Polymer clay is similar to plasticine. It is also able to take on various forms due to its soft texture and plasticity. After passing through the firing, it becomes similar to a stone, but unlike it, it weighs a little. Sometimes when working with her there are difficulties - she begins to crumble. The article explains why this happens and how you can fix the problem.

Why does polymer clay crumble before baking?

When buying such plastic, it may turn out that it has already lost its elasticity and has begun to harden. This can happen for various reasons:
the material has been exposed to direct sunlight for a long time;
its expiration date has passed;
there is not enough plasticizer in its composition.

How to soften polymer clay?

Firstly, one important rule must be observed: take only small pieces for modeling. Therefore, it is necessary to reanimate not the whole piece, but its separate parts. Secondly, there are several ways to save such plastic:
with glycerin. He is able to restore the plasticity of clay. To do this, just drop it a little on your hand, and then knead the frozen material.
Use baby or any greasy cream. It must be applied to the plastic and begin to knead. Gradually, the plastic softens, so do not immediately use a lot of cream. Introduce it into the composition in small balls.
Use sunflower oil or Vaseline. On one hardened pack of plastic, you need to drop only two drops of oil, no more. First, one drop is dripped and they try to knead the frozen lump, and then add the second. It is necessary to show patience and knead the clay to the state of soft plasticine. If at first it will be impossible to tear off a piece, then it can be cut off with a knife or grated. In an advanced case, it is advised to resort to the help of a hammer.
Softeners can be used. They come in two varieties: solid (Stadler) and liquid (Sculpey, Quick Mix). It is also recommended to use liquid translucent plastic. Before this, hard clay can be heated on a battery if modeling takes place in cold weather or left for a short time near the fire.
When diluted with all these means, polymer clay does not lose its properties and can be used as a full-fledged material.

Why does clay crumble after baking?

This can be affected by the low firing temperature and leaks in the kiln.

How to prevent crumbling of polymer clay?

It is necessary to ensure proper storage of the material - in plastic bags with a zipper or sealed plastic small containers in a dark place.

You can order goodpolymer clay FIMO with delivery throughout Russia in our online store!

Almost all beginners who have only recently started working with polymer clay may have some questions related to the use of this material and modeling out of him. Many masters who have been modeling for several years still remember those times when they were just starting to get involved in this activity, and they also had questions, the answers to which had to be searched all over the Internet.

How to soften polymer clay?

Polymer clay, after thorough kneading, should feel moderately soft to the touch, so that it is convenient to sculpt from it. It should not stick to your hands, but it should not crumble either. Sometimes it happens that plastic (polymer clay), after a long storage or even recently bought in a store, turns out to be very hard to the touch, it is almost impossible to knead it and make something out of it. This means that there is not enough plasticizer in the clay, which is why it is so hard. To make it softer and more plastic, you can use a special liquid - softener for polymer clay. But it is not very cheap, so it is often used only by professionals.

For beginners, we can offer a cheaper clay softening method. To do this, you need ordinary Vaseline. You can soften the clay with it as follows: take a piece of polymer clay and apply one or two drops of petroleum jelly to it, now carefully knead the clay with the petroleum jelly until it becomes plastic. The main thing is not to add too much Vaseline, otherwise the clay may become too soft.

How to make polymer clay harder?

Another problem is too soft polymer clay, which literally stretches and sticks to hands very much. In such clay there is more plasticizer than necessary. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce its quantity. To do this, shape your clay into a flat cake and place it on a clean sheet of white paper. Cover with the same sheet of paper on top and press down with your hands, then put something hard on top of the paper with clay. After a couple of hours, carefully remove the paper from the clay. You will see greasy traces on the paper - this is the plasticizer soaked into it. Now knead the clay. You will notice that it has become more solid. If it is still soft, you can repeat the procedure with paper.

How to store polymer clay?

First of all, remember that polymer clay should not be stored near a heater or other heat source, and should not be frozen. Open packs or individual pieces of polymer clay should be stored in such a way that air access is limited, otherwise, over time, the plasticizer will evaporate and the plastic will harden. To prevent this from happening, keep all open blocks of clay tightly wrapped in cling film or foil. You can also use tightly closed small bags with a zip fastener to store pieces of clay.

