Polymer Clay for Creative Fun

You can use many tools to help you shape polymer clay when you're making crafts. There are plenty of household items that you can use to help you to make your craft, but many people find that there hands and fingers are the best tools to use for clay.

Toothpicks and paper clips are great to start, and you can also check out some other supplies for interesting patterns that can easily be impressed into the clay. In the kitchen, consider using a rolling pin to smooth out the clay.

You don't want to cross contaminate. This means that you can't use a rolling pin that you used on food to clay and then back to food. You will want to make sure that you don't use the items again for food because you may end up kneading poisons in your food.

There are many common kitchen items to use with polymer clay, but it is the pasta machine that is mostly used. This is great for rolling slabs and making long snakes out of the clay.

If you learn special techniques, you can create clay slabs that have pretty colored designs. This is not usually possible with a rolling pin, because you do not have as much control of the amount of pressure used every time you roll out the clay.

Once you are able to get the shapes that you want from the polymer clay, you will find that you can bake in the over for a period of time and your clay will take permanent hold. Most polymer clay needs only to bake for twenty minutes, and when removed from the oven, the result is very hard clay.

Polymer clay can be used indoors and outdoors, and for almost every craft project you can imagine. You don't want to use this clay with candles since the clay will give off some toxic fumes when it is burnt

As for storing, you will find that it may be easy for you to take care of the polymer clay since it won't get hard unless it is baked. Just pack it up like you would any other clay. You will find that over long periods of time you will have to deal with small amounts dried clay, but that is just natural.

When you want to work with the clay you will first want to begin kneading it so that your hands can warm the clay up. Do this for at least ten minutes so that you are able to bring it back to its original state: soft and flexible. Polymer clay is a good craft supply and something that you are able to keep on hand and use it for many different things.

Remember cross contamination applies to storage containers as well as utensils. If you grab some tupperware containers in the kitchen to store your leftover clay in, then make sure you label them appropriately for future use.