How to make polymer clay with your own hands at home?

Many children like to make polymer clay crafts, but the store version of such a mass is not very cheap. Make the material at home yourself. All products are easy to buy, while the costs are minimal, and it takes just a couple of hours to make. Also, making polymer clay with your own hands, you will be sure that the child is playing with an environmentally friendly product.

So much can be done from such material: dishes, plates, cups, animals, almost any kind of unique jewelry, earrings, beads, bracelets. Most importantly, do-it-yourself polymer clay at home can be made without any effort and in a few hours.

The first option to create

To prepare such a mass you will need:

• fireproof glass bowl;
• tablespoon;
• polyethylene;
• 20 g of petroleum jelly (tablespoon);
• 250 g of corn starch;
• 250 g of PVA glue;
• 20 g of hand cream (tablespoon);
• gloves
• 40 g of lemon juice (2 tablespoons);
• Bowl.

Procedure:

1. Pour glue into a heat-resistant container, mix with corn starch and petroleum jelly.
2. Combine lemon juice with the prepared mixture and continue to mix until a mass of homogeneous composition without lumps forms.
3. Place the bowl of mixed foods briefly on the stove, then stir and leave it on the stove for a couple of minutes.
4. Grease surfaces where you plan to work with the resulting material.
5. Remove the bowl and remove the resulting crust.
6. Put the mixture on a well-oiled surface.
7. Knead for five minutes. As a result, the mass should become flexible and elastic.
8. Allow the mixture to cool, then wrap it in film.

Do-it-yourself polymer clay. Master Class

Adding petroleum jelly to the composition, you will get a softer material. When dried, products from this type of clay will not crack. The material for creativity is quite sticky, not only thanks to the added glycerin, but also due to the greater amount of PVA glue. It is more reasonable to make polymer clay a day or even a few before you are going to make fakes.

Materials and tools:

• 250 g of corn starch;
• 20 g of petroleum jelly (tablespoon);
• fireproof bowl;
• tablespoon;
• 20 g of hand cream, you can use the cheapest option;
• 40 g of lemon juice;
• 250 g of PVA glue.

Work execution order:

1. In a heat-shielding container, Vaseline, glue and starch must be mixed until homogeneous.
2. Add lemon juice and stir.
3. Heat for several minutes.
4. Mix.
5. Re-place on the stove and heat.
6. Pull out the container.
7. On a table where work with the material will take place, apply hand cream.
8. Discard the dried crust on the material. She will not be needed.
9. Take part of the mass and put on the table.
10. Knead the material like dough. It should become soft.
11. Put the material on the fabric. Excess moisture is required.
12. After cooling, remove the mass.

Clay without heating

This option for creating polymer clay at home without heating is suitable if you plan to work with children. Self-modeling of products and the manufacture of polymer clay will be a very interesting activity for children of any age.

Materials:

• 10 g of baby oil;
• 5 ml of perfume;
• 200 g of PVA glue;
• 200 g of corn starch;
• 2 tbsp. tablespoons of petroleum jelly (or use a cream).

Work Stages:

1. Add starch to glue, liquid paraffin and perfume. Clay should be pleasant to the touch.
2. It must be divided into several parts. Give each part its own color. A variety of colors is achieved thanks to watercolor. By adding cream, you can avoid drying out of the mass during operation.

Clay with baby oil

How else can you make polymer clay with your own hands? For beginners, the following recipe is suitable.

Materials:

• 5 g of petroleum jelly (or hand cream);
• 100 g of PVA glue;
• 2 heat-resistant containers of different diameters. They will be used for a water bath;
• 10 g of baby oil;
• 100 g of potato starch.

Work Stages:

1. Mix all foods in the smallest container.
2. Pour some water into the largest container so that the second bowl is in the water at the bottom and not floats (water bath).
3. Stir continuously to avoid overheating.
4. If lumps form, remove from heat and place on a table pre-oiled with cream. Keep stirring. When the clay surface becomes smooth, without lumps, and irregularities cease to appear, it is necessary to put it in polyethylene and not touch it for half a day.
5. After 10 hours, start making crafts or hide the material in the refrigerator.

Storage

The material must be stored at low temperatures, in the refrigerator, in a packed form. For convenience, use a bag or plastic sudok. Polymer clay is packaged in selected containers. Until the material cools completely, a small hole is left or the bag is not closed. The main thing is to close the container later. Otherwise, the material will dry prematurely.

As you may have noticed, there are different options for how to make polymer clay with your own hands. Choose the one suitable for you, cook the mass and do different crafts.

We create beautiful beads. What do you need?

What can you make do-it-yourself polymer clay crafts? Variety. We suggest you make beads.

Materials and tools:

• polymer clay;
• flat knife
• toothpick. Instead of a toothpick, you can also use an electric drill with a drill to drill holes in the beads;
• fishing line;
• piece of tile or glass.

Making beads: step by step instructions for creating them

1. To create homogeneous beads of the same size, cut a piece of clay 2-3 cm thick and lay it on a sheet. Use a knife to cut pieces of clay of the same size. If you need beads of different sizes, you can just cut out pieces of clay “by eye”. The great thing about do-it-yourself beads is that they can be of any size, shape or design you like!
2. Mash pieces of clay in your hands, rolling between your palms. Heating clay will help get rid of cracks and make it more flexible. Work with such material will become easier. Always wash your hands before working with white clay to avoid transferring dyes or colors to it.
3. Shape the beads. To create spherical beads, scroll each ball individually between the palms. You can also make them more ovoid. You can roll them into cylinders or form cubes or other shapes from them. Always make balls on a firm, level surface.
4. Cool the beads. Put all the beads in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes. This will allow the clay to harden, making it easier to punch holes in them.
5. Pierce the holes in the beads. Use a toothpick to make a hole through the center of each ball. Do not push the ball over the toothpick, as this will damage the shape of the ball. Instead, screw a toothpick into the ball, rolling it between your fingers. If you intend to use the drill to create holes after baking, skip this step. Go straight to baking.
6. Place the beads on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Put in the oven. Baking beads will allow you to maintain the shape and design that you created. Always preheat the oven before baking. Once finished, remove the beads from the oven. And then let them cool completely before continuing to work with them.
   
7. If you decide not to make holes in the beads before baking, then it's time to create them. Work with each individually. Hold the ball on a hard surface with your thumb and forefinger. Use a drill to carefully drill a hole through the center of the bead in each ball. Use 400 g (or more) sandpaper to remove any stains or fingerprints. Since polymer clay forms a pleasant, durable finish after drying, bead sealing is not required. However, if you decide to make the material more durable, use a clean brush to apply a thin layer of polyurethane varnish to each ball.
8. Allow the beads to dry before making the product itself.
9. To create a decoration, string beads on a fishing line. Hook the clasp (available at every hardware store)

Plate made of polymer clay. What do you need?

This craft can also be done without much difficulty. The creation process does not take much time.

Materials and tools:

• polymer clay;
• lace doily;
• refractory bowl.

Stages of making plates

1. Mash clay, it should become elastic. Put it on the plate. Lay a lace napkin on top and press it down with a rolling pin. Carefully remove the tissue.
2. Put a round bowl on a layer of clay and cut a circle shape with a knife.
3. Carefully place the resulting circle in the oven. Bake for about half an hour. Cool, gently remove. If desired, the plate can be painted with acrylics.