How to avoid leaving fingerprints on the surface of products?

Even a beautiful product will look damaged if your fingerprints remain on its surface. To ensure that the surface is smooth and there are no prints on it, sculpt in rubber medical gloves or fingertips.

How to roll out polymer clay?

For rolling out polymer clay, you can find special acrylic rolling pins in craft stores, but, as a rule, the price of rolling pins is quite high. Although for starters, such a rolling pin can be completely replaced with a glass bottle from kefir or from another drink. The main thing is that the bottle has a cylindrical shape and a smooth surface.

How to bake polymer clay?

First of all, I’ll tell you on what surface you can bake polymer clay products. It can be baked on thick cardboard, on foil, on a ceramic or glass plate, on tiles, in a metal box. Also, products, if necessary, can be baked on pieces of cotton wool or paper napkins (to preserve the shape of the product). At the same time, place a plate (or other surface) with products in a cellophane sleeve for baking and tie the sleeve on both sides, then put it in the oven. Due to the fact that the clay will be closed in the sleeve, the smell from the clay will not be heard during baking, and no substances that are released from the clay during baking will settle on the walls of the oven. As for the temperature and duration of baking, this information is always on the packaging of the clay, so study it carefully.

What kind of varnish to coat polymer clay jewelry?

Some decorations and others polymer clay products look more beautiful if they have a shiny glossy surface. To obtain such a surface, the product can be coated with a glossy varnish. But it must be special varnish, designed specifically for polymer clay. Products cannot be coated with any other varnishes. And in no case do not cover polymer clay with nail polish, as after a while the product will begin to stick due to the reaction of polymer clay and the solvent contained in the varnish.

We hope these recommendations are helpful to you. Polymer clay this is an amazing material that allows you to create the most diverse and unusual crafts. It can be decorations (how to make polymer clay earrings), figurines, magnets, key chains, vases, Christmas decorations and much more that your imagination tells you. Therefore, we wish you creative success!
Especially for the website Lessons of Needlework katstarkova.

Introduction to Polymer Clay (Thermoplastic)

A few tips for beginners.

Polymer clay is a soft, plasticine-like material that comes in a variety of colors and is easy to sculpt. After heat treatment, it acquires stone hardness, which allows drilling and grinding finished products. Different colors of clay are easily mixed with each other, leaving no streaks and give an even juicy color. It mixes well with water-soluble paints, acrylic, after heat treatment it is well covered with alkyd waterproof varnishes. The finished product is very light and strong.

In order to try working with polymer clay, it will be enough for you to buy 3-4 sticks, weighing 17 grams, in different colors. White is a must. For modeling, this is the most consumable material, it allows, mixing with small fractions of other colors, to obtain new shades. Therefore, to begin with, take 2-3 colors of the main spectrum to try your hand. This is a miniature and painstaking work, the main thing here is not to rush and do everything carefully, and if you like to do everything slowly, this is a hobby for you.

This is what a set of polymer clay looks like. One stick weighs 17 grams, it seems that this is very little, but believe me, very small portions are needed to create hand-made jewelry. Of course, if you are not going to practice the millefiori technique, which I will talk about in the next lesson. It requires a large amount of polymer clay and is based on the principle of sculpting a large image and then compacting the image into a miniature one.

To work, you will also need:

1. Glass (approximately A4 format) or plastic board for modeling (sold in children's and stationery stores).

2. Paper knife, pliers or tweezers (for me, a manicure set is indispensable when working with polymer clay. There are wonderfully suitable small knives and spatulas)

3. Surgical gloves. At first, it will be difficult for you not to leave prints on the products, in addition, you need to be very careful when working with white, because any lint and crumb stick to the clay, and white clay instantly becomes a dirty shade.

