We make crafts from polymer clay with our own hands. Creative business: making decorative bone products

Clay modeling is a fascinating and not difficult hobby that even a child can learn. It allows you to create a variety of things: from well-aimed jewelry to impressive sculptures, creating an interesting decoration premises or by giving them as a gift.

Children, doing such an activity, can not only recreate their favorite cartoon characters, please with entertaining crafts, but also develop spatial thinking and the ability to work with their hands.

For children, clay crafts are one of the best hobbies, and for adults, they are an option to relax, calm down and enjoy the work done.

Where to get or how to prepare clay

Polymer clay is a material that, in structure and characteristics, resembles plasticine known to everyone since childhood, but is capable of hardening, making crafts durable. There are several types of clay: those that harden only after baking or firing, and the other - without the use of high temperatures.

You can buy clay at any stationery store or make your own at home. name similar material it cannot be polymeric, since when creating it at home, completely different components will be included in the composition. However, the properties of such a material will be similar to purchased polymer clay.

To obtain such a mixture, you must:

• 250 ml of PVA glue and the same amount of corn starch;
• 2 tbsp. spoons of lemon juice;
• 1 st. a spoonful of petroleum jelly and the same amount of any cream;
• polyethylene film;
• Surface for kneading;
• Bowl and spoon for mixing.

These ingredients are enough to prepare 350 grams of finished material. All components, except for the cream, must be mixed in a prepared container and put in the microwave for half a minute at maximum speed. The cream is needed to lubricate the surface on which the clay will be kneaded.

After the microwave, you need to mix everything again and put it on a surface greased with cream and knead intensively, like a regular dough, for 5 minutes. Subsequently, an elastic plastic material should be formed. Next, you need to give it a shape, to remove residual water, wrap it with a cloth. When the clay has cooled, it is ready to use.

Crafts from polymer clay

If you are new to pottery, don't be fooled by sellers' advice to buy a variety of tools to create masterpieces. Many of them may be unclaimed. At the initial pores, a hard surface, a clerical knife, toothpicks, contours for forming figures, a rolling pin for rolling material, gloves and wet wipes will be enough.

If you pay attention to the photo of clay crafts, you will notice that there are many modeling techniques. Before starting work, you can watch several master classes in order to better get acquainted with the nuances of the upcoming work.

Of the most original ways can be distinguished: the “cane technique”: rolled plates of different shades are laid out on top of each other and rolled up, and then cut into circles. On the cut you can see a colorful unusual pattern.

"Salt technique" involves rolling the product in salt and baking. After that, the salt is washed off the inputs and an interesting surface structure remains.

When using the "kaleidoscope" technique, different clays are rolled up and various shapes are cut out with molds. There is also a transition technique: using pieces different color, form a smooth transition from one shade to another.

Self-hardening clay, after drying, is similar to gypsum, and the one that needs to be baked becomes denser and resembles a plastic product.

Clay crafts for beginners are best made in the form of a flower, bouquets or simple jewelry. paint better acrylic paints, however, in order to save money, it is also possible to purchase gouache, but it should be covered with several layers of varnish to fix it.

What is better to blind in the first place?

The easiest way to make a rose. To do this, you need to say a ball and give it the shape of a drop - this will be the base. Then make a few smaller balls and flatten them with your fingers - these are thin petals that need to be fixed around the base until you get a full-fledged flower.

To make beads or earrings, just take the shape of a square and cut right amount figures - this will help to make each the same size. After the figure, roll into balls, and then make holes for the lace using needles or toothpicks.

Modeling from ordinary natural clay

Clay is formed when broken rocks. Due to the difference in the minerals that make up its composition, it can be of a different shade: yellow, green, white and even blue.

Modeling professionals prefer red and white clay. Therefore, if the production polymer clay, for some reason, does not bring pleasure - you can try to sculpt from the usual one, getting it yourself or buying it in a store.

Before starting work, you should sign up for a few lessons or watch video tutorials on the Internet in order to get acquainted with the features of clay and understand what it should be for use.

