Air dry modeling clay: My local Wal-Mart store didn't seem to have any Crayola Model Magic today. I needed some to make breads and rolls. I was about to give up when I spotted small (2.5 ounce) packages of "Amazing Super Stuff Modeling Compound", Creamy White, made by RoseArt. The package says it "shapes like clay . . . hardens like foam". I'm hoping that by foam then mean it will remain somewhat pliable, like the Model Magic. This "Super Stuff" air dries, and I found it in the same toy aisle where Pla-Doh was displayed.

I bought two packages, at a total cost of less than $4.00, and tried it when I got home. This stuff truly is amazing. It is much more pliable than Model Magic and more moist. Also, even though it is more moist, it holds its shape much better than Model Magic, which tends to do its own thing once you stop working with it.

Mary in MS

RoseArt air dry clay: So many people have asked for an update on this product that I am posting to the SS digest.
Roadrunner Memai asked how I colored the hamburger and hotdog buns I made. When the items were dry, I brushed them with brown (powdered) eyeshadow. The product took the coloration well and I think the finished ones look pretty good. (I'll try to take pictures tomorrow.)
Leilani wanted to know if I had tried mixing paint with the product. I haven't done that yet, but since this clay is so moist, I think you'd have to try a drop at a time and see how it goes. It may come in colors, as well as white, but my Wal-Mart had only the white.
Sclairse wanted to know in which section of the store I found it, and in the local Wal-Mart it was in the toy section next to the Pla-Doh display. Other stores may carry it in the craft section, so if you look in one department and don't find it, try the other.
Linda (lgebo) wanted to know about the texture. I didn't add anything to the clay for texture, and I would say it doesn't have much of a texture when dry. It's very smooth, moist, and easy to work with. But if you wanted more texture, I think you could add cornmeal or something to it.What I found is that the clay doesn't shrink noticeably and even when still moist holds whatever shape you have created. I found that Model Magic (especially on loaves of bread) tended to lose some definition once you stopped working with it. The RoseArt clay seems to hold its shape much better. When dry the product will "squish" some when you slice it, but the original shape can easily be restored with a little poke or pat here and there, after which it stays put. All in all, I like this product much better than Model Magic. I think it would be a good choice for making lots of mini items.

Mary in MS

Model Magic/PaperClay: The Model Magic doesn't work very well as it never really hardens. It get to the stage of feeling like a marshmallow and that's it. It isn't very durable, either....breaks easily. I'd suggest you try PaperClay. Its much softer and easier to work than poly clay (like Fimo), but dries rock hard. It is also an air dry clay, though I bake mine to speed up the drying.....250-275 degrees for twenty minutes (large pieces) does nicely. No toxic fumes like poly clays, either.

Sloan

Storing Model Magic: If you have a Food Saver II that would work great for storing your unused model magic!

Marsha, Newark, CA

PaperClay for Bricks? Molly asked if paper clay would stick to foam board? I suggest you use modeling paste. You could work a lot faster. You can get this from a Art store. Just follow directions on the jar, and you can use a stencil or spread it on your board as thick as you want to scale and draw with a tooth pick for brick or stone etc. Then you can paint after it dries. You could use a sponge painting technique. Hope this helps you do it a little faster than making each brick or stone.

Sherri from Texas Gulf.

Spanish tiles for roof: There used to be an air-dry clay on the market ((mid 1980's)) in a terracotta color. I have rolled the clay as thin as I wanted it, then cut it into strips as wide as the tile should be, then cut the strips into the proper length for the tiles, finally I draped my "tiles" over the long side of a dowel that I had glued onto a board. They dried overnight and I removed them, so more raw clay could be added each day until I got the amount of tiles I needed.

****Note from Anne: Das brand air dry clay in terra cotta is still available. There may be others as well. ~anne ****

Ann in AZ

Model Magic clay: Model magic will dry out way to fast to sculpt a doll. You may want to change something about your doll later and you wont be able to do that with model magic. I leave mine unbaked for a few days, maybe even longer, so If I see something I don't like I can change it. Model magic also will crack. You'll be better off sticking with a GOOD polymer clay, you'll be much happier with the outcome.

Joni

Fimo cleanup: To clean your pasta machine, go to www.polymerclaycentral.com in the lesson and instructions list they actually have a lesson on cleaning your pasta machine. If you are mixing a lot of clay have you thought of using a food processor, I have a small one and it's fantastic. No more sore and aching hands and no more spending hours mixing, kneading and pummeling!

Jacquie Hall

FIMO Clean Up: I have one machine for Pasta and one for FIMO. When I'm done using the pasta machine, I run old slices of bread thru it and it cleans quite well. Haven't tried it with the FIMO machine, but I would think the same thing would work. The same trick works in a meat grinder.

Ruth

Cleaning Pasta Machine: There is instructions for cleaning the pasta machines at http://www.desiredcreations.com/howTo_PQueenAtlasMaint.htm very easy to follow.

