Polymer clay ideas. What is polymer clay. What polymer clay is best for sculpting. Polymer clay tools.

There are collected a lot of detailed free tutorial on polymer clay on our website “Polymer clay ideas”, both in photo and video format. Also there are many photos of polymer clay ideas embodied by masters from around the world! That’s why our site is called – “Polymer clay ideas”. Here you can find lots of ideas for creating of polymer clay earrings, bracelets, necklaces, beads, hair clips, namely, everything that is called jewelry, paintings, glasses, cups, figurines, dolls and many different ideas of decor made of polymer clay. Lots of ideas and tutorials for both kids and adults!

Our site contains tutorials and ideas for using of polymer clay, made both of baked polymer clay and air-dried. We will show you the difference between them and will give you advices about how to choose polymer clay properly, that fits exactly for your idea. If there was our tutorial, we would definitely write you what kind of polymer clay is it.

Polymer clay ideas

Sculpting, like other forms of art, is very beneficial for the development of children. But it is very useful for adults too!

Research by Robert Root-Bernstein, a biologist at Michigan State University in East Lansing, backs up the concept. He’s found that the most successful scientists are more likely than others to have artistic or musical hobbies. Compared with other researchers, proportionally more Nobel prizewinners and members of the US National Academies pursued interests such as arts, theatre, or creative writing.
Researching his thesis on the origins of physical chemistry, Root-Bernstein found that many successful scientists had not taken that approach. The pioneering chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur, for instance, studied drawing when he was young, and kept an interest in the arts throughout his scientific career. It’s been suggested that his artistic eye helped him to discover the chirality of molecules.
www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00334-2

1. What is polymer clay

2. Things you can do using Polymer Clay. Polymer clay ideas

3. The Best Polymer Clay Brands

4. Polymer clay tools

What kinds of polymer clay exist? Which clay is better fit to your idea? What is the difference?

You should choose polymer clay depending on your idea you want to create with polymer clay. Polymer clay charms and polymer clay earring, namely the polymer clay for the production of jewelry, as a rule, is baked in the oven. This is a popular clay FIMO, Premo, Cernit. A baked polymer clay also used to decorate souvenir cups, wedding glasses and other items such as a jar, teapot, Christmas tree toy and other ideas.

The clay becomes very firm after backing in the oven. Baked polymer clay of each manufacturer can be of different series: classic colors, but different in properties, softer or tougher, and also with all kinds of effects: for metal, translucent as frosted glass. You can read the details of properties and series of each manufacturer in this article below. So depending on your idea, you can create anything with polymer clay, any ware, which will look like glass, metal, any stone. For example, earrings and pendants can look like glass, metal, amber, pomegranate, amethyst, quartz, etc.

Which clay is more suitable for your idea?

If have an idea to create polymer clay flowers very similar to fresh flowers, the air-drying polymer clay Modena Clay is used, which is made by the Japanese company Padico. This clay is very elastic after drying, and many species are translucent, like live petals.

polymer flowers Modena Clay | Polymer clay idea

Depending on the ideas you have planned, you can choose a baked polymer clay that is best for making beads, bracelets, pendants, earrings, and decorating souvenir cups, wedding glasses, small figures, dolls. It’s better to use air-drying clay for making such jewelry as flowers in the hair, and real size flowers for the interior ideas. There is also a type of clay that is used for sculpture – for the ideas of sculpting figurines, it is a certain kind of air-drying polymer clay, such as DARWI, FIMO AIR. For the molding of small dolls, sculptures, figurines, it is often used baked polymer clay in addition to air-drying. FIMO produces both baked and self-curing polymer clay for different ideas. When you choose polymer clay, read the properties directly of this type of clay necessary, don’t look only at the name of the manufacturer, be sure to look at what this polymer clay is suitable for.

What is the difference between types of polymer clay?

Depending on the type of polymer clay you use for your ideas, the techniques of molding and the maximum size of the product also differ. Also, it is necessary to take into account important steps in the molding, for example, the baked polymer clay in some stages must be put on preliminary baking. Air-drying polymer clay is need to be dried during the molding steps, before making further details. That’s why all our master classes, we placed on the site, show appropriate polymer clays for this projects idea. We always ready to write at what stage is there need to bake, whether to dry the product to continue working with it.  

