles are solved soon!



p.s. speaking of getting old i forgot the other recent wrist thing (i've developed some large odd knotty thing on the left one)...

p.p.s. we were also thinking abt getting some candles for the same reason and / or making candles large for heating and smaller size for seeing in case the power goes out (and also our brand new flashlight just went completely out the second time using it)...

- back to paper clay for a sec. no kneading is necessary (it's pre-kneaded) also paint in some cases depending on the type of paint will also act as a barrier another thing is setting any item in sunlight will cause fading / breakdown of any protecting finish...

one final note on why i love paper clay -- bas relief designs (and the opposite -- i forget the name of that but indention into) can be achieved with only the slightest of touch before or after air drying (complete air drying is 24 hrs. partial air drying can happen very quickly so one must add just the slightest of drops of water to keep it malleable while working -- as well new parts can easily be added to the completely dry parts if desired)...

more more of course there is more:

enamel paint will work on paper clay and also for pipes!

- also you can burn enamel paint in a microwave glass kiln which is way cheaper than a regular kiln (abt. $75) but be very careful with microwave ovens and paint i started a fire trying to do tie dye many years ago mistakenly using metallic paints in just a microwave -- however these small kilns are made for heating glass and metals -- inside a microwave -- which is exactly an oven sealed tight inside another oven -- still anyone trying such things must be careful especially with kids / pets / underfoot / housemates who may be accident prone etc....

but i don't know how to make the tube of the pipe stay clear while firing (maybe you will figure it out) but there is a way because people who make beads this way make holes in them which stay open (some above in this thread mention that) one needs to insert something in the hole to keep it open i remember something oh yes i think one must use something which will burn off in the process so...wait hmmm i'm not so certain abt this i am forgetting something hmmm maybe a metal clay which burns off well anyway seems that i need to refresh my memory but i do absolutely know paper clay and pipes can both be coated with enamel but paper will burn off in a microwave kiln too so i'm wondering how this can be avoided and i'm starting to get burnt out thinking about it also -- haha -- i need lunch i'm thinking...

- and never ever eating from the same microwave oven which has been used for experimentation of course!!!

oh yeah toothpicks! yes some bead makers use (wooden) toothpicks for beads which burn up inside the oven (but paper is wood) so a tube for a pipe would have to be done differently -- maybe a thicker harder metal which won't burn at these lower temps ?? which are much lower than a conventional kiln - maybe hmmm i don't know - i have not yet bought one although they are affordable for me - as i'm too busy getting ripped off buying food and other necessities these days...

[BigmanPigman]

11. With the luck I have been having

That looks like a recipe for a disaster in my tiny, 500 sq ft apt.