Ok, so I've gotten a few questions about clay and stuff, so I thought I'd start my own FAQ. Aren't you excited? XD I am!!

* THE CLAY:

??? Does it matter what kind I buy?

Yes, it matters what *kind* you buy, but it doesn't really matter which brand-- just whichever one is easier for you to work with. Make sure it's bakeable clay and not modeling clay (see Hagrid XD). I've never worked with Premo or Kato, but I've heard Kato is the best.

??? What's the difference between the different brands?

FIMO Soft-- soft, and sturdier when baked because it stays slightly flexible. The darker colors will stain your hands, but this can be washed off easily with some good dishsoap.

FIMO Classic-- basically the same as FIMO Soft, but it's harder. Go figure.

Sculpey III-- Hard, brittle when baked, a wider variety of colors than FIMO, and slightly cheaper.

??? What about coloring your clay with chalk pastels?

Now, this is something that I'm slightly new to, but I like it so far. Instead of buying a whole plethora of colors, just buy white clay, and large set of chalk pastels (they don't have to be fancy, professional-artist quality. you're just going to grind them up and use them for the color.). If you're patient, get a hard-bristled brush or something with similar physical properties, and vigorously rub at the chalk pastel over a desired ammount of white clay. Aaaaand mix. and mix. and add some more color dust. and mix. If you're impatient, you can use a razor blade and shave off pieces of pastel, but when you mix your clay, there might be undesireable lumps of chalk that are hard to break down.

??? What is Liquid Clay/TLS?

Transleucent Liquid Sculpey. I've never worked with the Sculpey brand of liquid clay, but the FIMO brand should be pretty similar. It's great for effect. i.e. maple syrup, cherry glaze, etc. To add color, you do the same thing as you would with coloring regular clay. It's slightly 'sticky' and pretty flexible after it's baked. I don't know if it's supposed to be like this, or if I'm just not baking it long or hot enough. I just use the same temperature and time that I do for regular clay (see *BAKING.

??? Does clay dry out?

Umm, it might. After like... three decades. It's still nice to keep it in an airtight container. At least keep the dark and light colors separated. If you're a neat freak, sandwich/zip-lock bags work great, or a large plastic container with separate compartments.

* TECHNIQUE:

??? How do you get that powdered look on your powdered doughnut?

Brush a ton of white chalk pastel dust on to the doughnut before you bake it. Push it in slightly. Don't worry if it 'disappears'. It 'reappears' after you bake it. Also, I found this weird paint-like stuff in my mom's old crafting supplies. It's like... really thick paint. It looks kind of like stucco when you apply it. If you can find something like this, it would work great for a snow-like look. Just apply it after you bake it, not before. XD

??? How do you make those little bite marks?

I have this tiny oval shaped clay-cookie cutter. I use the very tip of it to slice away at the edge of the piece of clay until it looks like some very small person has taken a bite out of it.

??? How do you make lots of super small things, like the sprinkles on the doughnuts?

Well, you could either make each one individually, or you can do things the easy way. *gasp!*. The sprinkles, for example, roll out a super dooper thin log of clay, then slice it into 'sprinkles'.

TIP: If you're trying to make a piece of something, a cake for example, don't just make one piece. Make the whole cake. If you want a piece of bread, make a loaf of bread. If you want a watermelon slice, make the whole watermelon. If you want a diced onion, make the whole onion and dice it.

* PAINTS AND GLAZES:

??? What kind of paint can you use?

I don't use paint on any of my clay creations, but you can use acrylic paint. I wouldn't use oil. I don't know if it would damage the clay or anything, but I just wouldn't. Partly because I have a personal vendetta against oil paints. They're just evil. They take months to dry, they're impossible to clean out of paintbrushes, and I just hate them. XD

??? What kind of glaze do you use?

The clear shiny kind. I think it's Sculpey. I watered it down a bit, though. I don't know a whole lot about different glazes. Ask I've been using the same bottle for years. It's like... a huge bottle. Glaze can be applied with a paintbrush, and it should only take a minute or so to dry. If you see any air bubbles, blowing on it usually makes them go away. Just don't hyperventilate.

* THE TOOLS:

??? What tools do you use for working with the clay?

You really don't need to go out and buy a snappy set of tools just for working with clay.