4. And finally, accessories. Accessories, like polymer clay, can be bought either in specialized stores or in online stores, which are now very numerous. Type in the search engine "Polymer Clay", add your country and you will see a wide selection, pay attention to the shipping cost and order. If you're buying from a store in your city, start with a couple of simple earring studs (like the one in the picture) and 10-20 regular bead pegs. This will be enough to try to do something simple. In fact, accessories are more expensive consumables for making jewelry than polymer clay itself.

WHAT CAN YOU SOFTEN DRIED POLYMERIC CLAY (PLASTIC)?

When working with polymer clay, you will surely encounter such a problem when the plastic has dried up, lost its elasticity, or even completely petrified (this does not take much time at all). When you try to stretch it, such plastic begins to crumble and crumble. Don't rush to throw it away. It can be resuscitated with glycerin, it is freely sold in pharmacies. If you are determined to sculpt today and now, but there is no glycerin at home and it is not the time to run to the pharmacy, an ordinary baby cream will help you, you can use any fat cream.

Take a piece of plastic, pour cream over it and start trying to knead it. At first, the plastic will crumble and then it will gradually become soft, even too soft, so add the cream drop by drop. Glycerin will also come in handy if you're trying to make very fine clay details, such as flower petals.

It is better not to make thin parts (antennae, thin petals) from plastic restored from a completely stone state, because it is more fragile and parts can break. But you can safely use it as a material for large items, beads.

We read about what products can be made from polymer clay in the next lesson.

Instruction

If you are using normal clay for, you can plasticize it by simply adding water. First, add a small amount of water and try to knead a piece. Then check it for plasticity. To do this, roll a lump of clay into a sausage and bend it in half.

You can knead clay in another way. Take a part of the dry material you need - about 2/3 - and pre-fill with water. You need enough liquid so that it completely covers the dry clay and is gradually absorbed into it. This mixture needs time to mature a little. Then add the remaining dry material and knead the clay dough of a consistency that will look like plasticine.

It remains only to beat off the dough. This can be done by vigorously throwing clay rolled into a ball on the board, you can beat it with a mallet, or just knead it on the board. After the mass is prepared, you can start sculpting. If you do not want to immediately engage in the manufacture of various products, set the dough aside, after wrapping it in a damp cloth and wrapping it in a tight plastic bag. It is best to store such a workpiece in a cool place.

Crochet (246)
Grandma's square (12)
Scrapbooking (203)
Scrap Art (25)
Ideas for inspiration (10)
Albums (8)
Notebooks (8)
Postcards (5)
Calendars (2)
We sew ourselves (176)
Patterns/Design clothes (54)
Alterations (18)
Size + (9)
Useful information (175)
Decoupage (139)
Miscellaneous handicraft (127)
felting (125)
Toys (19)
Clothes (11)
Ideas for inspiration (6)
Scarves/stoles (6)
Accessories (5)
Hats (2)
Shoes (1)
A healthy mind in a healthy body (124)
Traditional medicine (32)
Healing Mudras (15)
Cooking (95)
muffins/cupcakes (20)
from vegetables (17)
cottage cheese (8)
Salads (1)
Home Ideas (94)
Fashion (71)
Interior (60)
Knitting (47)
Neck Finishing (4)
Crazy hands - do it yourself (42)
Links (28)
Beauty (27)
facial (21)
neck care (2)
Patchwork (24)
Quilling (24)
Painting/illustration (24)
Psychology (22)
Felt (toys, etc.) (20)
English (12)
DIY cosmetics (12)
Papier-mache (9)
Music (8)
Work on yourself (7)
Floriculture secrets (6)
Boxes and out of boxes (6)
Knitting for children (5)
Embroidery (5)
Knitting for men (2)
Polymer clay (2)

— Quote

Pink outfit for baby 03-06 months The set is knitted from cotton thread №10 Tulip hook 2 / 1.5mm.

Outfit for a princess. Yarn - 100% non-mercerized cotton. Thread thickness No. 10. Cost per set.

Beautiful dress for a girl (loin knitting) This is such a delicate, openwork dress for a girl, including.

Crocheted jacket, shorts for 8-18 months 1. 2. 3. 4.

