For me personally, I love making miniature food out of polymer clay, and this love for miniature food has helped me on a journey of studying texture. The gooeyness of a cheese pizza, the rough texture of a cookie, I’d like to discuss in this blog how to achieve those textures and how it may be easier than you think.
Have you ever wanted to make a miniature pizza but didn't know how to achieve that cheesy gooey texture? At first, I attempted to just lay a piece of Premo yellow over my pizza slice, but that felt too smooth and resembled a toy pizza. I really wanted to aim for something a little more realistic, and I found that by combining liquid translucent clay with Premo clay, you could create a more spreadable clay that has almost a paste like consistency. All you need to do is mix a color of clay you’d like to use for your cheese and then combine it with liquid polymer clay to break it down and soften it. I also like to add some Sculpey clay softener to make the process go by quicker. Then, once you have the desired consistency, simply spread onto your pizza slice!
Now that we’ve achieved a smooth texture, what about something rough? Like crackers or cookies? There are plenty of easy ways to achieve a rough texture, and most of you may have what you need lying around your house already! For me, I like to combine a few things: a toothbrush, aluminum foil, sanding paper, and a needle point tool. For example, when I make my chocolate chip cookies, I like to press a toothbrush into the clay to create what I call the first layer of texture. You can also use sanding paper for this if you do not have a “crafting” toothbrush. Then, I crumple up a small amount of aluminum foil and roll it into the clay and the sides to give it that lumpy cookie texture. Then, simply go in and finish with a small needle point tool to have more control.
