Fimo Clay

[More Minis Dollhouses]

Ive been looking at a Fimo clay set for the longest time but I just cant seem to make up my mind on whether to give it a try or not. Ive never worked with clay before.

Flowers are so expensive though and it would be great if I can make my own so I can fill up window boxes. Im scared I wont know how to do it though and just end up making a big mess. The kit and tool set are little pricey together so I dont want to end up not being able to use it.

Is it hard to make things out of this clay or relatively easy?

[Shy Spirit]

I just LOVE polymer clay! I would say it's very easy and fun to use - but I also know people who don't like it, so.... I would suggest that you buy one small package to try it out. Don't worry about special tools at first. Toothpicks, pins, paintbrush handles, exacto blades, whatever you can scrounge up will work.

Look in your library for books on making things with polymer clay. I started out by reading a lot first, and then trying it. Angie Scarr and Sue Heaser are just two of the many wonderful artists who have made polymer clay a real art form. They have websites with tutorials, and books full of inspiration and projects, too.

It's a little like using modeling clay, or Plasticine. You can mix colours together - even mix Fimo and Sculpey with no ill effects. If you don't like the way a project is turning out, just squish it together, and start over!

Make sure your work surface and your hands are clean and free from lint, hairs, etc. The clay will pick up any little bits - baby wipes are great for cleaning up before handling it.

You can bake parts of your project before you've made the whole thing, and then add raw clay and bake the whole lot some more. For instance, if you want to make a doll, you could make the head first, bake it so that it doesn't get squashed later when you're adding on shoulders, etc. When you join baked clay and raw clay, it helps the two stick together if you use a gluestick, or just a little white (tacky) glue as a "key". The glue isn't a problem when you bake it.

You can paint (use acrylic paints) on the clay after it's baked, and even then, it's okay to put it in the oven if you have to add more clay. If you do paint on baked clay, you should first wash it with rubbing alcohol to remove a greasy residue. (The residue isn't noticeable, but it is there.) If you don't do this, the paint won't "take" properly.

If you break a baked piece, you can glue it together - or mend it with some raw clay - and bake the whole thing again. As long as you don't exceed the manufacturers recommended baking temperature, it doesn't really matter how long you bake it. (Within reason, I suppose!) That is to say, bake the piece for as long as the package says to - but if you bake it for longer, the clay will not suffer. If your oven is set too high, the clay will burn, and release toxic fumes - please be careful! Make sure you work in a properly ventilated area.

Don't use tools and pans for clay if you want to use them later for food - you should have separate tools for each. Clay can be baked on wood, cardboard, tile, glass, foil, etc. If you bake clay on a shiny surface such as foil, the clay will be shiny where it was in contact with the surface. I like to use cardboard a lot for this reason.

I could go on and on about this - I really do love it - but I do think books will tell you everything you need to know. (I've made dolls, animals, flowers, food, even a "mushroom" table out of polymer clay - it's very versatile.)

Hope you try it - and like it!

[Tams]

Jackie - thank you for all the information on polymer! I love working with it, but so far am only successful with foods! Tried a baby once that looked just awful! I have Making Dolls House Miniatures with Polymer Clay by Sue Heaser, which is what gave me my first start in clay. The foods were especially easy for a beginner, in my opinion anyway.

[TinyJudi]

I like the polymer clay flowers. I have a tutorial somewhere on making them. I also have it in my webshots. I haven't tried people or food yet, although I am hoping to start soon. Good luck with your projects and most of all, have fun!

[uppitycats]

Fire Mountain Gems has some very tiny beads of polymer clay already made into flowers. There is a hole running through them, where I'm inserting very fine florist wire, and then wrapping the wire with green florist tape to make stems. This next step I haven't done yet -- putting the florist tape on a wire and then, with a very fine sharp-pointed scissors, cutting out the leaves. The florist wire and tape is very cheap -- about $2 each for a very large amount. I bought some of the polymer clay, but seeing how small the flowers are, I don't think I'm going to try to tackle the clay for that. Maybe I'll use it for larger things, or try out the vegetables, but the flower petals just seemed too delicate for me to begin to be successful.

[More Minis Dollhouses]

Thanks for all of the great information. Ill check out some books before I buy it. The little petals on the flowers are intimidating so Im going to first read up on how to make them. Maybe Ill practice with regular clay before I take the plunge.

[havanaholly]

I found an el cheapo toaster oven I dedicate just to baking polymer clay, and I use a cheap oven thermometer to check the temperature when I preheat the oven.

I buy 1 pound blocks of Super Sculpey III in the "flesh" color to make dolls. I add one part transluscent to four parts of the base color and then tint it to whatever ethnicity I want for my doll. You can also color the clay by mixing acrylic paint from the tube (in SMALL quantities at a time until you get your desired color). Grated chalk pastels can be brushed onto the clay to give delicate gradations in color, too.

I have osteoarthritis in my hands and wrists so I usually warm my different clays together by wrapping them in waxed paper and tucking them in my bra or under my arm or I sit on them, and they're usually soft enough for me to begin working within a half-hour.

I found some metal dental-pick-type tools I found at the flea market, some plastic cake decorating tools I found at Wally World, and I also use an old small steel crochet hook, a couple of sizes of tapestry needle, a glassheaded dressmaker's pin and my Exacto craft knife for sculpting. I started out sculpting dolls using James Carrington's and Sue Heaser's books and oneother of Sue Heaser's books to begin making plumbing fixtures; then I used a book by Angie Scarr for making the veggies in the Coventry Cottage's garden.