Making Doll Food Polymer Clay 101 pt 13

Watch the video here.

This week for our Clay 101 series I decided to talk about a topic that actually touches on one of my pet peeves about doll foods. That is clear finishes. The first thing I want to stress is most projects don't need any clear finish.

I'll wait while you think about that statement.

Okay, now back to the blog. Take a close look at the foods you eat, how many of them are actually shiny? Not all that many when you get right down to it. So don't overuse clear finish. Especially don't overuse the thick super shiny finishes.

If you decide you want to use a clear finish on your project use something that is compatible with the clay. The first thing to check for is it water based? The easiest way to determine this is to check the instructions for cleaning up your tools, if you can clean up with water/ soap and water you have something to try. I wouldn't go and put an untested finish on a huge project though unless you know for sure it is compatible with the clay. Many finishes will eat the clay so test or talk to someone that knows what will and won't work.

Making Doll Food Polymer Clay 101 pt 12

Watch the video here.

Since we have spent the last two weeks on the pasta machine for working with clay I thought this would be the perfect time to show you my favorite technique for the pasta machine. Today I am showing you the Skinner Blend. This is a way of making a very pretty blend of two (or more) colors that is very evenly blended. We will be using this in future doll food projects.

There are really only a few “secrets” to this technique first be sure to use well conditioned clay that is not too soft. Try to make sure both colors of clay are close in their texture. Start out with pieces of clay that are the same size and thickness. Only run the clay through the pasta machine in the one direction and always fold the same way.

If you follow these rules you will succeed at this pretty technique. Later I will show you some variations that kind of break a few of the rules. 

Making Doll Food Polymer Clay 101 pt 11

Watch the video here.

This week we are going to be cleaning the pasta machine. It is really pretty easy to do and you should do a minor cleaning every time you use it. By that I mean run a wet wipe over the bars to remove residue and wipe the base up a bit.

If you are going to be using a light color clay run a piece of scrap white clay (I use a chunk of Original Sculpey for this) through the rollers to make sure you have them clean.

A more thorough cleaning can be done as needed. I prefer to take the clay machine off the table for this more intense cleaning so I can see all the parts. I do use a wooden skewer and toothpicks but do be careful to not scratch the rollers.

Cleaning these machines really isn't too difficult and should be done regularly.