3 unusual techniques for working with polymer clay

Products made of polymer clay - beads, brooches,medallions and dozens of other ornaments - it's easy to make your own hands at home. Here are three unusual ways to work with polymer clay to create special effects.

Imitation of ivory

You will need:

polymer clay of two colors: white (translucent) and beige (there is a special clay color, "ivory", but it is not recommended to take it - the result will turn out to be too pale);

a machine for rolling out a polymer clay or a rolling pin and a solid, even surface;

knife;

a nail brush.

If you often do something from polymer clay,then the machine for rolling it can be bought in a store for a hobby - it's small, two to three times smaller than a home printer, it does not have any electronics and it is very easy to use.

Roll out two pieces of clay - white and beige with a machine or a rolling pin. The resulting sheets should be about 3 mm thick.

Cut from each sheet to 1/4 of its part. Most of it is rolled into a tube, and wrap the remaining quarter of the other color like a candy in a wrapper.

Cut both tubes in half, fold again.

Put a number of tubes of both colors. They should be 2 pairs. Then add one pair to the other.

Again cut the resulting workpiece into two parts.

Continue to cut and fold - this is necessaryrepeat 20-25 times. The workpiece will acquire a relatively uniform color with patches of a darker and lighter shade, and the texture will look like woody long fibers - or on a natural ivory texture.

Cut the workpiece into pieces of the size you need, skew out the beads or roll them out for flat inserts.

If desired, spend 1-2 times on the clay with a nail brush to emphasize the texture.

Bake it.

Done.

Coloring with a marker

It is not always possible to find the right color for clay, especially if it's dark shades, but it's very easy to color it yourself. The pieces, painted with a marker, will get pleasant dullness.

For this, take:

polymeric clay of light shade;

A large permanent marker with a thick, wide stem (best of all - a dark color);

thin gloves (so as not to stain the marker of the hand).

Let's get to work:

Wear gloves.

Roll out a piece of clay.

Start painting it with a marker, like a sheet of paper.

Every time after the surface is completely painted, knead the clay again and repeat the whole procedure until the resulting shade is suitable for you.

Foil

It is possible to paint a product made of clay of any color with a special metallic paint, but the same effect can be produced by a simple foil.

For this you will need:

silvery food foil;

slightly transparent glue;

tissue paper and pencil;

Scotch;

Scissors and a thin stick or an empty ballpoint pen.

Operating procedure:

Roll out a piece of clay and give it the shape that you need. Best of all, this method, of course, is suitable for flat beads and medallions.

Drip some glue on top.

Carefully glue the food foil layer, smoothing it so that no creases remain. Allow the workpiece to dry.

Draw a sketch of the picture you want to seeon the product, on tissue paper. Remember that it should be exceptionally graphic and not very complex - it will be impossible to transfer colors and very small details.

Place a tissue paper with a pattern on thebillet, fix it with adhesive tape, glue the edges to the table, and then start translating the pattern, pushing the clay through the foil and the paper directly along the pencil lines. To do this, use a stick and / or an empty ballpoint pen.

Do not press too hard, otherwise you can break through both paper and foil.