Beginning with Polymer Clay- What do I need to get started

Since I have been planning to do a series of easy clay food tutorials for my 18” doll Youtube channel I figure now is as good a time as any. I know there is a renewed interest in doll size baked good for our dolls with the release of Grace- Girl of the Year for 2015. One big advantage is that polymer clay baked goods can be really easy to make and are good beginner projects.

First for those of you that don't know who I am and I why I am going to teach you how to use polymer clay let me introduce myself.

I have been making foods for the dollhouse scale for about the last 20 or 25 years using many products. I love to share what I have learned with others. I have a Youtube channel dedicated to the dollhouse scale (you can find it here) where I have a lot of tutorials for clay foods. Many of the foods I have made over there I will be doing here in the larger scale for the 18” dolls.

Today I want to talk to you about what you will need to get ready to make some polymer clay food. My goal is to start you with as few tools as I can- and many of the ones I will recommend will not be expensive. If you follow along with the projects I offer here and in the videos I will help you to build both your skills and your tools slowly. I want you succeed and enjoy this wonderful pastime.

Since my background is in dollhouse miniatures that are aimed at the adult collector one of my goals has always been to make things look as real as is possible. In the world of dollhouse collectors the goal is make something that looks so real you can't tell it from the real thing without something in the picture to show the size. That is the same mindset I apply to my 18” doll items and that is the mindset I want to instill in you.

One caution is that these are not meant as toys for young children. They do look real and before a child can be allowed to play with them they need to understand that they are to look at and not to eat. My daughter was raised around my dollhouse foods and started playing with them at a very young age but not all children can handle that. These do look real but they are just for the dolls.

Okay on to what we will need to have on hand to make some easy projects.

three brands of clay to look for

First off you will need some polymer clay. There are several brands on the market, Fimo, Sclupey III and Premo are probably the best known and the best choices. I try to stay away from the store brands if possible. This is simply because I am unsure of how well they will work and how well they will hold up over time. I know for a fact that the three brands I mentioned here are all good quality and can all work together. Yes, you can mix the different brands and they will work just fine. In fact sometimes it is advantageous to mix them to get certain results (we will talk about that when we get to projects where it is important. Another really good brand is the Kato clays but I do not recommend it for beginners, that brand is really best left to polymer clay artists that have a lot more experience. Also the baking temperature is so different that I would not mix Kato with any of the other brands.

Walking up the display of polymer clay can be very overwhelming- there is an entire rainbow of colors available. For each project we make I will list the colors I use and I will also try to give you alternatives in the other brands.

one of my work tiles

Next you will need a work surface. I really recommend you not work directly on a wood surface, the clay can damage the finish on most wood furniture. My favorite work surface is a 12” by 12” ceramic tile from the home improvement store (Home Depot, Loewes, etc) the kind they sell for floors or walls in real houses. Pick out one with a smooth surface and in a light color. These are fairly inexpensive- you can usually get one for under a dollar and have many advantages. First off they are portable, you can carry them around if you need to move, the smooth surface is easy to work on and they clean up great.

clay rolling tool

You will also need a tool to roll out your clay- I use an acrylic roller made for this task. This special roller is not a must however there are alternatives- my favorite is a smooth sided glass jar like the ones that capers come in. Also some sauces like horseradish come in a smaller version. Really anything that is smooth and has straight sides. I try to stay away from wooden rolling pins (or dowels) because they can leave wood grain marks in your clay. Also be careful of plastic because the clay can eat some plastics- more on this in an upcoming article.

If you find you love working with the clay and get into it big time you eventually will probably want to get a clay roller or pasta machine that is dedicated to clay. I actually have two of them although one is currently in storage.

To help you get consistent results when rolling your clay I would suggest collecting a few items to use as spacers between the rolling pin and the work surface. Craft sticks, bass wood strips in various thicknesses, even stacks of playing cards are handy to make sure you are rolling the clay out to the correct thicknesses and that it is even all the way across the surface.

container of cornstarch, brush and cotton ball

Sometimes we will find that our clay wants to stick where we don't want it to. For this I like to use a bit of cornstarch- from the kitchen. You won't need much, just a Tablespoon or so in a small container will last you for a very long time. You can dust it on with a cotton ball, your fingers or a fluffy brush (I use a make-up powder/blush brush from the dollar store)

texturing tools

For a lot of projects we will use tools to texture our clay items. To start out with a cheap toothbrush and a dental pick from the dollar store along with some toothpicks, a small amount of aluminum foil, some sand paper (or emery boards-nail department of the dollar store) and a couple of peppercorns will allow you to do many items.

chalks and brushes

For most baked goods we will need to give our clay a “golden brown, yummy, baked color” for this I use chalk pastels. They are available at most craft stores and not very expensive. You can also use matte finish eye shadows in the correct colors. We also use these for many other foods so keep your eyes out for them. To apply the chalks I use eye shadow brushes from the dollar store, paint brushes work too but I have better control with the eye shadow brushes. In a pinch you can use a cotton swab or your fingers.

some misc cutters

For some projects you might need small cookie cutters or shape cutters. Also a clay blade is a very handy item to have, these are not too terribly expensive and make cutting and moving clay items a lot easier. To begin you can use any sharp blade- many people use single edge razor blades.

clay blade

wet wipes

It is also handy to have a small package of wet wipes on hand to keep you hands, tools and work surface clean.

paper plate to bake clay on

Next we need to bake our clay. I almost always use cheap un-coated paper plates. You know the kind, the ones that if you actually put food on one you will be wearing your food right away. These come in a huge package in most grocery stores for cheap. Since we bake our clay at a very low temperature (235 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit) the paper plate is safe in the oven. The paper plates have several advantages over other surfaces I have tried. Number one is that they don't leave the bottoms of your clay items shiny like a lot of other surfaces do. Also if you are experimenting with techniques you can make notes right on the paper plate so you remember exactly what you are doing. Also if you are working in a group you can write names on the plates so they don't get mixed up.

As for where to bake the clay. I know a lot of people swear you need a separate small oven to cook the clay. I have been using the oven in my kitchen for the entire time I have been doing clay. I don't worry about it. That is up to you.

one of my containers of clay

When you are done with your clay you will need to be able to store it. I like to keep each block/ color of clay in a zip top sandwich bag. This keeps the clay clean and ready to use next time. These bags can either be stored in a larger bag or in the clear plastic shoe boxes that are sold in stores. Be careful of how you do store the clay you want it to stay nice so you can use all of it.

So off the top of my head these items should get you started. Are you ready??

I love working with clay so much and I love to help others get the same joy out of it that I do. I hope you will join me on this journey and learn to make some extraordinary foods for your dolls. 

 

On my last trip to Dollar Tree I picked up this cute little set of make-up brushes that I think would be great for someone wanting to start in polymer clay. The larger fluffy brush would work wonderfully for cornstarch. The 3 eyeshadow applicators will all work for chalk pastels. And you can use the eyebrow brush for texturing clay. That's 5 tools for $1!