Polymer Clay

Fimo and clay tips and tutorials

Website review – Covered in Clay

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The Covered in Clay website offers a small variety of items to cover with clay, such as blank metal tins, business card holders, journals and ceramic mezuzahs. You can also find pendant blanks, bezels, and other jewelry settings that are great for use with polymer clay. Lisa Pavelka’s Signature line of products are also offered. They include the foils, unmounted texture stamps, water slide transfer paper, and her new product Magic-Glos, which itself has received rave reviews.

I haven’t tried the Magic-Glos yet, although I do have a sample I received at the CHA show I attended a few weeks ago. I plan on trying it as soon as the weather and I are on the same schedule. However, I have ordered some of her products before, like the foils, tins, texture stamps, and blank jewelry settings. The quality of the products I received was par for the course with the prices, which were very affordable for even the most frugal among us clayers, myself included.

I have ordered from this website only twice, and while most of the products are of average quality, I found the level of service lacking in some areas. Both times I’ve ordered, I had at least one item to be missing upon arrival, although they do send a sampling of extra products along with your missing item when it’s shipped. The shipping time also varies greatly and it has been my experience that it depends upon Ms. Pavelka’s show schedule, and it may be more than a couple of days before your order is processed or you are able to get in contact with someone about about your order.

All in all, while I do enjoy using the items I’ve bought and I like the the other items that are available on the site, I think I may try finding them somewhere else next time.

[tags]polymer clay, Covered in Clay, reviews[/tags]

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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