Polymer Clay & Beading

I'm working on some polymer clay projects today and just popped them in the oven. I break out my PC supplies every once in a while and am always reminded how much I enjoy it.

My parents used to own a dollhouse and miniatures company and they were one of the first companies to distribute Fimo in the United States. I grew up making little sculptures, giant clip earrings and various Christmas ornaments. One of my favorite things to do with polymer clay is using rubber stamps to create images and textures, like I did with this dragonfly canister.

It's easy to get started with polymer clay, you just need a few key materials: polymer clay, cutting blade, roller, craft mat, pasta machine or playing cards (to roll the clay evenly), baby wipes (to clean up). It's important to dedicate your tools to polymer clay and not use them for food. Sharilyn Miller wrote a good guideline to safety practices, including using a dedicated toaster oven or wiping down your kitchen oven after baking your projects.

This is a great time of year to break out the clay because it's easy to make really fun cookie cutter ornaments - I have a trove of stripey stars from back in the day. In the beady world, I'm inspired by Linda Peterson's techniques for combining metal with polymer clay to create bezels and bead caps that give the clay a more substantial heft.

Okay, off to check on my creations. Keep your fingers crossed that I've adjusted properly for my wonky oven temperature...I'd hate for my white clay to turn brown after all this work!