Always when you start a new hobby or any new activity you probably have plenty of questions. We put some of the basic Q&A together and here are the crucial polymer clay beginner’s questions answered.
My polymer clay project is probably going to take longer than one day, how shall I store it while it’s unfinished?
As you probably know, your unfinished polymer clay project can wait a little, even more than one day or a week. It does not dry our or anything. The good question is how to store and protect it. The main point is to protect it from dirt, like pet hair or dust. You may cover it with paper, foil or put it in a box.
Another thing, depending on your project, specific conditions and the clay you are using, you may need to prevent your creation from losing its shape. For this purpose I make my project “sit” in a small bowl of cornstarch while I am not working on it.
My polymer clay creation is dirty although I washed my hands and made sure nothing was dirty or dusty, what can I do?
Each time before I work, I always wipe down my work surface but sometimes, you do everything you can and the dirt just gets on the clay. In that case you have several options. If it’s just a little speck and you notice it before baking, take it away very carefully (barely touching) with a tip of your knife or a needle. Another very good way to clean your unbaked polymer clay from dirt is to use 99% Isopropyl Alcohol (Rubbing alcohol) on a paper towel. If I discover some more dust or dirt on my polymer clay after baking, I softly use the sand-paper to remove it and refresh my creation.
I see that I left many fingerprints on my creation, how do I remove fingerprints from polymer clay?
Of course visible fingerprints don’t look good on any creation. Luckily there are many ways to remove your fingerprints from your polymer clay project. First of all, you can use babywipes or alcohol wipes, which help also to remove dust and dirt. If you own some clay silicone tools, they should definitely do the trick and remove the fingerprints.
If you want to avoid this trouble the next time, you can also consider wearing latex gloves or at least cut off the finger and thumb and make a finger cover.
Can I bake polymer clay charms and beads with the metal components, like eyepin for example?
Yes you can. When you put the eyepin in, bend or make a little loop in the base of the pin and embed it within the charm, the hook or loop will stop the pin pulling out as it might if you leave it straight.
However for beads, there is also another idea, because you may not want to use them directly and you are producing them for later. In this case it’s practical to put them on a thin wooden skewer and bake them that way. The pro thing is that they are not lying on the paper and the shape remains round.
Can I bake polymer clay more than once?
Yes, some more complicated projects require that you prebake some parts and then add more clay and bake again. Keep in mind that once baked, the clay remains solid.