In addition, some types of figurines, dolls, flowers can be molded from different types of clay. Namely, the size and technique of sculpting this figurines ideas, allows you to glue it, both from baked and air-drying clay.

It’s worth to be noting – special series of translucent clays for a variety of polymer clay ideas. They belong to the baked clay and come in different colors, are suitable for ideas of imitation of glass objects made of frosted glass. And there is one kind of self-curing in the air of Japanese clay, which also becomes almost transparent after drying. Here on the site there is a recipe of such polymer clay, which after drying becomes almost transparent and similar to glass. Therefore, we will post many ideas that can be implemented from this kind of polymer clay.

Polymer clay transparent Sakura flowers. Hair jewelry

A detailed lesson on sculpting such flowers here >>

Despite the fact that polymer clay is quite specific product, everyone might have seen it in décor stores or craft shops, because it’s very multifunctional and there are plenty of polymer clay ideas.

What is polymer clay?

So, if to tell about baked polymer clay nature, it is a plastic material based on PVC (polyvinyl chloride) that dries when you bake it in the oven, also known as polyclay, Femo and Sculpey. Polymer clay ideas incude sculpting small items like jewelry, dolls and so on. You can make a tiny details with it, because it is easy to sculpt it and shape it in infinite ways and it has a huge range of colours. After curing baked Polymer Clay can be cut into pieces, painted in different styles you need, sanded or used for any goals required. There are also ideas for children’s art lessons and fine artists use this material for their masterpieces, beginning from simple figures and ending with complex art installations.

What Polymer Clay consists of?

Polymer clay consist of a base and a plasticizer, which gives the clay plasticity. Polymer clay is based on polyvinyl chloride, it’s a kind of vinyl similar to that the dolls or rubber balls are made of. Particles of PVC, like gelatin, have great absorbency when heated, and it is this property that underlies polymer clay. When plasticizers are heated with PVC powder, a gelation process takes place: plasticizers are absorbed into the powder particles, the particles swell, come together and, having complex irregular shapes with tubercles and outgrowths, adhere tightly to each other. Only after curing it becomes a solid vinyl as we know it. 

As far as baked polymer clay is craft material, it doesn’t consist of any toxic or dangerous elements. That is why it is not forbidden for children to use it.

Things you can do using Polymer Clay. Polymer clay ideas

Here we will show you how many polymer clay ideas exist. You can use this material for almost everything  you want to create.

Garments and accessories

Polymer clay ideas is widely used in creating of clothing details, such as buttons, beads, jewelry and parts of accessories. You can make it in different colors, sizes and shapes. On our website you can see stylish bracelets, necklaces in ethic style, extraordinary earrings. The main idea is that you can make it in different styles, modern or classic, everything depends on imagination and creativity.

Earrings with Tangerines, earrings made of polymer clay | Polymer clay idea
Polymer clay Hairbands | Polymer clay ideas

DIY Headbands with polymer clay flowers, tutorial >>

Sculptures and portraits

Polymer clay ideas include also sculpturing for different taste, from a little fairy tale characters to super heroes from movies. Even realistic portraits of your friends or idols can be done. Little toys for children or décor items are possible as well.

Polymer clay figurine ideas | Polymer clay ideas

A lot of figurines ideas and tutorials here

3D volumetric Portrait Billie Eilish & Portrait of Lady Gaga from polymer clay | Polymer clay ideas

Polymer clay portrait step by step:
ART photo processing (Picture processing program, art generator) > printing on watercolor paper > paint the portrait with dry pastel > fix the drawing with acrylic varnish > sculpt nose and lips from polymer clay > sculpt rose petals from polymer clay > decorate the portrait with petals

Polymer clay used by the master in the video tutorial

Decoration art ideas

Using baked polymer clay ideas you can decorate your  kitchen items or tableware. For example, paint illustrations on your wine glasses, plates, cups to make them exceptional. Same you can do with plant pots, vases, ashtrays, boxes.