For the following tools, I have my own substitutes. XD

Rolling:

Haha... I use a AA Battery. It's not tapered, and it doesn't leave 'fingerprints' in the clay, and the clay doesn't get stuck to it. With a wooden rolling pin, the clay gets stuck in the little creases, and it's basically a pain to clean. You could also use a glass bottle of some sort, or a lotion bottle maybe, or, duh, an acrylic rolling pin. XD

Cutting the Clay:

I was kind of young when I started playing with clay, so I used a butterknife for the longest time. It totally smeared the clay. lol. So, don't use anything that's serrated. Razor blades work. They're kind of like boxcutters except not. It's just the blade, so it's kind of scary to use, unless you roll a large log of clay (long and wide enough to make a handle for your blade) and push it into the top of your blade so that you have something to hold onto. You can to the same thing with needles and pins-- push a ball of clay into the top of the pin, then bake it, and you have handy dandy high-quality clay tools.

Shapes:

One thing that's kind of hard to make at home are shape cutters, so invest in a good set of miniature cookie-cutters for cutting awkward shapes like stars and hearts. You can probably find these in the same aisle as polymer clay at the craft store. *HanaClayWorks [link] has a lovely tutorial on making stars without a cutter, as well as a fabulous FAQ section.

Texturing/smoothing tools:

Toothpicks, hairpins, needles, toothbrushes, etc. Just about anything you want to use to texture. For smoothing, your fingernail works, or you can get a small piece of pastic wrap and wrap it around the end of your finger to rub out fingerprints. Gently rubbing with your bare finger can fix small mistakes.

Molds:

I have never used a clay mold before. Molding is a pain. If you want to, though, go for it! You can use cornstarch, flour, or talcum powder (baby powder) to make the clay pop out of the mold easier.

Baking tools:

Designate a cookie sheet or glass pan for baking your clay. While the clay is non-toxic, you don't really want to be eating tiny clay particles, do you? If you only have one cookie sheet or something, you can bake your clay on tin-foil, or paper. No, the paper will not burn unless it is touching the back or sides of the oven, and you probably don't want it touching the racks either.

Jewelry-making tools:

You can use a pair of designated fingernail clippers as wire cutters, or some good old wire cutters. You will need a pair of round nose pliers if you want to make your own eyepins (see JEWELRY-MAKING. I used to make my own eyepins, but it's like 99 cents to buy 60 or so of them, so I just buy them because I'm lazy. If you're making a necklace or bracelet, you'll need clasps, small wire rings (these are hard to make, so I also buy these), and chain. For necklaces, you don't want super chunky chain, but be sure that the links are big enough that you won't want to jump off a cliff while trying to attach a charm and the clasps. For bracelets, you'll want larger chain.

* BAKING:

??? How long/hot do you bake the clay for?

200º F for 15-20 minutes. At 200ºF, you're less likely to burn anything. I don't think I've ever burnt anything, actually, and I've left some things in there for two to three times the suggested baking time. XD If you're impatient, you can bump the temp up to 275ºF and shorten the baking time, just keep an eye on whatever you're baking.

??? Are the fumes toxic?

Only if you burn the clay. So, just, don't do that. lol. If you do burn something, keep the room well ventilated for at least an hour. Don't throw the burnt clay away until it's cooled down, or you will melt your garbage bag, and you will have a gross gooey mess to clean up after the next time you take out the garbage.

??? Will the colors change after I bake the clay?

No, colors will stay the same. However, if you are using transleucent clay (not TLS, just regular clay that is slightly opaque), it won't be transleucent at all before you bake it, and after, it should be fairly opaque.

*HEALTH AND SAFETY TIPS:

1.) Wash your hands often, especially between dark and light colors. Not only will this keep color from spreading, but (although, like I've already said, it's not toxic) do you really want to ingest or spread clay particles all over your house?

2.) Don't use the same pan for baking clay as you do for baking food, for the same reasons you should wash your hands.

3.) Try not to burn your clay. Don't leave the house while you have clay in the oven, or if you have anything in the oven for that matter. This shouldn't be news to you. If you do burn your clay, don't intentionally inhale the fumes. Turn off the oven, and remove the burnt clay to cool. Wait until the clay has cooled off before you chuck it.

4.) Keep clay out of reach of little children. Again, although the clay is non-toxic, I don't think a giant wad of clay would be the greatest thing for your digestive system.



Everything is shapes. Everything is a combination of circles, lines, and triangles. Seriously. Take a look around. A square? Two triangles. A cone? A triangle and a half circle. Don't make the thing, make the shape, then give it the personality of the thing. If you draw, you already know this, and if you already know this, you can do this with clay and make just about anything you can draw.

Any more questions? Post them here and I'll answer them as soon as I can!

Best of luck and Merry Christmas!