Sculpey Blog
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Overlooked Polymer Clay Tips
Polymer clay is a versatile medium used for anything from jewelry and home decor items to fun crafts and figurines. Whether you're a professional artist or polymer clay newbie, having a few tricks up your sleeve will make the creative process easier and more enjoyable. Top Nine Tips for Working With Polymer Clay Once you understand some essential tips for...
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New Color Tuesday-Concrete Crazy Pt 4
The last NCT Mix for the year this week. (Next month I get to pick my 4 favorites from the year!) This weeks mix helped me solve a little clay riddle - I love Shamrock and Sea Glass together, but what other colors can I use in the mix? #1 Yay! Look at how well Concrete plays with my two...
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How to Be Productive in Your Polymer Clay Studio
One of the skills every artist strives to master — and one that takes some practice — is the art of productivity. While the term "productivity" can mean different things to different people, we can all agree that it's important. Being an artist is a rewarding and sometimes challenging job that takes willpower, inspiration and a bit of planning. Top...
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How to Soften Polymer Clay
A common question from clayers and crafters is what to do about polymer clay that's become too hard. Can clay become too firm to the point where it's unusable? The answer is yes and no. Fortunately, there are several methods you can use to soften polymer clay that has become too hard. Sometimes, you can store polymer clay for years...
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How to Stiffen Polymer Clay
When the weather gets warmer, your polymer clay may soften and even become sticky. Warm hands and hot work areas can also cause clay to become too soft. As a crafter, you know how important it is to work with firm polymer clay. When clay is stiff enough, you're better able to get crisp, fine details in your designs and...
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How to Condition Polymer Clay
Before using polymer clay for crafts, structures, figurines or jewelry, it's essential to learn how to condition it. Always condition your polymer clay straight from the package to ensure maximum softness and flexibility. You can either knead polymer clay in your hands or run it through a pasta machine for the desired effect. What Is Conditioning? Conditioning is the process...
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New Color Tuesday! Concrete Crazy Pt 3
I'm highlighting mixing with Souffle Concrete this month. I'll admit it, Concrete was a forgotten color in my clay cabinet - but what a great subtle mixer it is! I thought that mixing with some seasonal colors this week would be appropriate and they are all gorgeous! That ENTIRE palette looks wonderful together! I love the little pop of metallic...
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New Color Tuesday - Souffle Concrete Pt 1
That's right, I get subtle this month - no in-your-face color mixes for once! Hey, I've got to play grownup once in a while! It's no secret that I'm really into greys now with my Antique Red hair. Premo Slate, Premo Accents Graphite and Souffle Concrete are figuring quite prominently in my clays on the worktable. Concrete is an especially...
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Polymer Clay Basics 101 - Work Surfaces and Baking Tips
I’ve been working with polymer clay for over thirty years now. I’ve learned a few things in these first 30 years and I’d like to share some information with you about work surfaces and baking tips. I have a beautiful studio in our home that has everything I need. But I realize that having a permanent studio might not...
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New Color Tuesday! Great Guava Part 5 Fall Color Mixes for Oranges
I thought it would be appropriate to create the "bonus" 5th NCT post for October with some orange mixes for Halloween and The Season. I correctly figured that if I teamed Souffle Raspberry with some yellow type colors, I would get some oranges. I was OBSESSED with Souffle Raspberry when it came out and I'm not a huge fan of...
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New Color Tuesday! Great Guava Mixes with Pistachio Pt 4
Yeah, I am LOVING this month's NCT mixes! I know I'm going to get amazing (often shocking) mixes when I mix with Souffle Pistachio, but little did I know it could stand so strong with the bolder colors in the Souffle palette. And OF COURSE, check the amazing golden color Pistachio and Guava create! To the sub-palettes: #1 ANOTHER favorite...
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Claying with Veneers by Lynn Yuhr
Veneers are a staple in polymer clay creations. I use veneers ALL the time. It is basically a decorative sheet of clay. It could be a sheet with a surface treatment (for example, silk screened or alcohol inks), a pattern of cane slices pieced together or a mokume gane slice. But it can also be simple . . . . ...
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New Color Tuesday-Great Guava Pt 3
Premo Accents Copper (one of my favs) is mixed 1:1 with 3 of my favorite Souffle clay colors to create one of my most favorite color palettes EVER! In face, I've created 4 necklaces and a bracelet already with this palette and I want to make more. The 3 1:1 mixes invoke a kind of mid-century feel to me and...
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New Color Tuesday! Great Guava Pt 2
Now I love me some Premo Accents 18k Gold - and it mixes so beautifully with the Souffle color palette. The gorgeous hint of sparkle from the 18k adds a soft luster to the finished mix. Wow! That IS effusive, but I DO love the mixes. I really liked how these randomish colors of Guava, Robin Egg and Grape combined...
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Creating Color Stories
By Lynn Yuhr The colors of clay and the way we can manipulate those colors is probably one of the leading factors that drew us into this medium. It was for me! The range of polymer clay colors right out of the package are wonderful. They provide a solid jumping off point for any design. And I am always inspired...