Before forming the product, it is necessary to thoroughly vent and beat it off with your hands to eliminate air, otherwise, when baking, the voids will tear the product.

For work, you can use various tools, the most convenient spatula. After completing the work, the finished figure is wiped with a sponge or soft brush. Then leave to dry for 10 days, and then fired.

The finished product is decorated using various techniques: glaze painting, colored clay decoration, acrylic coating and more.

findings

The more you sculpt, the easier this business will be given. Having become familiar with the features and properties of clay, you can create real masterpieces - baskets, caskets, vases, figurines and even sculptures of people. Crafts from polymer and ordinary clay for beginners will become a real decoration of the apartment, created by yourself.

Photo of clay crafts

Accessories have long become an integral part in the life of every girl, everyone would be happy to receive as a gift or create the very jewelry, whether it be a pendant, a ring or a pair of earrings.

Working with polymer clay makes you feel like a designer or creator of a fashion brand, and a variety of color palettes will appeal to even the most fastidious fashionista. To start creating your own jewelry, you just need to pick up plastic!

Despite the fact that this material has gained its popularity in the needlework market relatively recently, there is a wide variety of master classes, video tutorials and photos of polymer clay jewelry on the Internet that will help you find inspiration and interact with plastic.

It is important for a beginner to follow some of the recommendations below for comfortable work with polymer clay. With strict adherence to the instructions, it will not only be possible to create a product that will delight others with its beauty and uniqueness, but will also allow you to relieve stress, avoiding unpleasant moments and long cleaning after completion of work.

Before starting work, wash your hands or put on latex gloves (you can buy them at a pharmacy or hardware store). Despite the ease of use of plastic, it will easily collect all the dust particles that have settled on the hands, which can subsequently affect the purity of colors, especially light ones.

Before you start sculpting, the clay must be thoroughly kneaded in your hands, so the material will become softer and more pliable, and this will save energy in subsequent work.

Basic principles of working with plastic

Below is a universal master class on polymer clay jewelry, which you can use as a decorative element or as a full-fledged product.

One of the main methods of working with polymer clay is the manufacture of caines (sausages with the same pattern on the cut). Their advantage is in versatility, since canes can be made as simple options decorations for beginners, as well as more complex and sophisticated, suitable for people with experience with polymer clay.

An indisputable advantage is the ease of making "sausages" from clay. Even if during modeling something does not work out, then in the end you will still get a unique drawing created by your own hands.

To create you will need:

• Plastic
• rolling pin

To create a beautiful caine, you should use a gradient (color transition). For a simple gradient, 2 colors are used (in a ratio of 50 to 50).

First you need to roll two colors together with a rolling pin, then fold the resulting cake in half and roll it out again, not forgetting to slightly shift the colors and trim the edges. Do not roll out the layer too thinly, an average layer thickness will be enough.

Choose a color that is the most contrasting (bright, opposite) to the selected one and roll it out in a thin layer, put it under the first two-color layer, not forgetting to align the edges.

Cut the resulting product so that you get several identical pieces of about 4 cm each. Put the resulting pieces of clay on top of each other (as in climbing).

You should get about 6 layers, but their number may vary depending on the desire of the master (the detailing of the drawing depends on the number of layers). Having processed the edges in places where the layers are shifted (flatten and cut, not forgetting to press the surface with your fingers to deprive (remove) excess air).

It remains to shrink the caine to the required size and shape. They are compressed by gradual pressure from the center to the edges, which leads to stretching in length.

After all the manipulations, a wonderful petal-shaped pattern is obtained, from which you can fold a flower (by repeating the above steps with each new petal) or create an independent pendant (if you wish, you can roll it into a tube to get round shape cut).

Having finished working on the creation of jewelry, the question arises of how to make a finished polymer clay jewelry using caine. To complete the pendant you will need:

• Accessories, including a chain, clasp, ring and pin.
• Cane (Kane) and some inspiration.
• Cut off a piece from the sausage, previously compressed to required sizes, the width of the layer should allow the pin to be placed in the plastic.
• If desired, process (smooth) the edge with your fingers (if available, you can do this with tools).
• Insert the pin into the product.
• Bake with it (at 200 degrees) and paste. The adhesion of the polymer to the metal is very poor and if the pin is not glued, it may fall out later.
• Connect all fittings and varnish.

