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My first attempts with polyclay!


MrsClarkston

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Here is my first attempt at polyclay...I think I did pretty good. I did find some differences in the clay, some I like some I don't, but overall I'm pretty happy with the clay.

At first I tried to do a teddybear, and I came so close, but I don't have the tools to smooth everything out on it. So I asked my husband to pick anything in the world for me to make and he chose a vase, so I made that first, and then I decided to make some roses. It turned out pretty good. Let me know what you guys think! There are lots of pictures in my gallery.

post-2937-1206718803_thumb.jpg

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Ohhh, I love it! You did a great job for your first time with polyclay! They came out beautiful!

The teddy bear is cute too, even if he's not perfect. I can't wait to see what you do with him when you get the right tools.

Christine

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Your roses are beautiful. I love the start on the teddybear. He is really cute.

Here are three tips to keep you going.

Tip #1 The tools I use most are one of those fancy toothpicks with the carving on the ends. You can get them at oriental markets and import stores. Very cheap. I also use a lot is a plain old orange stick that you use for manicures and bamboo barbecue skewers. You don't really need fancy tools. I have regular clay tools and I don't use them nearly as much.

The teacher in the first class I ever took gave me tip # 2. It may be the most helpful, if icky, tip you will get. It sounds gross but if you spit on the toothpick or orange stick you can smooth the clay really well. For some reason regular water doesn't work as well. Again the toxic question rears it's ugly head. I know quite a few other poly clay artists that use this trick. And as I said before, I'm not dead yet and neither are they. :) If you are worried you can always spit on your finger or something and wipe the toothpick in it.

Tip #3. If you want a shine on your finished piece, use Future or one of the other acrylic floor polishes. I never use it on my floors. I have a bottle just for jewelry. Great stuff and it lasts forever if you keep it away from the floor!

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Judith, polymer clay and paper clay are two different animals. Poly never hardens until cured/fired in an oven and paper clay air dries. They also have a bit of a different texture when you are working with them.

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Those flowers are great :). If you want them to look even more realistic get your basic colour (lets say pink) and then divide the clay into 3 balls. Add a little white clay to the two other balls (one more with more white than the other) so you have 3 different shades of pink and then add a little translucent to give them a realistic colouring and then start the centre of your rose with the basic pink, then make petals out of the lighter clay and so on. Put the lighter coloured petals around the centre rose and then the even light shade of petals around those. I will show pics of some that I made once I get some pics. It's pretty simple once you get the hang of it.

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