About Polymer Clay
Polymer clay is a versatile and exciting medium for crafting jewelry. It is an art medium that is known for its versatility, pliability and simplicity to work with and will not dry out at room temperature. It comes in a wide range of colors and can be easily shaped, sculpted, and textured. The most common types of polymer clay are oven-bake clays, which harden permanently when baked in a conventional oven. Other types, like air-dry clay, harden at room temperature.
Once cured it can be painted, sanded, polished and drilled. It is man-made from a plastic, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) base. Polymer Clay has a similar consistency to modeling clay. It remains workable until cured. Curing occurs at temperatures around 270°F for approximately 15 minutes depending on the thickness and brand.
Most polymer clays require conditioning prior to use. A home pasta-making machine is a popular tool for polymer clay. It is used to create sheets of uniform thickness, mix colors or create variegated sheets (skinner blends). It is an easy way to condition (soften) the clay. Conditioning includes kneading the clay by hand and passing it between the rollers of a pasta machine. Once conditioned, the clay will remain pliable while you are creating your project.
Liquid polymer clay can be used as a finish coat, adhesive, grout or transfer medium. It can also be used to revitalize and softens old polymer clay. Liquid clay is also cured in an oven.
Understanding the properties of polymer clay is crucial for successful crafting. The clay's consistency varies depending on the brand and type, ranging from soft and pliable to firm and dense. It's essential to familiarize yourself with the specific characteristics of the clay you choose. This includes its working time, baking temperature, and shrinkage rate. The working time refers to how long the clay remains pliable before it starts to harden. Baking temperature and shrinkage rates also vary by brand and type, so it's important to follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully.
Polymer Clay Brands and Types We Carry
Fimo®
Made by German company Staedtler is the original creator of polymer clay. Staedtler started out as a pencil manufactuer in the 1830’s. Today, Staedtler still makes pencils, pens, colored pencils, markers and other technical drawing instruments along with the Fimo product line of polymer clay.
Fimo Professional Compared to other types of FIMO, FIMO professional oven-hardening modeling clay has a much firmer consistency. It enables you to create crisp details to your pieces.
FIMO Effect is a fantastic creative addition to FIMO soft and FIMO professional. This clay allows you to create special effects. It is available in 36 colors and eight effects (glow, glitter, transparent, stone, metallic, pastel, gemstone, pearl).
Sculpey®
Sculpey III Is great for beginners, due to its soft, easy to use texture. Clay will stay soft until baked in the oven.
Premo! Sculpey is soft enough to blend easily but firm enough to feature fine details. It’s perfect for caning, mokume gane which mimics a wood grain patterns and mica shift which give a 3 dimensional look on a flat piece of clay. When baked it has a matte finish but can this clay can be polished to a high shine.
Sculpey Souffle is a lightweight clay perfect for earrings and large pendants. This clay has a nice suede finish when baked.
Cernit®
Cernit polymer clay can be moulded, sculpted, used with or without tools, textured, printed or mixed with stones, pearls, feathers, mica powders, paints, and more. After baking, the clay is waterproof and it can be baked several times if you wish to add bits to your work.
After baking, the clay can still be worked with. It can be sanded, drilled, painted, polished or varnished. Baked Cernit also keeps some flexibility and does not break easily. This is a huge asset for creating flowers, bracelets with no clasp or other fine jewelry that needs to keep a certain flexibility.
Cernit does not stain hands or tools and is odorless, even during baking.