Oleta

Fimo faeries: Sue Heaser's tiny 1inch high faeries can be found at http://www.polymerclaycentral.com  just look under lessons and instructions.

Jacquie Hall, Essex, U.K.

Das Clay: I wanted to clad the walls of my Tudor cottage, but could not find paper clay - so I experimented with DAS. The white clay can be used instead of paperclay on walls etc. Use white glue first and then apply in little balls. Smooth with fingers until the clay is as thick or thin as you desire. Dry overnight. The clay sets rock hard and paints up nicely - I was pretty impressed.

Lesley

Polymer Clay Information: If you need to know more try http://www.glassattic.com   or http://www.polymerclaycentral.com  both these sites carry links to many others. Safety is common sense and information.

Jacquie Hall, Essex, U.K.

PaperClay 'Doll': Marianne asked about clothing dolls with this. I had wanted an old looking figure for a roombox so, just for fun, I cut a pic of a female figure from a mag article that featured crèche dolls. I sprayed the paper w/ a sealer first, wadded up some PaperClay and pressed it around the figure so it would appear 3-dimensional, tucking it in at the waist, pushing it out from the sides and back for the skirt and forming a ball at the top for the head and hair. I checked the PaperClay site and found that it could be baked to hasten the drying process. After it cooled thoroughly, I glued the paper to the form. (I think I used YES glue.)

I sanded it w/ an emery board (the large ones are great and can be trimmed to fit in tight spaces) to shape it up and used washes to try to match the costume and hair, as close as possible. Of course the whole front is still flat but if turned at an angle in the rear of a project, it will work. I placed an old bucket in her 'hand', which gives the figure more 'life'. Also, I think leaving just a slight edge of clay around the paper makes it blend together better. Some of the paper features can be highlighted w/ just a little bit of paint for effect. It sure was a lot of fun !!

Theresa Thomas

Torso: Missed the original e-mail for who was making a torso, I presume for a dress makers dummy. I'm a total beginner with little to work with this is how I did it.

First I made a mould from clay then I made a shell out of paper mache front and back separately then I joined the two together with more paper and glue, leaving an opening at the top and placing a doweling rod at the bottom and paper mache around it when dry place doweling into a button or support of some sort and fill the shell with plaster cast. when set cover with stocking fabric eyelet for neck section. Or finish how you like. I'm really happy about mine.

Carol Downunder

¼ scale Fimo head: Why don't you try to put a skin of Fimo over an already baked small circle or head form, so that it does not lose shape while you are working on it. You can also use a pea sized ball of tin foil as the armature.

Mary Kaliski

Fimo Baskets: Another thing I love to do, and I can't claim that it's my idea. If you feel reasonably happy with Fimo (I suppose you might be able to do this with all the other poly clays, although Sculpy 3 might be too soft) try making a mini basket by making long, very thin, sausages from it and plaiting them (flat on the table). Then you can make a super mini basket by just winding this plait around itself in whatever shape you want -

makes nice rustic style baskets for logs or bread. Last year I made Easter baskets like this and filled them with eggs and flowers (all made of Fimo) Such fun!

Florida Gill

Flowers from Fimo: Fimo can be used to make very fine petals indeed, I use a pasta machine on the finest setting for my flower petals and depending on the leaf a slightly thicker one for those. A small amount of paint applied with a dry brush and a minimum amount of water and I have managed to make some very nice flowers with surprisingly fine petals. I use Fimo as opposed to Sculpey because I find the latter too soft and it is not as strong for fine work, also it can get very sticky when worked for a while.

Jacquie

Mini Flowers: Someone on SS said they "could not" get the fimo to roll thin enough for the mini flowers. You can get the polyclay pretty thin if you use a pasta machine. You can also (or so I have heard) sandwich the clay between two sheets of wax wrap and then put it through the pasta machine - the clay will then be thinner still. And when you take the clay out of the machine, you can reduce it even more by stretching it gently. With light colored clays, the clay will be nearly translucent - particularly if you are looking at it with the light behind the item. I imagine the same would hold true for cold porcelain ?? I use Cernit by the way.

Lesley, South Africa

Fimo vs. Cold Porcelain: I've worked extensively with both, along with sugar paste - being a "reformed" sugar artist turned miniaturist - I much prefer fimo over cold porcelain - Gary the Yank - the cold porcelain that you buy is MILES apart from the homemade stuff (not to mention the smell of the homemade stuff - if you want a little piece, email me privately and I'll send you some so you can see the difference) - but it dries out WAY too fast, doesn't stick to itself, and is far more brittle than cooked fimo or sculpey - making your flower petals easier to break - I am able to get my rose petals more than paper thin - and you can get more translucency by adding Art Translucent clay or CFC-06 (another brand of transparent clay) - I usually "leach" my clay before I use it - making it VERY firm so I can make tiny, tiny petals.

Sue in NC