Here is such a simple master class on creating a pendant, just by practicing it will be possible to create more complex beautiful options decorations using sausages for every taste and color.

Photo of polymer clay jewelry

Production of polymer clay jewelry handmade- This promising direction which compares favorably with the absence of large amounts of initial capital. All that is needed is perseverance and imagination, as well as a sincere desire to find your target audience and competently offer them products.

Handmade jewelry is very relevant in recent times, so the business of manufacturing polymer clay jewelry is quite promising and profitable.

Polymer clay (plastic) is a material similar in its properties to plasticine, but when exposed to air or high temperatures, it hardens, becoming durable.

Several varieties of polymer clay are known, which are distinguished by plasticity and other effects. The market has a wide color palette.

Products can be further processed with other means and materials (lacquer, paints, and so on).

Despite the fact that working with this material requires perseverance and painstaking work, it does not force you to invest a lot of money at the very beginning, and the sales market is extremely large (offline and online options), so the polymer clay jewelry business can be called very promising.

Sales channels are as follows:

• Online shopping
• Markets
• Trade fairs
• Groups in social networks
• Implementation in offline stores

Most often, jewelry and small souvenirs are created from polymer clay.

The target audience are traditionally women. There are no age restrictions, as decorations can be made in various techniques therefore, representatives of different social words and age groups may be interested in the offer.

The manufacturing steps are simple: idea - realization of the idea - sale. The manufacture of jewelry in terms of technology is not difficult, as it does not require any special conditions.

The manufacturing technology is quite simple:

1. Sculpting - shaping clay
2. Firing/drying
3. Assembly

Pricing can be determined by the following formula: the amount spent on materials multiplied by 2.

Necessary equipment and materials to start a business

Equipment

materials

As already noted, starting a business in the production of polymer clay jewelry does not require any special equipment, that is, capital investments at the initial stage are minimal.

This is available material widely available for sale. With a certain skill, imagination and ingenuity, you can create interesting decorations, as a result, the prospect of selling at a cost exceeding the purchase price by 10 times is quite real.

The average cost of a plastic bar of the same color weighing 30 grams is 80 rubles in the purchase. For example, even if you limit yourself to using only 3 colors, you spend about 240 rubles on a purchase. You can make enough elements for 5-6 decorations from them.

The sale of products at the minimum cost - 700 rubles - shows us a profit of 3260 rubles.

The initial cost of purchasing materials and tools has already paid off.

Starting a Business: Capital Investment

Thus, starting a business based on the production of polymer clay jewelry does not require large investments.

Favorable from the buyer's point of view, the supplier's website is an international store with free shipping worldwide - http://www.aliexpress.com.

Here is an approximate distribution of capital investments:

Main material It's polymer clay. You can purchase a ready-made kit, which costs about $28 and includes a fairly wide range of polymer clay colors, plus a minimum of tools and accessories.

Auxiliary equipment

To auxiliary equipment include those tools and materials that were listed in the table. Recall that they are not mandatory, it is more profitable to buy them in sets, since the average price is still decreasing:

For example, a set of knives for working with polymer clay:

• Generally, additional materials, which we DO NOT include in the basis, the set:
• Work surface - it is also a substrate for work
• Rolling pin for rolling polymer clay:
• Pasta machine (rarely used)
• extruder
• Cutters different forms:
• Stacks for creating and decorating miniature parts
• Molds

Thus, the initial necessary costs amount to a maximum of about 2000 rubles!

With such starting capital It is already possible to start the production of polymer clay jewelry.

Earning prospects

The prospects for good earnings are great. If we take the finished product as the unit of account 1, and if we take a fairly serious workload, then the following graph may come out:

The optimal type of activity at the initial stage is when the master works for himself, this is what is attractive this species business.