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New Color Tuesday! Great Guava Pt 1
Now, if you know me, you know that I'm allergic to pink, right? I'm a redhead - my mom NEVER let me wear pink or red. But I like this Souffle Guava. It's got such a nice warm pink - more of a cocktail pink- grownup pink? Let me show you, starting with some Souffle mixes. I'm kind of obsessed...
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New Color Tuesday! Almost Fall Pt 4
This week I am combining a cooler palette of Souffle colors for Fall - think more like in the cool shadows of the trees with ripe berries on the bushes. (Of course, I'm imagining all that, since palm trees and berry bushes aren't seen together too often!) Mixing equal parts of colors can seem pretty obvious, but I'm constantly surprised...
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How to Get Started in Miniatures
Design by Melissa "Mo" Tipton Miniature food making relies on a set of basic sculpting skills, and handily enough, today’s project gives you a chance to practice all of them. The skills you’ll be learning, which will help you with a variety of other tiny food projects, are: Using the proper amount of translucent clayCreating realistic crumbsGiving clay a browned...
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New Color Tuesday! Almost Fall Pt 3
This week I'm starting with a classic Fall palette of colors, featuring Souffle Pumpkin, Cinnamon, Canary and Grape (that sounded like a pie recipe until I listed the Canary, right?) The mixed set of colors are a lovely set of almost wine colors that still evoke the Fall mood. I was stunned to see that Canary and Grape make a...
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New Color Tuesday! Almost FAll with Souffle Pt 2
Souffle Canary is one of those colors that always surprises in mixes. OF COURSE I love the Maize color created by Souffle Cinnamon and Canary mixed 1:1 (change the ratio dropping the Cinnamon amount for a lighter version). I was surprised that the Souffle Cowboy/Canary mix makes almost a Latte color! And of course, super saturated Souffle Shamrock held its...
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Sculpey® Bakeable Molds
Do you ever get a design in mind that is just too complex to do by hand? Or maybe you'd like to create multiple identical pieces? Sculpey® can help! Silicone molds with polymer clay and Liquid Sculpey offer an easy way to create detailed designs that come out just as sturdy as your non-molded pieces. Molds are easy to use...
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New Color Tuesday! Cornflower Pt 4
This is possibly my most favorite mix for the year! That BGP/Souffle Cinnamon mix is such a gorgeous deep golden color with a beautiful shimmer. And the BGP/Souffle Latte? It makes my mid-century modern brain so happy. I got a little carried away with my scraps and I'll show you later what I made with them - with a little...
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It’s All About the Shapes
by Teresa Pandora Salgado We’ve established the fact that bull’s eyes, stripes and spirals are the basis for complex caning; but being “creative types”, we’re not quite satisfied, are we? Individuality comes from shaping the components and even the finished canes into new configurations. For this cane, I made the typical components: a log and some sheets. For a...
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New Color Tuesday! Cornflower Pt 3
I admit it, I have FUN mixing Souffle colors with the Premo Pearls because I NEVER know what it is going to produce. I mean Purple Pearl and Latte produced a deep gold color! WHAAAT? Latte is a color super hero like Robin Egg and Pistachio - it more than holds its own against the darker colors. And as always...
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Simple Complexity – The Caning Oxymoron
In the course of daily interactions, I’m often asked the default conversational question, “What do you do?”. I’ll admit I get a cheap thrill out of replying, “I teach millefiori complex caning.” That phrase alone weeds out those who really don’t care what I do, (which is most people). When they do show interest, I show them a couple of...
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Flesh Tone Color Mixing
On of the best features of polymer clay is your ability to create custom colors for every project and piece. Also that fact that our different clay brands can be mixed together.
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New Color Tuesday!Cornflower Pt 2
Give me greens...any kind of greens... and I'll like them. I figured that I would get a batch of greens from this color mixing and I wasn't disappointed. This is an interesting process - mixing the Souffle colors with the "wilder" Premo Pearls. I just love the shimmer that 2:1 (2Pearl:1Souffle) produces with ALL the Pearls and Souffle. The subtle...
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New Color Tuesday! Souffle Cornflower Pt 1
The new Souffle color called Cornflower is an interesting color -Is it blue? Is it purple? Is it BOTH? And since I'm obsessed with mixing Souffle with Premo Accents Metallics right now, I thought I would mix with the wildest of the metallics (Purple Pearl and Bright Green Pearl) with both a cool palette and a warm palette. Once I...
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8 Art Supplies Every Teacher Needs
Ah, art class! It's a universal favorite among kids and adults. First of all, it's fun. Kids are encouraged to get messy and work with their hands. Second of all, everyone — even if they're not the next Picasso — has hidden reserves of creativity just waiting to be tapped. In art class, beauty stays firmly in the eye of...
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New Color Tuesday! The Reds and Blues Pt 5
Okay, let's finish July with a BANG! and mix colors with one of the Premo Accents Glitter clays - White Gold Glitter. Personally, I'm a little surprised that July would have the machismo to have FIVE Tuesdays in it! It's kind of a lazy mid-summer month - it's not supposed to be so hard working.. Anyway, White Gold Glitter is...
