Selection of material
The starting point of the step-by-step instructions is how to sculpt from clay - the choice of raw materials.
For creative activities, you can use both natural and artificial materials. To make a choice, you need to know what is best suited for what.
Magnets
An ideal polymer clay activity for children would be making refrigerator magnets. Knowing the technique already, coming up with something for you will not be difficult.
Remember that you should always use your imagination, because the most difficult is not always the best. You may have many options for creativity - these are some kind of parrots, the face of your domestic cat, New Year's decoration in the form of magnets for the refrigerator. Moreover, using a magnet, you can make a holder for needles.
Natural clay
Produced from rocks, it is purified from all kinds of impurities and does not contain dyes. As a rule, it has one of three colors - blue, red, white:
- Blue color - the material is most used in cosmetology, it contains a large amount of salts;
- Red - clay, which is widely used for the production of ceramics (durable, heat-resistant), after firing it has a brick tint;
- White color is the most popular in creative works; after firing, the products acquire an ivory tint, the paints are applied easily and do not change their colors.
Factory packages come in different weights; it is profitable to buy 15-kilogram briquettes. When applying, it is necessary to maintain the correct proportions of the material with water and sand.
Artificial clay
It is a polymer and dyes are used in its production. It works like plasticine, and after hardening, products made from it become plastic. There are two options: in one of them, firing is not required, in the other, solidification occurs when heated.
It is easier to work with such raw materials; small figurines and costume jewelry are made well from it. It is available in different colors, and finished products do not require painting. Thus, for clay crafts for children and all beginners, it is better to choose artificial material.
"Knitted" products
Due to its properties, polymer clay opens up wide possibilities for creativity.
One of the interesting techniques is weaving products and individual elements from clay laces.
The blanks are easy to roll by hand, and even easier to produce using an extruder.
From the resulting lace blanks you can weave braids or flat knots using the macrame technique.
This way you can weave a bracelet or individual parts for any decoration.
What tools are needed
The most necessary equipment that will be required for classes is:
- Blades, knives, molds (for cutting),
- Wet wipes, gloves,
- Plastic board and rolling pin (for rolling out the clay mass),
- Toothpicks, paper clips, needles (for making indentations in products, etc.),
- Stacks,
- Smooth hard surface.
If you plan to bake and paint crafts, you will also need special dishes, paints, and brushes.
Plastic method
Allows you to create things from a single piece of clay.
- Molds and a pottery wheel are used.
- When working with a wheel, the raw material is placed on it and pulled upward, forming the product as it rotates.
Constructive way
Items are created from separately molded parts.
In this case, different methods are used:
- Filigree: Small twisted pieces are placed on a rolled out sheet of clay to create a pretty pattern;
- Rolls: Multi-colored “sausages” are laid in layers, and then rolled and curious patterns are obtained on the cut of the “roll”;
- Textile ceramics: Roll out each of the parts separately, cut out the required shapes using molds, and finally connect everything using a clay solution;
Materials of different colors are mixed, achieving smooth transitions (for artificial clay).
Technique for obtaining blanks
The combination of colors and the play of their shades will help you create a unique designer decoration.
In order to get different shades of color, you need to perform a few simple steps.
- From two colors of the mass you need to make a pair of rectangular blocks of equal size.
- Cut them diagonally with a knife.
- Combine the resulting triangular shapes to form two-color blocks.
- Cut small pieces from the preparations, knead thoroughly.
From the resulting blanks it is easy to make original beads or make a beautiful flower.
How to burn
Without an explanation of the firing process, a master class on creating clay crafts will not be complete.
In order to begin this process, the figurine must be completely dry. It may take from several hours to two days.
- Firing is carried out using a barbecue. The product is placed in a tin can and placed in the grill (for eight hours): so that it is in the middle of the fire. As long as the sound during firing remains dull, the product is not yet ready.
- Crafts made from artificial raw materials can be fired in the oven for an hour or two (by initially heating it to two hundred degrees, and then setting the temperature to one hundred and eighty degrees).
Button
Did you find an old beautiful button in your chest of drawers or at your grandmother’s? Why not try to apply it in our creativity. Although we will be making buttons, the process is similar for a century-old coin.
Make small balls from any color, you can even use leftovers. Attach a button to the resulting balls. Use a toothpick to make holes for the threads and place in the oven.
Sand the finished products, remove any unevenness and roughness from the edges, degrease and varnish.
There is a second version of this product using old tulle or any other textured fabric containing an expressive pattern. This is an ideal polymer clay craft for beginners.
Roll out a thin layer of clay of any color. Attach a piece of the fabric of your choice to it, then cover it with a plank and press it. Next, remove the fabric and use any round product, for example, a cork, to make a circle.
Take a toothpick and use the stencil of a real button to make holes for the thread. Send the resulting products to the oven, after which you can sand and varnish.
What to make
As a rule, ideas for clay crafts come to mind on their own. The scope for creativity is unusually wide.
- Figures of animals, fish and birds, trees and flowers, fruits, vegetables and berries, beads, pendants and horseshoes, dishes, fairy-tale characters!..
- For initial experience, as well as to reinforce the material, here is an example of making a “Christmas tree” toy (with which, say, you can decorate a real furry forest beauty).
Manufacturers
To make a craft from polymer clay with your own hands, it is important to choose the right material for creativity. The following manufacturers are currently represented on the Russian market:
Russian-made clay, as a rule, is noticeably inferior to Western analogues, but is superior in price. Often the color range is quite narrow, and the finished craft can be fragile. The main companies on the market are Tsvetika and Artifact.
German clay presented by Fimo is one of the oldest on the market with a huge selection of colors. The only drawback is the high cost of one package, but it is ideal for professional work.
Each manufacturer, having their own clay production formula, endows it with special properties characteristic only of their company. For example, Kato clay must be baked at high temperatures, and Belgian Cernit may slightly change color after heat treatment.
Clay “Christmas tree”
Such a toy is made using the filigree technique described above from artificial clay.
- First you need to purchase polymer clay of different shades.
- The main color is light green.
- You will also need some material in brown, yellow, red, blue and white.
- Prepare a work surface, wet wipes, toothpicks, and a knife.
After this, they begin the craft.
- Roll out the flatbread with a rolling pin and cut out a triangle shape with a knife.
- The trunk of the tree must be made brown and carefully connected to the tree.
- And decorate it with red, blue and yellow clay balls and a strip of “snow” made of white clay; press a little.
- Before firing the sculpted toy, use a toothpick to make a small hole so that the craft can be hung on a thread.
In general, Christmas trees (as can be seen in the photo of clay crafts) can be of many different types: flat and three-dimensional, of different colors and with patterns that are different from each other, using different techniques.
Simple summer beads
Another method of making beads allows you to effectively use leftover material. Beginners can be recommended to mix a little clay of different colors.
To work you need to prepare:
- polymer clay of different colors,
- a mat or base for modeling (you can use a piece of smooth glass or a large ceramic tile),
- knife with a wide blade,
- toothpicks,
- pliers,
- cord,
- small beads,
- accessories for jewelry.
Simple jewelry options for beginners allow you to make original summer jewelry.
Family hobby
This activity can be a great family hobby. When teaching children how to sculpt, your time together will be interesting and useful.
This is a great chance to give children your love and at the same time introduce them to creativity, reveal their abilities and talents.
And at the same time, through joint efforts, create objects that will then delight everyone at home.