Recently, handmade products are in great demand. Sculpting from polymer clay and cold porcelain is very popular, such crafts with the help of master classes and even without tools can be obtained by any novice needlewoman. In order for the finished product to turn out to be of high quality, it is necessary to follow a certain technique and sequence of actions.

What is polymer clay

This substance was artificially created by a German woman, Fifi Rebinder, to create heads for handmade dolls. Polymer clay for modeling has a specific herbal smell, contains plasticizers, which give it plasticity. When baked, they are absorbed, the mass hardens and can no longer change its shape. Polymer clay (or plastic) is of two types: self-hardening and thermoplastic.

The latter requires heat treatment, but you can sculpt anything from it - from small details to figures large sizes. Self-hardening material dries naturally in the sun, it will take at least a day. If you have not heard about the properties of clay before, then you should know that after drying, the finished product decreases slightly in size, the surface is uneven, but it can be drilled and processed with a saw. This type of material is more suitable for sculpting dolls and other large crafts. Keep the mass in a closed container.

What can be molded from polymer clay

Sculpting from polymer clay opens up great scope for imagination. You can do anything from graceful jewelry to handmade dolls and figurines. Thanks to unique properties plastics, it is easy and simple to work with it. Some types of thermoplastics are able to mimic the properties of different natural materials: stone, wood, metal, fabric. For beginners in modeling, it is better to start with simple techniques, techniques, gradually moving to more complex ones.

Products

Jewelry, jewelry, key chains, pendants, souvenirs, fridge magnets are often molded from plastic clay. Plastic is non-toxic, so it can be used in games with children. It is easy to teach a kid how to make vegetables, fruits, simple flowers. More experienced needlewomen sculpt complex polymer clay items such as doll heads, arms and legs. The properties of the mass make it possible to make crafts as similar and realistic as possible.

Ideas for sculpting from polymer clay

Inspiration for creating polymer clay masterpieces can be drawn from various sources. There are special printed editions teaching such modeling. There you can find a lot useful information, step by step instructions and lots of craft options. Modern needlewomen find ideas for sculpting on the Internet, where there are photo / video instructions with detailed description actions.

How to sculpt with polymer clay

For creativity from polymer clay, special skills are not needed, because the mass is similar to plasticine. In the hands it becomes soft and pliable, ready to create any crafts. To make the product beautiful, have strength, choose high-quality material for creativity. There are many types of polymer clay: Sculpey, Cernit, Viva Pardo, Deco (Japanese), Kato Policlay, Sonnet, Profi, Flower (sold in sets) and others. Most of the decorations are made from Decoclay and Fimo clay.

Instruments

Polymer clay tools can be purchased at any art and craft store. Some items can be replaced with improvised materials, but some special tools are indispensable. Before starting work, you need to prepare for the process. You will need:

1. Large glass or plastic worktop.
2. PVA glue. It is useful for joining thermoplastic parts together.
3. Sharp knives, you can clerical.
4. Sandpaper to eliminate roughness.
5. A piece of suede fabric that adds shine to the finished product.
6. Toothpicks, rolling pin.
7. Cutters are special molds for cutting figures.
8. Extruder, rolling pin.

Sculpting techniques

There are several popular techniques that are used in creating crafts from different types plastics:

1. Smooth transition. The method is to mix two different colors.
2. Sausage (sape, cane, millefiori). Several layers of different polymer clay are combined, and then the mass rolls into a roll.
3. "Kaleidoscope". Multi-layered, using the kaleidoscope technique, the pattern turns out to be symmetrical, multi-colored.
4. Watercolor. Technique for a smooth transition of color when sculpting.
5. Filigree. Complex, requires professional skills, patience.
6. Salt technology. Salt is used in modeling to give texture to the creation.
7. Mika-shift. Creates a 3D effect.
8. Mokume Gane. It consists in layering several layers of plastic clay of different colors.

