Hello my dear geek crafter. Here you have some hacks for your day to day.
Today is the day when I save you a lot of time showing you a few polymer clay tips that I learnt by making a lot of mistakes.
This hacks will made your crafting easier, I promise you:
How to get harder your polymer clay.
If your polymer clay is too soft you can put the piece in between two sheets of paper or one sheet folded take a heavy book and place that book right on top leave it there for at least half an hour and you’re going to see some of the oil actually come off the clay now it’s usable.
How to get softer your polymer clay.
Is your clay too hard and crumbly?
Use Vaseline or baby oil to kept the clay soft taking the hard leftover bits and mixing them with a lite of oil or Vaseline until they are malleable.
The amount of oil that you will need depends on how soft you want the clay.
How to avoid that your piece get burnt at the bottom
If your your pieces always get burnt at the bottom or get burnt on top here’s an easy trick: just put a couple of layers of wax paper in the base and put a piece of foil paper loosely on top and that will prevent it from burning on both sides. That way, you can bake it for a little longer so the piece becomes harder. Also works putting the piece on the oven over a adobe recipe that way the heat will spread along the base better.
How to save a little bit of money
Avoid buying small bottles of glaze and use wood varnish that is safe for polymer clay. Don’t forget to make sure that it is water-based.
How to clean the dust particles, fingerprints or color on your hands
Use rubbing alcohol, baby wipes or nail polish to clean the dust of your piece(also works after the clay is baked).
After working with clay there is usually a residue on your hands which soap and water will not remove.
To clean your hands after working with polymer clay: Use oil.
Remember that polymer clay is PVC, which despite the claims of being non-toxic, is toxic and hormone-inhibiting. You can’t simply wash your hands with soap and water after working the polymer clay. Baby wipes don’t cut it, either. You will need oil (baby oil is a petroleum product its ok buy the oil is better) to remove it.
You can make your own wipes using paper towels and a plastic tub: First, get a Tupperware or re-use a baby wipes tub.
Prepare the paper towels and fold them so that they will stack into the tub. In a large bowl, add 1/2 cup olive oil (If you wish, add several drops of essential oil for scent ) and 1 cup or so of distilled water. Stir vigorously until the mixture is well-blended, then pour over the paper towels in the tub, so that they soak up the mixture before the water and oil separates.
How to make a easy mold
Use Cornstarch with silicone to make a quick mold.(I will do a tutorial for this tip).
You can use too Cornstarch for mold release for molds and texture sheets, for smoothing the fingerprints off of your polymer clay creations.
Don’t use nail polish as a glaze
Nail polish will made soften and dissolve your polymer clay. Also do even baked clay. The result will be a sticky and gooey clay. It’s good to clean the dust use it with caution.
How can I avoid bubbles at baking time?
Bubbles expands during baking, creating an unsightly lump in your work or even exploding and ruining your piece.
A effective way of avoid them is while you’re conditioning the clay, in that moment, try inserting your folded over sheets of clay into the pasta machine fold side first. That way air doesn’t get trapped inside.
If you find a bubble break it and then press the air out, sealing the hole shut with your fingers.
When can I paint my polymer clay piece?
I prefer to paint after baking but you can do it before also.
Acrylic paint is a good option to use on polymer clay, either before baking OR after baking your clay. Your choice will depend on the type of project you are working on and what effect you’d like to achieve.
I hope you guys find useful these hacks. You can also visit my post about some basic useful tools to get started with polymer clay
