Just a few signs that you probably think too much about polymer clay:
You snap your glasses and try to mend the bridge with a snake of metallic gold polymer clay before it occurs to you to get them mended at, y’know, the opticians.
You catch sight of your latest blue-to-purple Skinner blend and your immediate thought is, “That is so sexy…”
You condition polymer clay in one hand while you’re reading/watching TV/eating/in the bath (okay, I’ve never done that last one).
You pick up a magazine you haven’t read for 3 months, and find an actual skinner blend tucked between the pages (sidenote: you wouldn’t believe how much plasticizer had leeched off into the paper!)
Happy New Year everyone!
And now:
Practical Polymer Clay Tips
And here are some of mine, that come purely from my experiences with polymer clay. Many polymer clay artists have incredibly insightful tips scattered all over the internet; I do not. I just have these *G*
- If you like to use sparkly, shimmery dust of any kind (mica, flakes etc.) designate one whole day “Sparkly Day” and do nothing else that day. No matter how hard you clean, how strenuously you scrub, the sparkles WILL get everywhere – your clay, your hands, your significant other’s work clothes. Best to accept this, and embrace it to the fullest.
- My favourite working surface is a cermaic tile (floor, bathroom or kitchen), as they’re generally smooth, grip the clay well without grabbing it too much, and can be popped straight in the oven, which helps keep flat components from being distorted by transferring them. DIY shops may have offcuts, or wait until you’re getting your bathroom re-tiled, and ask for leftovers from the nice builders *G*
- Always have hand-wipes nearby; some colours bleed very easily, to the point that their colour can be transferred to the next one you use. A quick wipe of your hands solves any problems beforehand.
- Don’t burn it, don’t eat it, and don’t mix it with anything that will be toxic if baked. Other than that, experiment! Mix in herbs, pencil shavings, fragments of sweetie papers, bits of grated, cured scrap beads. Dip it in vegan gravy, stain it with tea, roll it in sea salt. You might get a few fugly test beads, but you’ll never again have to wonder if baking beads suspended on dry spaghetti is a good idea (I ran out of cocktail sticks).
Check out the post that gave birth to some of these tips here: http://allthosethingsandtheotherstoo.blogspot.com/2009/06/polymer-clay-addiction.html
More tips will be forthcoming (when I erm…discover them *G*)