Polymer clay cup decor | Polymer clay idea

Variety of decor ideas and tutorials here

Advantages of baked Polymer Clay

Polymer clay has evident advantages comparing to other art and craft media, not only because there are many polymer clay ideas, but also because of the following facts:

  • Polymer clay is easy to use and there is no need to have special equipment, because you can just bake it in your oven at home.
  • The cost of the material is not expensive, most people can afford it
  • It doesn’t require a lot of space, so it’s perfect for using it in apartments.
  • There is no need in special skills , it be a part of creation process for experienced fine artists and for kids as well
  • It’s perfect for teaching a color theory, as it has a wide range of shades
  • You can leave your works at any stage and continue it whenever you can, so it’s perfect for people who are busy and want to change the idea of their final product.

After learning all this information, you are ready for a next step. How to start creating with a polymer clay you will find out in the next article.  

The Best Polymer Clay Brands

There are many brands producing Polymer Clay and all of them are different and have their particular qualities. Some of them are more flexible and stronger than others, some are more or less expensive, some are more soft and etc. So there is no rule for everyone which brand to choose, the decision should be based on the final result you want to get. Despite this fact, it is better to know which polymer clay brand is best suited for your polymer clay ideas.

I have prepared information about various brands and for what they are best  to be chosen. You have to find what is appropriate for you, but it’s useful to know about each of them.

FIMO

FIMO is the first polymer clay brand and  probably the strongest one, because it was the only one for a long time, created in 54 20th century by Staedtler in Germany. It includes several variations for different polymer clay ideas such as a kids clay, a general purpose clay, professional clay. In Europe FIMO is the most popular clay, but it could problematic to find it in the US, but the quality is worth this.

Fimo Professional

Fimo Professional appeared about a year ago, before that it was called Fimo Classic, they changed to 3 ounce blocks and added a new line ‘True Colors’ together with a mixing system for creating unrepeatable color ideas. We had a chance to work with this kind of clay and we can affirm that Fimo Pro is close to be the best brand among others and it’s suitable for any kind of polymer clay idea. At first Fimo Pro can be crumbly, but in some time it softens and becoming a mass with primely body. It gets sticky when it warms up, but it keeps shape and small details well, so it’s perfect mix. After curing it’s strong and durable. It can leave traces on  your arms, so you will need to use wet napkins after that. Fimo Pro also has a range of doll colors called Fimo Professional Doll Art.

Fimo Soft

Fimo Soft is far more affordable in the US than Fimo Professional. It is available in 2 ounce blocks in a wide range of colors and its very nice for any purpose and polymer clay idea. It has metallic, pearl and translucent colors called Fimo Effect. Some colors don’t have long shelf life and can be crumbly, that’s why we recommend you to buy this clay from verified supplier, but not from craft stores. This polymer clay holds shape very good, strong after baking and easy to work with.

Fimo Leather

The texture of this polymer clay brand looks like a real leather, because it has a paper fibers inside which give it a texture effect in raw and baked form. The  same as leather it is so flexible that it can be sewed with a sewing machine. It is also used as a new polymer clay idea for making marbled effects. 

Fimo Kids

Children have their own polymer clay brand in Fimo line as well. This clay has simple color palette, which are more chalky, less bright and intense then the Fimo brands. It is the best polymer clay for children’s ideas, it is easy to work with and  have very soft texture.

Premo

Premo is the most multipurpose polymer clay and very popular for people around the world, one of top for majority polymer clay ideas. The main advantage of it is that it can hold shape and you can make small details with no problem using this clay. After baking it remains strong and still flexible. The range of colors and hues is very wide, you can choose any you need for your polymer clay ideas. Premo Accents are used to call metallic, pearl and translucent colors as some kinds of Premo clay. It is recommended to buy fresh Premo clay and use it as soon as possible for best results of your ideas, because some colors has an inconsistent expire date and it is hard to work with an old clay. 

In the Polyform line there are other polymer clay brands, they are specialty clays and not for all purpose and any polymer clay idea, so you can choose them for a special project. For example, Mold Maker is good at making shapes, Ultralight is very soft and light, Eraser Clay makes erasers, Bake and Bend is flexible and Glow in the Dark does just that.

Sculpey

First of all, you need to know that Sculpey is a name of brand, but not a type of clay. According to this, when you say that you are using Sculpey it means that it can any product of Polyform Company, they produce a wide range of them for a variety of polymer clay ideas. They have weak and soft materials for children use and more complicated ones for more professional use, such as jewelry.

