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GrandmaThunderpants — POLYMER CLAY Tutorial Part 1
Published: 2011-08-13 04:10:26 +0000 UTC; Views: 41853; Favourites: 692; Downloads: 387
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Description
This is part one of a big informative series I'm doing on polymer clay and clay goodies!THINGS I WILL COVER:
Part One- Clay Basics [ you're looking at it ]
Part Two - Basic Equipment [link]
(still to come)
Part Three - Translucent Clay, Translucent Liquid Sculpey
Part Four - Chalk Pastels and Polymer Clay
Part Five - Acrylic Paint and Polymer Clay
Part Six - Texture
Part Seven - Simple Ways to Photograph and General Tips/Tricks
That's the plan anyway! Please, if there's anything you'd like to know just ask me and I'll do my best to include it or find a way to squeeze it in! Please not this is not for specific items or how I've made a certain item 100%, this is for general polymer clay questions.
Please excuse my typos ahead of time. D: I'm sure you know what I meant, so no spelling/grammar nazis please.
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MY OTHER TUTORIALS: [link]
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Website: [link]
Commission Info: [link]
If you're interested in winning a three month DA subscription plus a free charm from me, check out my contest here! [link]
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Comments: 121
Can... Can I get a part five tutorial preview and ask,
if I acrylic paint an already baked project,
and want to edit it a little with unbaked clay,
throw it back in the oven, will the acrylic paint be okay? D:
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I don't know. xD I've never done such a thing. Sometimes re-baked acrylic paint cracks pretty badly though, it just depends on how much you've used.
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D'aww. Well okay, thank you
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I wouldn't know for sure unless I tried it, so I say go for it just to see.
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Okay 
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*V* i can't wait for your other tuts *v*~
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I hate premo, it's so hard : P
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Some of it is really soft. xD You just have to feel all the packages.
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Ahhhhh....
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Premo and Sculpey III carry the shiny types.
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oh ok thanks you!
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I can't wait to see the rest of this tutorial! So far it's very concise and informative. Great job!
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Thanks! Hopefully I can work on it soon, between commissions and school starting I might be busy soon. I'll make some time for it though!
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Do you have to bake the item after you've glazed it? Or does the glaze just air dry?
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Glaze your item after it's baked and has cooled off entirely. The glaze will air dry. :3
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thanks sooo much.
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Premo IS different from Sculpey III, and VERY different o.o Sculpey III is really soft and pliable, which means it leaves fingerprints; Premo is way harder, you need to condition it first to use it, it doesn't leave fingerprints.. if it does, you can just smudge it a bit and it comes right off [whereas, if you do that with Sculpey... your charm will be messed up XD].
After it bakes, Premo is sturdy, not like Sculpey III, which breaks easily o_o.
Also, the colors.. Premo has about 32 colors + the glittery cute stuff and some glow in the dark, and Sculpey III has SO MANY more colors @___@
what I usually do is mix Premo + Sculpey, but I mainly use Premo... I used to use Sculpey a lot, but my charms were too weak ;-; so now Premo it is!
Can't wait for the next parts of the tutorial
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I've had Premo that was super super ridiculously soft, like Sculpey Original kind of soft. And I've had Sculpey III that was near rock hard. I honestly don't think there's a real difference between Premo and Sculpey III except for colors, and that Premo comes with the shimmery ones and fancy colors.
I always feel my clay in the store by squeezing the packages, and I can promise you if you squeeze all the Sculpey III ones you will eventually come over one or two that's super hard, and some Premo that's super soft. It varies so much that it's impossible to say one brand is softer than another... except in the case of Fimo Soft, which is of course made to be very soft. xD And Sculpey Original, which is the softest.
But yeah I usually mix Premo and Sculpey III and I've never had a problem. When it comes down to it they're both Sculpey brand so I'm pretty sure they're near identical formulas. xD The best way to get the clay you like to work with best is to check all the clay in the store until you find one you like! >D The actual brands don't matter.
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What I meant was the way the two were made... it's totally different; I have a package of Sculpey III that's hard, but it's because it's "old", and a package of Premo that's soft, but it's because of the color. Premo is very different from Sculpey, the texture is different, etc.
You'd make canes out of Premo, for example, instead of using Sculpey, because Sculpey III tends to smush XD.
It's just how they were made.
I've never had the chance to try out Fimo ;o; they only sell Sculpey III and Premo where I live, so that's all I can get for now T-T.
Yep, it really depends on what you're actually aiming for, each brand is really good for something specific. For example, Cernit is really good [I've heard] for "realistic" stuff, because it's kind of translucent, Premo is really good for canes, Sculpey III is good for beginners and quick things, etc.
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We've always had some sort of sculpey laying around, and never really known what to do with it, and the best way to use it. Looking forward to all parts of this tutorial!
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thanks for making this tut!
can't wait for the next parts, I'm really excited to read them
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Thanks alot for this tutorial 
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The clay can be bought at pretty much any craft store. Hobby Lobby and Michael's are the ones I go to (though you're not asking me, aha). Hobby Lobby has a cheaper selection, but Michael's has better sales prices from my few months experience.
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Okay ui have Michaels close so ill go soon
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Almost any craft store. :3
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Oh thank you and this how to thing will be amazing because i want to start working with the clay so thanks you for doing this
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psssst i wish you added something about clay softener cause when you clay is all hard to work with, its better and cheaper than using TLS
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Ooh, I don't use clay softener. O: I've never had a problem with clay being too hard.
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really? like all crumbly clay-youve never had that problem? lucky child you are!
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Crumbly clay is horrible. ;_; I have a pack of green that has a really bad crumble, so I was forced to get the clay softener. xD; It doesn't help much though, but I only put in a little. >w>
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i put in a good amount... but you put in too much and it gets sticky like glue
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Yeah, I'm having that problem right now with some clay I bought a few days ago. Soft FIMO is waay too soft for me... or at least the turquoise I bought is. I needed the color for a commission though. >>
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You should feel all the clay blocks in the color you want before you buy one to make sure it's the right consistency! That's what I do. >D Even if people give you weird looks for molesting all the clay. If you squish it in the package and it squishes easily, it's going to be super soft. If you squish it and it barely gives way to pressure, it's super hard and you'll probably have a crumbling problem with it. You want to find one that's juuust right, so you'll probably need to feel around for it!
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Thank you for the advice! I'll definitely do this next time I go to the store. <3
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I've actually had the same problem with a large bar of black I bought. I threw away the wrapper and can't remember which brand it was, but it is like so stupid and makes me so angry. Haha. It's the only time I've ever had the problem either. All my others are fine - just need a little conditioning first.
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yeah ive had the problem with white and black.... nothing else, just those two... and both were sculpey III but i bought vclay softener and it helps so much with it
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I've been mixing in TLS, because that's all I've had. It's strange.
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tls kinda makes it sticky though when you first add it(might just be me though xD) but softener works so well but you cant add too much or itll be like you added tls
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It definitely does make it sticky at first, but if you keep at it, the clay like absorbs it and it's fabulous. XD
I just didn't have any on hand, so I used TLS instead :]
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ill have to try xD its just if i did that(i clay in our camper cause thats where i sleep in the summer) i have no water to wash my hands haha so blah
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Oh yeah ha I understand that.
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I've never had it go crumbly either. O: I guess my clay loves me?!
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thats so great for you xD ive had a couple like that... its quite annoying...
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Oooh. This makes me want to try all the different brands >:
Just wondering, what happens when you try to blend two different brands together? Do they not mix well or bake weirdly or something?
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When you mix different brands, nothing happens. 
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