Some parts need to be glued together after firing, in order to avoid damage during baking. Use liquid or gel glue for this purpose, it is better if it is fast-acting and grabs in 15-20 seconds. So you will have the opportunity to adjust the details as much as possible best friend to friend. Do not apply glue in strips so that there are no smudges, do it in the form of separate droplets.

baking

This process requires certain conditions to be met. The most important thing is to adhere to the baking temperature, which is indicated on the packaging by the manufacturer. If this indicator is violated, the product may not bake or change color. It is better to bake the mass in the oven for ceramic tiles or regular baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Small parts you need to prick on a toothpick, set on a ball of foil, so they are better baked. flat parts placed on a flat surface.

Complex crafts can be baked in several stages, for example, if they are made using the filigree technique. Each stage lasts a certain amount of time (from 1 to 15 minutes), and the total duration of the process can take up to half an hour. It must also be remembered that in its raw form the material is not toxic, but during heat treatment it exudes an unpleasant, harmful odor. Observe safety precautions: ensure the ventilation of the room, remove food from the kitchen, wash the oven after firing.

Varnishing

Finished goods covered with a special varnish, which gives them a finished look. There are matte and glossy varnishes, you need to choose them based on the desired effect of your craft. Many plastic manufacturers also make varnishes, so you can buy products of the same brand. It has a composition that will not fade over time and will not start to stick to your hands. Some needlewomen varnish their creations with varnishes for wooden floors on water based. The main thing is that they do not contain latex, which is incompatible with thermoplastics.

You can apply varnish with a brush, but it is better to “put on” the product on a toothpick and dip it into the liquid as a whole, scrolling it around its axis. So the substance is distributed evenly, its excess amount will drain. Next, a toothpick with a craft is inserted into a piece of foam (or other material), left to dry. If after a while a drop of varnish forms below, it must be carefully removed. It is necessary to cover crafts in several layers, drying each of them for a certain amount of time (indicated on the package), sometimes this time is several hours.

Safety

Working with any material, even food, has its own safety rules. If you decide to sculpt from plastic, follow the following measures precautions:

1. After sculpting, be sure to wash your hands with soap, but rather work in rubber gloves.
2. Do not burn the mass in the oven where you cook. If there is no other, and you are forced to do this, wash the oven thoroughly and ventilate well.
3. Observe temperature regime baking, and if the material is burnt, be sure to ventilate the room and clean the oven.

Having prepared everything necessary materials, tools, you can start creating different masterpieces. Check out a few simple sculpting lessons and start from the basics, moving on to complex crafts with the acquisition of certain skills. Over time, this exciting hobby can develop into small business, bringing a good regular income.

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Polymer clay crafts for beginners

To those who possess basic knowledge and starts working with plastic for the first time, a simple master class on modeling a fridge magnet from polymer clay will help:

1. Stock up: self-hardening polymer clay of pink, yellow, white, green, lime colors, soft magnet, acrylic paints, glue, scissors, toothpick, beads.
2. Roll up small balls from yellow, white, pink polymer clay, form a drop out of them, cut the thick edge with scissors into 4-5 parts.
3. Flatten them, give relief with a toothpick. You will get flowers.
4. Form droplets from a material of green shades, flatten them, make veins with a toothpick. These will be the leaves.
5. We make buds: on a drop white color we push the strips, simulating unblown petals. We wrap the bottom of the workpiece with a piece of green mass.
6. Paint the magnet with paint of a suitable shade and glue the resulting blanks on it, creating a composition. Complete it with decorative beads. Leave until completely dry.

New Year crafts

Great gift for New Year will become a magic ball made at home from polymer clay:

1. Prepare: a small transparent jar of spices with a screw cap, plastic (white, black, red, pink, beige), glitter, glitter, glycerin, vodka, pin, glue.
2. Roll up 2 white balls different size, put them on a pin (thin wire) to make a snowman.
3. Make indentations for the eyes, insert 2 black balls there. Insert a carrot made of red plastic into the recess for the nose. Draw a smile.
4. Roll 4 white balls, flatten 2 on one side - these are the legs. From the rest, make elongated droplets - these are hands. Assemble the snowman.
5. From beige, pink polymer clay, roll out 2 thin long sausages. Twist them with a rope. Form a scarf and a snowman hat out of them. In the same way, we make a candy in the form of a hook (we use a red, white mass), insert it into the hand. We bake.
6. Coat the inside of the jar lid waterproof glue, put a snowman in the center, sprinkle sparkles around.
7. Pour different medium-sized glitters into the jar, pour 1 tbsp. l. glycerin and vodka, add water, given that the snowman should still fit.
8. Coat the thread of the lid with cream, screw it on, let it dry. Shake, flip.