Vest Description of knitting of the rounded edge And so the right shelf We collect 18 pet on the knitting needles.

How to soften dried polymer clay

How to soften dry polymer clay.

Good day, dear reader!

Today I want to talk to you about a problem that may arise when working with polymer clay. And also give some advice that I once used in my work.

And the problem is this:

Any master who has been working with polymer clay for a long time accumulates pieces of plastic, which for some reason he did not use at one time. Since polymer clay contains a plasticizer, which, when exposed to air for a long time, evaporates, the material deteriorates over time, becomes harder, crumbles heavily and it is simply impossible to sculpt from it. What to do with it? Is it really necessary to throw out a whole piece of such an expensive material?

Answer: no. Old polymer clay can still be reanimated and this will not affect the quality of the products.

There are many ways to solve this problem. Conventionally, I divided them into two categories. The first will be called "Professional Ways", the second - "Folk Ways".

So, "Professional ways" to soften the old polymer clay. Here are the methods offered by the plastic manufacturer itself:

With the help of a special liquid softener from Sculpey. This tool has an oily base, because of this, the color of the clay begins to give paint to the contact surface, such as hands. Therefore, it is better to work with gloves here. Also, the softener from Sculpey is very concentrated and can be overdone in no time. Then the plastic will simply spread over the surface, it will not keep its shape, it will look like double soft clay.

With the help of liquid plastic from Fimo. Perfectly softens plastic, quickly, does not stain hands.

With softener from Fimo. Here it has a solid consistency of white color. A big plus in this tool is the addition of volume to a piece of old plastic, almost twice, without losing color. This cannot but rejoice. Does not paint over hands.

It can be concluded that all these tools cope with their functions well. My personal favorite is liquid plastic from Fimo.

2. You can soften old plastic using ordinary grape seed oil, which costs a penny and is sold in any pharmacy. You only need a small drop. Since this is an oily structure, the main thing here is not to overdo it, otherwise the composition of polymer clay will change, and the quality of the product leaves much to be desired. Be careful, this method strongly stains the hands. As a result, the plastic is very soft.

3. Using ordinary sunflower oil. Here things are a little worse than with the first method. Sunflower oil softens the clay very much, so it is simply impossible to work with it, even if you add half a drop.

4. With a face or hand cream. You will need a small ball of cream, the size of a pea. This folk remedy softens the plastic well, but it becomes very sticky.

I draw the following conclusion: it is better to “rehabilitate” old polymer clay using professional means. Of course, they require a lot of money, but at the same time you will save time, and you will always know that your products over time will forever remain strong and beautiful.

Useful links:

The information presented on the site is for informational purposes only and under no circumstances is it a public offer, determined by the provisions of Part 2 of Art. 437 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Polymer clay: tricks at work

How to make polymer clay harder?

How to avoid leaving fingerprints on the surface of products?

What kind of varnish to coat polymer clay jewelry?

We hope these recommendations are helpful to you. Polymer clay this is an amazing material that allows you to create the most diverse and unusual crafts. These can be jewelry (how to make polymer clay earrings), figurines, magnets, key chains, vases, Christmas decorations and much more that your fantasy tells you. Therefore, we wish you creative success!

Especially for the website Lessons of Needlework katstarkova.

Thanks a lot for your valuable advice!

Can be coated with any varnish (yacht, parquet), but water-based.

There are photos with pasta machines, but not a word about them in the text.

In volumetric figures, instead of expensive plastic, you can put inexpensive foil as a base. For thin long products, a wire frame is suitable.

Thanks! I enjoyed reading it.

Lessons-Needlework.RF

On the site you will find many lessons on needlework, decorating clothes, making accessories and toys with your own hands, recommendations on how to implement your ideas with your own hands!

Editor on Do-it-yourself sewing: panty pattern
Olga on We sew with our own hands: a pattern of panties
Irina on We sew with our own hands: a pattern of panties
Marina on We sew with our own hands: a pattern of panties

Style lessons or the art of dressing

Master class Materials and tools Modeling How to restore dried clay? Clay polymer plastic Porcelain cold. Polymer clay: tricks at work