Original Sculpey

Original Sculpey is very soft and weak, available only in white and terra cotta colors, that comes in a large boxes. It is weak when it’s cured, so this gives understanding about the particular use of it. This kind of clay is mostly used for ideas of decorating  of  pinch pots, plaques and bowls as it can’t be cut into thin pieces, because they can easily break. It is literally inappropriate for detailed sculptures, jewelry and small  figures, there are other suitable kinds of clay for this polymer clay ideas. Original Sculpey can be easily baked at home, that’s why it is a  good idea for children to create at home and to find out all the advantages of polymer clay.

Super Sculpey

Super Sculpey is best suitable idea for sculpting and available only in flesh tone. The same as Original Sculpey, it comes in large boxes (from 1 to 24 pounds). This kind of Sculpey is almost transparent and makes very nice skin tone, but it get dark after baking, that’s why it is often painted after that. There is a colored version called Super Sculpey Firm for those who need more strong sculpting, because the first one is quite soft for this polymer clay idea. If you need your sculpture to stay strong or handled after baking, it is better to use one the clay types described below, they have even more range of skin tone.

Sculpey III

Sculpey III differs from other types, because it is one the first American colored polymer clays, including pearls, translucent and metallic hues. Sculpey III comes in 2 oz bars and some colors come in 8 oz and 1 pound bricks. If to talk about its consistency, it is very soft one and it reminds toothpaste or pastry in texture, despite that it’s much stronger clay than Original Sculpey. That is why it’s not useful for fine detailed polymer clay ideas, that has to have strong structure and can stand on its own, such as jewelry or tiny complicated sculptures. Also better to don’t use it for creating super slim details. But it’s great for polymer clay ideas for children to make any easy figures, which are not intended to stand. Beginners use it for their simple sculptures as well.

As far as Sculpey III is soft, it can also be used in polymer clay paintings’ ideas, Sutton Slice. But the base you put Sculpey III should be strong in order to get satisfying result of the idea.

Bake Shop

There is a possibility that Bake Shop has been rebranded as Firefly in some places. This kind of clay is available in several colors in 2 ounce blocks and it is one of the cheapest and weakest of all polymer clay brands. Those who have tried for their polymer clay ideas it say that it’s too mushy to keep shape and to hold details. After baking it can be easily broken. There is no need to save money on it and better to leave this polymer clay for kids to play with.

Souffle

Souffle is quite young brand, exists only one year on the market, available in 2 oz blocks. It is one the most convenient types of clay, because it’s soft, easy to handle, flexible and strong at the same time, suitable for different polymer clay ideas. It doesn’t have such colors as metallic, translucent or pearl, all the colors are not saturated, but they are very good in combining all together in common idea. Souffle is also great for mokume gane idea, it can be splitted in tiny pieces gently and neatly.

Kato Polyclay

Kato Polyclay was developed by polymer clay artist Donna Kato, thus there a range of bright colors, neutrals, metallic, designed to be close to artist’s primaries, so you can mix any color you need for your own polymer clay idea. It comes in 2 ounce blocks and 12,5 ounce bricks. Kato is one of the strongest polymer clays on the market. It remains strong after baking it. Kato is not a good idea for children or people with weak hands, it suits perfect for caning. The unbaked clay has a plastic feeling when you touch it, the baked clay is shining, colors remain clear, this clay is not sticky, so it is easy to move it during caning. It is very similar to plastic, comparing to other types of polymer clay.

Kato clay has a very specific strong smell, similar to a smell of new shower curtain or a doll, vinyl-like. It depends on how you smell, if it will be too unbearable we suggest to keep the clay covered with a lid during baking.

If you have hot hands and need strong clay for your polymer clay idea, it will be the best choice for you, because it is quite hard to with it.

Pardo by Viva Décor

Pardo is a German brand of polymer clay and it has a jewelry clay and for professional polymer clay ideas. Everyone knows it as a clear translucent polymer clay.