Decorations

As a decoration, try to make a simple “knitted” wrist bracelet that imitates real yarn:

1. You will need: a base for a bracelet, plastic of the desired color, liquid gel plastic, an extruder, a knife.
2. Put the plastic mass in the extruder, squeeze out. Take 2 strips, twist with a tourniquet. Do the same with the other two strips, twisting them in the other direction.
3. Lubricate the surface of the base with gel, attach the first tourniquet, cut off the required length. Then attach the second tourniquet as tightly as possible to the first, cut off.
4. You will get an imitation of knitting. Repeat the steps until you "knit" the entire bracelet. Do the same with inside(optional). Bake.

Toys

Modeling toys with thermoplastics is a great pastime with children. Try this turtle:

1. Stock up on a baked polymer mass (blue, light green, pink), a brush and 2 small black beads.
2. From the blue color, make 4 large drops - this is the preparation of the legs.
3. From a piece of light green plastic, form a blank in the form of a bell with a recess inside - this is the future shell.
4. Place the legs next to the wide part down, put on the shell on top. With the brush handle, holding it vertically, make a recess in front of the future turtle - a place for the head.
5. We form the head blank: roll a ball and a cylinder out of blue plastic, connect them. You should get a head on the neck. Attach it to the body.
6. Roll up pink balls, flatten, stick to the shell - these are spots. Blind your eyes from beads. Bake the turtle.

Flowers

According to such an understandable step by step master class sculpting flowers from polymer clay is easy and simple:

1. Prepare the following materials: white and blue thermoplastic, toothpick, 2 white beads, knife.
2. Make 2 balls of different colors, connect, knead them until you get a marble pattern.
3. Divide the resulting ball in half, fashion each half in the form of a flat plate with 1 elongated edge.
4. Fold each into paper seed bags so that the elongated edge is at the top. Pin it, and straighten the free edges, as if the flower is opening. Bake, glue a bead in the middle.
5. If, before firing, you first make a hole in the middle with a toothpick, then you can then insert the accessories and form earrings from the flowers.

Children's crafts

Children are very fond of cartoons, so they will be interested in the process of creating popular characters from polymer clay. Let's blind Krosh from Smeshariki:

1. Prepare: plastic (white, mint, red), 2 black beads, a knife.
2. roll up the ball mint color- this is a blank for the head, separately prepare 6 more small pieces of mass.
3. Take 2 small white pieces, roll up the same balls, press down, attach to the head close to each other - these are the whites of the eyes. Stick black beads to them - pupils.
4. Roll up a small ball of red polymer clay, stick just below the eyes - this is the nose.
5. Cut out Krosh's mouth with a knife, fill it with red, stick 2 small white teeth.

Almost 90 years ago, excellent modeling material was created in Germany. Initially, it was planned to make puppet heads out of it, but the sculptural mass made it possible to convey fine details of faces, amazingly imitated various surface textures, and became strong after processing.

Doll faces did not fade, remained cute for a long time. So there was a wonderful plastic mass, which was so loved by craftswomen and needlewomen.

What is polymer clay?

Mass for modeling with a specific smell, outwardly resembles plasticine. Contains plasticizers, which give plasticity to the blanks, and facilitate the creation of the necessary initial shape.

During heating, these chemical additives evaporate. The polymerization of products made from such clay is irreversible, the mass hardens to such an extent that it does not change its shape in the future.

What is polymer clay used for?

The ease of working with such clay and the availability of technologies for its processing are used by masters of arts and crafts and designers of small forms. The sale of beautiful handmade clay products became a source of income.

