![]() (Though in my opinion, life is too short…I just toss clay that’s this much work.) 5. It will diffuse through a bit, allowing the clay to soften enough to be able to be mixed. ![]() If your clay is too hard to mix, you can chop it up and then let it sit a few days with the softener. Again, don’t add too much or your clay will be too soft. Conversely, you can soften clay that is too hard and crumbly by mixing in a small amount of baby oil, liquid polymer clay, or you can use a product by Sculpey called clay softener (previously called diluent). You don’t want to do too much, though, or the clay will be too crumbly. This will cause the clay to be more firm. The longer you leach it, the more of the clay’s plasticizer will leach into the paper and out of the clay. Keep checking until the clay’s the consistency that you want. To leach clay, you just sandwich sheets of it between plain paper and then put a book on it for a few hours. If your polymer clay is too soft and mushy you can firm it up by a process called leaching. You can change the texture of polymer clay. ![]() Also, artists oil paints do work on polymer clay but thin coats are best as it takes a long time to dry.)Ĥ. (Note: Some brands of nail polish seem to work, most don’t. Read here for more information about polymer clay sealers, including which ones to use and which to avoid. These are both polymer clay safe protective coatings. ![]() If you need a spray sealer to coat polymer clay, then you should use PYM II, or Helmar Crystal Kote. And also paints that are solvent based and require mineral spirits to clean your brushes may never fully dry on polymer clay. The same holds true for most varnishes and paints in spray cans can either degrade the clay or remain sticky. Under any circumstances! The solvent in nail polish will begin to soften and dissolve your polymer clay, even baked clay, making it sticky and gooey over time. It seems like such a simple solution to use nail polish to accent your polymer clay creations. Nail polish, spray paint, and solvents will cause sticky polymer clay.įor some reason, this polymer clay tip isn’t well known. And finally you can bury your beads in a bed of cornstarch when baking to prevent the clay from browning or scorching. A bit of cornstarch on your finger is great for smoothing the fingerprints off of your clay creations. Cornstarch makes a great mold release for molds and texture sheets. (And rubbing alcohol is pretty great to have in the studio, too!) Follow up with a soap and water wash and you’re good as new. Alcohol dissolves polymer clay, so it works well to rub some alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel into your hands, and then wipe them clean with a paper towel. Hand Sanitizer cleans clay residue off your hands.Īfter working with polymer clay, there is usually a residue on your hands which soap and water will not remove. Knew that.” So, with that in mind, here you go! 1. It’s never good to be that guy who’s standing there saying, “Whoa, I can’t believe nobody ever told me that!” It’s always better to be the guy standing there nodding his head saying, “Yup. And remember, there is no rule that says you have to stick to two colors, so go ahead and experiment.Ĭlick here to see part one in the series - the Checkerboard Cane.Ĭlick here to see part three in the series - the African Fabric Geometric Cane Tutorial.You’ve most likely heard most of these simple polymer clay tips and tricks before. You can vary the appearance of your cane by adjusting the initial thickness of your sheets to create thicker or thinner stripes, or by changing the colors. You should now have a polymer clay cane with black and white stripes. Reduce the cane if you want to to make the stripes thinner. Once you’re happy with the number of stripes, gently roll along each of the stack's sides with an acrylic roller. You should now have eight stripes in your stack. Stack one sheet on top of the other and roll through the thickest setting on your pasta machine.Ĭut the sheet in half and stack again. Start with a sheet of black polymer clay and a sheet of white polymer clay, both rolled out on the thickest setting on your pasta machine. Steps To Making A Polymer Clay Striped Cane
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