Pardo Jewelry Clay

Pardo jewelry clay was originally supplied in little balls in a jar. It is considered to be a hobby clay and designed to be like various gems and jewelry ideas. The colors have a slight shimmer to them, similar to gems. It is quite rare type of polymer clay, not used very often, so we don’t have enough information about it and ideas how to use it.

Pardo Professional Art Clay

Pardo Professional has a full range of different colors, including translucent. Now it has a line of colored translucent polymer clay, which we highly recommend. Translucent Pardo Professional Art Clay is the clearest among other translucent polymer clays and it is very useful if you need to create translucent effects or you have an idea to decorate with them something.

Despite the fact that Pardo Professional can be very tricky in work with it, in fact it is one of the best polymer clay for creating canes. Pardo reacts positive to heat and to make the slicing easier it’s better to warm a cane a bit before that. There is a tendency to crumble when it’s not conditioned and there can be some problems with slicing. But this polymer clay is quite strong and doesn’t get too soft.

Cernit Polymer Clay

Cernit is brand of polymer clay, which is more popular in Europe, but not in the US. It comes in small and large blocks, in more than 100 colors and has become well-known as the best polymer clay brand for making dolls as one of polymer clay idea. Cernit a light translucent base, that’s why baked elements have shining porcelain effect, which is perfect for ideas of  making dolls or flowers. During a work with this clay it is better to let it rest every few minutes, because it is a bit crumbly when you just put it out of the block, but it can quickly smooth out to a soft form and it can be too elastic after heating. Cernit is one the clearest brand and you can find it mixing with others, for example with Pardo Translucents, which gives a qualitative combination for your polymer clay idea. Cernit is an excellent choice for flower petals and jewelry, because it is super strong and enough flexible after baking.

Polymer clay

PVClay

PVClay came from Brazil, they have growing polymer clay community. They begin to find out advantages of using polymer clay for creating and bringing to life their polymer clay ideas of different masterpieces. That is why PVClay appeared on the market and it is wonderful. It has a good quality and it is flexible, strong and has a wide range of colors, including pearls, metallics and even translucent. This kind of polymer clay is suitable for all purposes and ideas.

Generic Brands

There are a lot of unnamed or generic brand of polymer clay on the market, because it is easy to make it for chemists. That is why some craft stores have ideas to create their own clays, such as CraftSmart by Michaels and Hobbycraft by Shapelt. You can also find some of them Ebay, they can have different qualities, too soft or too strong, so there are better choices for bringing to life your polymer clay ideas.

How to choose the Best Polymer Clay Brand?

There is no best polymer brand, that can satisfy all your needs and polymer clay ideas. Your choice should depend on what you want to do and what kind of product you want get in the end. But we can give some key recommendations:

– Souffle and Fimo Kids is the best choice for working with kids and if you want to teach them a tactile work you should choose Sculpey Original or Bake Shop.

– Premo, Cernit, Fimo Professional and Souffle is good for making jewelry.

– For caning the most suitable are Kato Polyclay and Fimo Professional.

– For cartoon sculptures or animals better to take Kato, Premo, Fimo Professional and Soft.

– Simple everyday sculpting can be made with Super Scupley.

– Kato Polyclay is the best idea for detailed work and if you need a stiff clay.

– If you need flexible and strong results, choose Cernit and Souffle.

– To make polymer clay painting ideas take Suffle and Sculpey III.

– For extra translucent work – Pardo Professional Art Clay in Translucent.

– In South America PVClay is the best variant for any idea.

– Kato, Fimo Professional have true colors if u need your special mix for polymer clay ideas.

– For people with disabilities – Souffle.

– If you want to choose universal variant for any idea, Cernit, Premo and Fimo Professional are perfect.

Where to Buy Polymer Clay

The best and the most safe place to buy polymer clay is from reputable stores or suppliers, because they control the quality of their products, always have fresh clay and high turnover. Craft stores are very convenient, but it is often that you can buy not fresh clay there and it will be hard and crumbly, because they have an old stocks and inappropriate conditions, it could cause problems with objectification of polymer clay idea.

Polymer clay tools

The Making of Polymer Starter Kit

When you first start to work with polymer clay, you need to find out which tools or instruments you must have for your polymer clay ideas, what supplies you need to start with polymer clay. For this purpose there are exist several ideas of kits for sale. You can find lists created by online shops, which have a full composition of good you need to buy and it won’t cost too much to start to work with polymer clay.