Polymer clay is used to make:

• women's jewelry, bijouterie;
• souvenirs
• small-sized interior items;
• Christmas toys;
• author's dolls.

Making beautiful products can not only professional designer or a sculptor, this article will help you turn your favorite mug into a unique and unique art object. It is enough to watch a master class on clay modeling with your own hands, and make an ornament in the form of an appliqué on the wall of a mug.

Clay types

Various plasticizers are found in the composition of polymer masses for modeling, but they all require heating for polymerization. Sometimes polymer clay is called plastic self-hardening masses that do not require heating to fix the shape.

Polymer clay is sold in various packaging by weight and color scheme. Manufacturers produce these ornamental masses with different properties: color, transparent, shiny, matte and other effects. All these properties are marked on the packaging of the clay, as well as the expiration date.

Important: If the shelf life of the clay is coming to an end, refuse such a purchase. The mass may crumble during preparatory kneading, nothing can be done from it.

Instruments

Sculpting tools are sold in art and craft stores, located on the shelves next to polymer clay. Beginners do not have to buy something immediately, you can get by with improvised means.

Before you start creating your own masterpiece, you need to prepare. For full work you will need:

• work surface, you can take ceramic tiles or glass;
• PVA glue, which is useful for gluing parts;
• sharp knives, stationery cutters;
• emery sheets for processing irregularities;
• a piece of suede for polishing;
• toothpicks to help create effects;
• a rolling pin for rolling the mass into a flat sheet, it is better to take a glass bottle.

Cutters for cutting can be replaced with corks from plastic bottles, these will be the easiest figurine templates for beginners.

Methods of sculpting and surface texturing

Before starting sculpting, the mass must be kneaded in the hands, slightly warm it, similarly to plasticine. One-color works require only checking the homogeneity of the mass when creating the details of the product, for example, in the manufacture of author's dolls.

In multicolor works, as in the manufacture of beads or small souvenirs, different techniques are used. Beginners can be advised techniques that will show how to learn how to sculpt with polymer clay:

• a smooth transition, the simplest and most common technique, when two bars are taken and kneaded at the same time, after which the necessary parts are molded;
• Sape, in which layers of different colors are superimposed on each other, then gently rolled into a roll, the parts are cut across.

Other techniques, such as filigree, kaleiloscope, salt, can be mastered later.

Note!

Fixing the shape of parts

Polymerization requires adherence to the conditions of the clay manufacturer. It is important to follow the instructions, do not violate the baking temperature indicated on the package. Underheated products will not retain their shape, overheated products will lose color and become dark.

Flat parts are baked on a ceramic tile in the oven. Small details such as beads are pierced with toothpicks on a foil ball. The baked parts should cool gradually, in natural conditions.

Connection of parts

Sometimes, at complex techniques products, the parts are glued together immediately after firing. To do this, use PVA glue, it must be applied pointwise, so the parts are more accurately adjusted to each other.

Surface finishing

Before covering the polymerized product with a special varnish, the surface is cleaned from irregularities sandpaper and, if necessary, polished with suede.

Lacquering gives the final look to man-made masterpieces, which can be seen in the photo of polymer clay stucco. Matte and glossy varnishes are chosen according to the design of the craft. Manufacturers of polymer clay also make their own varnishes, which are most advantageous in terms of chemical composition.

Note!

Lacquer is applied in layers in two ways:

• With a brush, covering the product in the usual way.
• Dipping at once the entire product in varnish. To do this, it must be fixed, for example, on a toothpick, dipped in a solution and rotated in it. Then take it out, stick a toothpick into the foam, let the excess varnish drain.

Ideas and instructions for clay modeling will bring the joy of creativity, only if you follow the safety rules. It should be remembered that in normal conditions polymer clay is non-toxic. But the polymerization process is accompanied by the release of harmful volatile compounds due to heating.

Important: When firing products, ensure the ventilation of the room in which polymer clay is baked.

Photo of modeling from polymer clay

Note!