Polymer Clay

Fimo and clay tips and tutorials

Low-Tech Tools

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One of the things I love about polymer clay is that there is no fancy equipment needed to create beautiful work. Aside from a pasta machine, tissue blade and toaster oven here are some low-tech tools I can’t live without.

1. Mini Drill – I picked it up for a song from Harbor Freight and have to say I don’t know how I got along without it. I like things low-tech, this is easy to use and gets the job done for my smaller beads.

2. Knitting needles – I love these for poking larger holes and as a sculpting tool. (Look for the double pointed in the thinner sizes.)

3. Old playing cards – I used these as disposable palettes to mix up small batches of liquid Sculpey.

4. Rubber gloves – I roll all my beads one last time with rubber gloves to get rid of any finger prints, seriously cuts down on the sanding.

5. Handmade bead mandrels – I cut 6″ lengths of thick gauge copper wire as larger bead mandrels.

5. Wet-dry sandpaper and my blue jeans – I give my beads a quick once over with the sand paper and buff them on my jeans.

6. Cardstock -it’s my work surface of choice.

7. Acrylic rod – great for shaping canes and rolling out thicker slices of clay.

8. Two little mirrors – used for making lentils and flattening beads.

That’s it, my whole beadmaking studio in a nutshell. What tool can’t you live without?

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Comments

  2. I have to add:

    – sharp blades, my old (no motor, no name brand) pasta machine and stacks of old white tiles from a past home reno project

    And enough little plastic containers that I support that whole industry I am sure.

  3. Rubber tipped Clay Shaper and stylus (cheap art supply item) for help in sculpting.

    Bamboo skewers for poking holes in beads, they make a slightly larger hole than a ceramics needle tool. Found in the grocery store, they are a couple bucks for a lifetime supply.

    Parchment paper (grocery store) for baking flat polymer pieces on. I use it on a cookie sheet and the paper keeps the bottom of the polymer from taking on the shine of the cookie sheet. Obviously cardstock is stiffer, but the parchment paper can cover an entire cookie sheet if you have larger pieces to bake.

    Boy it’s amazing how little you can get by with to make polymer art. I love the fact that no expensive items are needed. I did splurge on a Foredom bench lathe to polish my beads, and I absolutely love it.

    I’m going to blog about my favorite texture tools in a day or two on my beadbunny.blogspot.com blog.

    Thanks for asking, Heather, I always enjoy your blog entries.

  4. I don’t do enough PC to say, but the gloves idea might work with my metal clay. I’m bad about the finger prints! I guess that shows it’s hand-made 😉

Have you read?

How To Make A Milk Mache Molding Compound

There are some craft projects that feel like they belong on a rainy afternoon kitchen table, and this Milk Mache Molding Compound is exactly one of them. It is part craft, part science experiment, and part “wait… did we just turn milk into something solid?”

This clever little project from CraftBits shows you how to make a simple homemade molding compound using just milk and vinegar. The idea is wonderfully old-school: when the vinegar reacts with the milk, it separates into curds and liquid, leaving you with a soft mixture that can be pressed, shaped, and dried into a hard, stone-like material.

It’s a lovely one to try with kids, especially if you enjoy hands-on STEM-style crafts that do not require a trolley full of supplies. You can use the finished compound to make small charms, beads, ornaments, rustic tags, or simple molded shapes. Just keep the pieces small and thin, as this is not really the sort of compound you would use for large sculptures or anything that needs to be perfectly smooth.

What I like most about this project is how accessible it is. Most of us already have milk, vinegar, a bowl, and paper towel in the kitchen, which makes it a brilliant last-minute craft activity. It also has that slightly magical quality children love — one minute it is liquid, the next it is turning into a moldable material.

A couple of tips before you try it: use whole milk if you can, as it tends to give a better result than skim or semi-skimmed milk. White vinegar is also the best choice, as darker vinegars may affect the colour and texture. And don’t rush the draining stage. If the mixture is too wet, it will be soggy and hard to shape; if it is too dry, it may crumble.

This would be a fun companion activity for our other kids craft ideas, especially if you are looking for something simple, inexpensive, and a little bit educational. It also fits nicely with home crafts and handmade gift embellishments if you want to turn your dried shapes into tags or decorations.

Would I call this a polished, professional clay substitute? No. Would I call it a wonderfully curious, messy, memorable craft experiment? Absolutely.

If you enjoy homemade craft supplies, kitchen-table experiments, or easy projects that make children ask “how did that happen?”, this Milk Mache Molding Compound is well worth a try.

You can find the full project instructions here: Milk Mache Molding Compound