That is why we have made some recommendations for a polymer clay starter kit. They  include “must have” items, that everyone should get at the beginning and the list for more advanced users and even a list of ideas for “someday dream items”.

 When you start to work with a polymer clay, it is easy to buy things you don’t actually need for it. So you should be attentive and the easiest way is to go to some craft shop nearby, where you can find everything for polymer clay ideas cheaply.

Below we have prepared lists for a Basic Beginner Kit. Advanced Kit and Dream Kit. We start with a Basic Beginner Kit.

Basic Beginner Polymer Clay Starter Kit

Tools for a Basic Beginner Polymer Clay Kit

Some these items you can already have at your home or you can easily find them in a craft shop.

– Needle Tools – you can buy them or can make it by your own.

– Craft knife or a X-acto – usual craft knife, you can have a dull one and a super sharp for different kind of works and ideas.

– Roller or Rod  – an acrylic rod and plastic are working goof, but don’t use a wooden roller, clay can soak into the wood.

– If have the idea to make a decorative holes with some paint, you should use Ball Stylus.

– Long Scraber Blade – just a usual blade, don’t have to be super sharp for general cutting, you can use dull and stiff blade for chopping, lifting, shaving and cutting shapes.

Clay

Each brand of polymer clay has their particular qualities, which can have an influence on the final result. That’s why it is important to choose suitable for your polymer clay idea, especially if you know what you will make with it. Our article “The Best Polymer Clay Brands” will help you to make a choice. If  you are not sure about your polymer clay ideas , start with Premo or Fimo, they are more multipurpose. Bake Shop, Sculpey III and Sculpey Original are disappointing for beginners, because are too soft.

Household or Hardware Store Items

To work with a polymer clay we mostly use items, which we can find at home, otherwise just buy in hardware store.

– Home oven – you can easily and safely use your home oven for baking polymer clay. You can use both smaller one or kitchen one for any polymer clay idea.

– Foil Pans and a Binder Clip are used in order to protect your project. It is comfortable to bake inside of a foil pan and clip it with a binder clip to a lid.

– Ceramic Tiles are very good surfaces for baking and for holding the heat, they go from the table to oven.

– Coarse Grit Sandpaper is used for creating textures on the backs of pendants. He hides small spots and fingerprints and helps your product  to look more brilliant.

– There is no need to buy a special brush if you have an Old Toothbrush, which is a nice idea and can help to create texture and clean residue from baked clay.

– You can use Travel  Spray Bottles to fill it with water or rubbing alcohol to clean your hands, tools and work surface.

– Basic Cookie Cutter Shapes will be useful in all sorts of ideas and ways for making various shapes, especially a round set in different sizes.

Supplies

Here is a list of supplies you need to have during work with polymer clay ideas, some of them you already have in your home.

Paper Towels will help you to clean the surface and tools, in order not to get dirty your product.

– Polymer residue can stay on your hands and Baby Wipes  have a perfect combination of solvent and scrub-powder.

– If you don’t want your polymer clay to stick on your work surface, you can use a plain paper or Scarp Copy Paper. To prevent shiny spots, it is also a good idea to put it under polymer clay during baking.

Cornstarch is used for removing your fingerprints from unbaked clay. It is also used as insulator for baking of polymer clay.

Toothpicks are very useful instrument for sculpting or mixing paints for your polymer clay ideas.

– After opening your package of polymer clay you will need a place where to keep it from dust, Ziploc Sandwich Bags are perfect for this purpose.

Polymer clay tools

Advanced Polymer Clay Tool Kit

After you have all basic supplies for start to work with a polymer clay and you have got experienced a bit, you will have more polymer clay ideas. So it is perfect time to find more specialized tools, here is a list of them.

Liquid Polymer Clay. You should buy Kato or Fimo Liquid and use it as a glaze, a glue, a filler and for other effects and ideas.

Varathane is a water-based brush-on varnish. PYM II is a spray varnishes which is used with polymer clay. You can use them in order to isolate and protect some surfaces, such as mica powders and metal leaf.

– We recommend to get a Wipe Out Tool. It is a little rubber-tipped tool, which will work with polymer clay easily.

