Another idea for dried out Crayola's Model Magic: I discovered when I was using some Model Magic wheat bread to make stuffing for a turkey, that when you mix completely dried Model Magic with acrylic glass stain, it does soften up. I wouldn't want to work with it with my hands, but if you need something like mashed potatoes, it would work. Knowing some of the people who subscribe to Small Stuff, they'll be able to use this information and come up with new and great things.

Marsha Heeter

Leftover/ugly clay: When you see a nice shape you would like to duplicate, rub it with talcum powder. Take a piece of the fimo and make one side flat on a tile or something similar (go to your bathroom). Push the other side on the shape and gently pull it loose. Bake it in the oven and there is your mold. To make duplicates you rub the mold with the same talcum powder and work the same route as written above.

Marjon de Haas (The Netherlands)

Warming Fimo: Put the Fimo in a plastic bag, or wrap it in plastic, (this is important!), and place it in your bra, or for those who are bra deprived, in your armpit, or between your legs. (This is where the plastic is important). Go on to another stage of your project and after a suitable time your Fimo is just right to use! Of course, you could always hold it in your hand up close to the light bulb in your worktable lamp for a short while, but this wouldn't be nearly as much fun to talk about!

Ann in California

Making Food Stuff: By all means get Model Magic and either FIMO or Sculpey. Model Magic is terrific for bread and cakes. Your choice of FIMO or Sculpey depends on how warm your hands are, probably. I prefer FIMO, Sculpey gets too soft for me, but other people prefer Sculpey. You'll also want to get some acrylic glass stain for liquids. Brown puts skin on turkeys, etc. there's a new glass stain, Gallery Glass Window Stain by Plaid, that's more of a gel that works great for making eggs, both cooked and raw, and I'm still experimenting for other things. It comes in both transparent and opaque. It stays a little flexible even when completely dried, which has its advantages.

Marsha Heeter

Fimo Instruction Books: Several years ago, I obtained four books from a lady named Patricia Verdugo. Her method for measuring amounts is foolproof - after all, I was able to do it (nuff said!). They are called "The Color Books." Book 1 is common fruits and vegetables, Book 2 is meats and breads, Book 3 is Christmas candies, and Book 4 is junk food and other delights. I don't know if this lady is still in business, or if her books are still available, but the last address I had was: Patricia Verdugo, Magnificent Obsessions, PO Box 993, Lawndale, California, 90260.

Jean Brattan

Soft Sculpey: If your Sculpey keeps getting soft as you work, you must have very warm hands! Put the part you are not using on top of one of those frozen ice packs one uses in a picnic basket while you work with a different piece, then rotate the piece you are working with, with the "cool" one.

Alice Zinn, Pt. St. Lucie FL

Paper Clay - As for the pros and cons of Creative Paper Clay and Model Magic I couldn't say since I've never used the Model Magic but on the other hand I've used about 20 cases of Paper Clay so I'm probably biased a bit in favour of the Paper Clay. In my somewhat humble opinion, Paper Clay is just about the perfect medium for making rocks, brick and plaster. The only drawback to it is the shrinkage problem but since it's easy to fix you learn to live with it.
It's primary attributes are:

1. Very light weight ( about the same as balsa wood when it's dry)

2. Ease of change or correction- if you have to redo something you can't tell where the changes are after you finish.

3. It takes paint great. I use acrylics.

Rik Pierce

Soft Sculpey: Put the piece aside until the next day when it gets soft like that. Start another, and do several at a time. Use tools and try not to handle it so much. Put an upside down flower pot in front of you with a ceramic tile on it. Work on that. The ceramic should help keep the temperature of the work cooler. I switched to Fimo. Everyone has their favorites.

Laurie Sisson

Sculpey is much softer than Fimo. You could try mixing them together to get a firmer texture.

Cheri

Making Molds - I use ArmourAll (yep, the car stuff) Protectant - Original Shine - comes in a white spray bottle at your local department store - as a release agent when working with polymer clay . Vaseline will make the clay deteriorate but Vaseline is a great thing to use when you want to soften hard polymer clay that's getting old. Just spray the ArmourAll on your form and stick it into the polymer clay - it will pull right out. Spray your original item (whatever it is you plan on molding) with ArmourAll,press it into the polymer clay and then remove the original item. You will be left with an impression in the polymer clay (PC). Bake the clay at 250 degrees for a minimum of 20 minutes or longer if the lump of clay is thick. When its done, take it out of the oven and let it cool. You will then have a mold of your original item!

Sue in NC

Paper Clay: I just recently discovered paper clay and think it is the greatest stuff. I have even used it for faces and paws on miniature bears! You can knead paint right in with the clay before shaping and save a painting step. I still paint it, but it is easier to cover a tinted surface. Wonderful clay.

Joyce

MICROWAVING FIMO: I know at first glance this seems like a big no-no, but I've tested it many times and it works well if you don't have an oven, or if you don't want to heat up the whole oven for a small project. It is also very fast. It works the same way as boiling the fimo in water on the stove - just done in the microwave.

Fill a microwave-safe container with water and drop the fimo pieces into it. Don't worry if they touch; everything will separate easily afterwards. Make sure they are covered completely with water. A few smaller pieces may float; that's ok. Put the container, uncovered, in the microwave and heat on high for about 2 minutes, or until everything begins to boil rapidly. Let the fimo and container sit in the microwave after cooking for a few minutes; they will be EXTREMELY hot! When everything has cooled down a bit, fish the fimo out with a spoon (NOT your hands) and set out to dry on a paper towel. Check for hardness; if they're still soft, cook for another minute or two. Then treat everything as you would baked fimo.