– High quality Gel Super Glue will work with all kind works and ideas with polymer clay.

– You will definitely need a Sandpaper to get a high glass-like shine on polymer clay, starting to sand it smooth using it. It has to be done on wet clay with a lot of water.

Texture Sheets and Stamps are very common in polymer clay, such as silicone and rubber stamps, embossing folders, texture sheets.

Kemping Kutters are very qualitative and a good idea for investment. These sets of small brass cutters in various shapes and sizes with little plungers will help you to push out the clay shape.

Extruder is good tool to have it on hand and perfect for beginners, because it can be broken with heavy use. This instrument pushes clay through a patterned disk and making a ‘snake’ clay, which further can turn into certain shape, like tringle or heart, suitable for a certain polymer clay idea.

– If you have an idea to write on polymer clay, the MicroPerm Pen by Sakura will be an excellent choice, because sharpies fade become purple in some time.

– In order to create paper-thin slices of canes of clay for making mokume gane, it is better to use Tissue Blade, which is super sharp. In everyday slicing don’t use it, there is risk to get cut.

Pasta Machine is one of the most highly needed tool in work with polymer clay. It helps to make conditioning clay, to mix colors and skinner blends and rolling sheets, that all will be helpful with your polymer clay idea. There two good middle-level brands – the Makins and  the Atlas.

– As far as most ovens lie, it is recommended to buy an Oven Thermometer. You will be able to control the temperature in the oven, is it appropriate or not. The final result of your idea can depend on it, because if it is too hot you will have such a problem as discoloration, if it is too cold – your polymer clay will be weak.

For Bead and Jewelry Makers

Micro Drill from a craft shop is perfect idea for using with a polymer clay, it has a range of bit sizes, from thick pencil size to a thinner than a sewing pin size. That’s why it is more useful than a hand drill, that can make a bit too big bits or than Dremel, which can bring you difficulties, because it’s easy to get off track. If you are not sure where to put the hole during making jewelry, Micro Drill is perfect for enlarging holes from your bead pins or for making new holes after baking.

Bead Pins is the easiest way to make holes in beads before baking. They are able to make tiny holes, which can enlarged with micro drill after baking. But if you will additionally use toothpick or skewer , it can deform the bead.

– The basic Jewelry Tools are wire cutters, chain-nose and round-nosed pliers. They are indispensable during working process with your polymer clay idea.

– If you want to make polymer clay beads or jewelry, you need to have main Jewelry Findings, such as glue-on balls, chain, jump rings, head pins, clasps, ear wires, wire, beads.

Dream Tools

When you have been working with polymer clay for a while and you want to create something special, not just a usual thing, it’s time to upgrade your tools and get advanced versions of them for your polymer clay ideas. The following tools are for more professional users of  baked polymer clay with wide range of ideas.

Dedicated Clay Oven. If you start to work with a polymer clay more often or your claying area is far from kitchen and stationary oven is rarely available, you should get a separate clay oven. We don’t have any recommendations or ideas about any brand, but you can pay your attention to convection ovens, because they work better and distribute heat more equally, which will prevent hot spots.

Slicer. There are plenty of options here, but our recommendation is The Simple Slicer or even better – LC Tools Slicer.

Pasta Machine Motor. Motors are quite noisy and there is no a great need to have it on your pasta machine, but they allow you to direct the clay into the machine with both hands, which helps you to avoid shoulder strain and makes the process go faster. The main brands are the Makins and the Atlas both have motors in their machines.

Czextruder should be long-lasting tool. The green Makins extruder works good, but you can notice that you are doing a lot of extruding work, which is the reason not  to recommend it highly. Although it has expensive cost, it works well and you can succesfully use it with disks you have from your Makins. 

 Fun Craft Materilas

There are also some additional fun materials, which you can add to your polymer clay kit. They will help to make the final product more creative and your polymer clay ideas be special and fun. Here is a list: Glitter, Acrylic Paint, Pan Pastels, Alcohol Inks, Metal Leaf, Silicone Mold Putty, Epoxy Resin, Crystals for Bling, Mica Powders.

Video tutorial on polymer clay (Tools for a Basic Beginner Polymer Clay Kit)