Celeste

Paper Clay: As for the sealer, the only time I use a sealer is when I'm doing cobblestone or river rock where I have to use grout between the rocks otherwise I haven't found it necessary. If you want to seal it, I use semi gloss clear Deft but I would think any clear matte or semi gloss sealer would work. I did an article in the May 2000 Miniature Collector on working with Paper Clay. I love the stuff and use a lot of it so you might want to take a look at it. It's great for rocks, stone or brick.

Rik Pierce

Don't Microwave Polymer Clay: Try not to burn your clay when firing it; fumes from burnt clay are toxic and should be avoided. Invest in an oven thermometer and a timer, and then use them! Follow the package instructions to the letter and you'll have no problem. Should you accidentally burn your clay, do not inhale the fumes; open a window and leave for 20 minutes or so until the fumes have dissipated. If you use a convection oven, reduce the temperature 10 to 20 degrees to compensate for the faster cooking time.

Cindy

Paper Clay: Creative paperclay has a website. www.paperclay.com They are offering free shipping right now inside the US. I buy mine at Michaels, but I think Ames has it too.

Ceramics: Ceramics is the field of fired clay. The major types are terra-cotta, stoneware and porcelain. Pottery usually describes things that are hand-built or wheel thrown. Items that are slip cast (poured in a mold) are not normally called pottery.

Tom Berkner

Polymer clay sites: Here is a modest list of links I like...

http://www.stanford.edu/~jenea/artbox/millefiori/howto1.html

http://www0.delphi.com/polymerclay/pcc/openinstruction.html

http://www.jaedworks.com/clayspot/polyclay-faq/molding.html

http://www0.delphi.com/polymerclay/Castle/home.html

http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Bistro/5298/MSATclayTIP.html

http://members.tripod.com/~Folkgal/ir00001a.htm (my favourite) :-) FOOD!

http://www.efn.org/~variscom/page5.html

And here's a chat site just for polymer clay. Go here: http://www.geocities.com/minisuzyq/ then click on the next page "MSAT groups to join". At the very bottom of the page is all the lists you can join. The polymer clay one is called "Clay Art".

Dahn

Home Made Paper Clay: To make ones own paper clay.

Needed-- Food blender, water, paper to shred, plaster of Paris

Concept-- Figure out how much paper clay you will need by using the volume of water to represent the amount of clay needed. Put the water in the blender. Shred the paper into the blender with the water. Put the cover on the blender (a must) and turn it on to further shred the paper. Think in terms of getting a sludge of water and paper. When the proper sludge consistency is obtained, pour this into a bowl and then add the plaster of Paris until a sludge/cream consistency is achieved. It should be dense enough so that it does not run when held in your hand but remains as a moldable lump. Cold water and the plaster = longer working time. Hot water or salt added = shorter working time. I would imagine that the consistency of the paper water sludge should be like cooked oatmeal or farina after it sat around in the bowl for half a day. Coloring can be added to the paper water sludge while still in the blender. Of course this is only another form of paper mache, very thick and stand alone moldable.

Bob in Hollywood, FL

Bakers Clay Plates & Bowls: For making plates and bowls and saucers etc., I have heard of folks filling in the thread holes in buttons and using them (the buttons) as plates. What I have had fun with is the use of Bakers Clay to make plates, bowls etc. Making the clay is fun in itself as it makes one feel like a kid with all the mess and goop. Bakers Clay, when refrigerated, can stay for weeks and you just pinch off what is needed. The upside of Bakers Clay is that it is almost unbreakable if dropped, as I have done numerous times. It takes acrylic paint readily and a glaze of clear nail polish makes for a faux china finish. The clay can be molded thin enough to be translucent. For plates, I would use buttons as a mold and when the clay is dry just lift it off the button. To make bowls, I use the rounded end of a carriage bolt as the form and mold the bakers clay over that. I do not wait for it to dry on the carriage bolt head I just remove it and set it aside to dry. By putting some powder on the carriage bolt head I can remove the clay very readily. I have found the dried Bakers Clay to be very light weight (surprisingly so) and slightly flexible (non-rigid.) This may be the reason for its non breakage. Bakers clay is VERY cost effective and can be had at midnight since you make it with readily available household items. No need to go to a hobby shop, which is usually closed at that time (VBG). The kitchen pantry is as far as you have to go. The Bakers Clay has a very long working time so there is no rush. No baking or kiln is needed. I have not had any bugs attracted to my Bakers Clay items and in SE Florida that can be the acid test. It can be, after setting,(I shy away from the expression "hardening") cut or sanded. Can be cut with a knife or good sharp scissors. No need to drill any holes as it can be punctured with any pointed object.

Bob in Hollywood, FL

Boiling fimo in microwave: I have boiled Fimo in the microwave successfully.  Since I don't have easy access to an oven in my dorm, this is the only way to go.  Fill a container (like a soup bowl) with water, add fimo pieces (they don't have to stick to the bottom... small pieces will float).  Microwave uncovered for 5-6 min, check hardness of pieces by fishing out a piece with a spoon (NOT YOUR FINGERS!!)  If not hard enough, return the entire bowl to the microwave and nuke another 2-3 min, then check again.  When finished, strain the water or fish out all pieces with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels and allow to dry.  Then handle as usual.

The only disadvantages of this method are:

1. small pieces cook faster than big pieces, so sometimes you have to microwave two separate batches (one for large items, one for small).

2. This is not good for thin/fragile items, like candy canes, as the boiling process is rather vigorous and the pieces bob up and down quite violently.

3. Sometimes, on some darker colors of clay (red, brown, black, etc) a whitish haze will form which you have to scrape off.  This only happens occasionally, and I haven't figured out exactly what causes it yet.  Other times I will cook dark-colored pieces and they come out fine.

Celeste in Boston