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WORKING WITH POLYMER CLAY
Polymer Clay is available in a wide range of colours, I use Fimo, but there are several different brands on the market. Start by buying a small selection of colours, black, dark brown, champagne, blue, yellow, red, and white are essential, pink, orange, grey, ochre, and lavender, plus two shades of green are also a good investment. A pack of transparent is also indispensable, when added to other colours it gives an 'iced' look to cakes and a translucent quality to lettuce, and the 'fat' on meat. Colours can be mixed together very easily, always add dark to light, and in the tiniest amounts. It is easy to add more colour, but practically impossible to make a dark colour lighter by adding more white, how many iced orange cakes do you really want?
Tools: I use some very tiny cutters bought from a market stall selling cake-decorating equipment. A craft knife, cocktail sticks; white PVA glue (Aleens's Tacky Glue); talcum powder; small paint brush and stipple brush; a small (child's) rolling pin, or length of broom handle, or dowel for rolling out the clay; medium knitting needle; medium tapestry needle; a ceramic tile for rolling out and baking items on. Placing the clay between two sheets of non-stick silicone paper makes rolling very much easier. I also use aluminium foil and silicon paper to line baking sheets.
I keep a selection of earrings, lace, an off cut of leather, glass marbles (in various sizes), paper clip, etc. these all make great tools in which to form patterns on the rolled out clay. Just look around you, hunt through drawers, at jumble sales, etc, it is amazing what goodies you will find. It is also possible to make your own moulds, try pressing a decorative earring into a piece of clay. Bake it, when cold dust with talcum powder and press new clay into this, gently ease it out, trim and bake.
Before use the clay needs to be softened, on a cold day I have often used a hot water bottle to aid in the softening process, do not try to soften in an oven, it will bake hard. Break small pieces of clay at a time, roll in your hands, kneading and rolling until the clay is soft. Fimo also make a softening agent (Mix Quick), this is useful if the clay is very firm and crumbly, some colours seem to need more working than others. If you are using the transparent clay in conjunction with the coloured clays, you will find this has the same effect as the Mix Quick. Do make sure you keep everything very clean, polymer clays, especially the light colours, pick up the tiniest specks of dust. Clean all tools, etc. between projects with soapy water or acetone (nail polish remover).
If you find your hands are getting dry, massage them with hand cream, this also helps to keep the clay malleable. On the other hand, if you find the clay seems too oily and sticks to your hands and fingers, then dust your hands with a little talcum powder. Once the clay has been softened it will keep perfectly happy in plastic bags, one colour to each bag. Do not use plastic, or polystyrene containers for storing, polymer clays melt them.
Items already baked can have more clay added to them and re-baked, very useful for larger items. I often use glue, either Tacky Glue, or Cyanoacrylate (super glue) Glue on items that refuse to stick to themselves. Some items may need support during the baking, use wooden dowels, small rolls of cooking foil or silicon (none stick) paper.
It is also possible to obtain metallic powders in various colours, gold, silver, and pearl are very useful, these are usually applied before baking, but if mixed with a little water based (acrylic) varnish, can be applied after baking. I have also 'borrowed' items of make up; eye shadows and blushers are a useful addition to the tool kit! Acrylic paints, especially raw sienna and white; pastels (not oil pastels) in an assortment of colours are also useful to give colour to pies, bread, etc
I like to varnish a lot of my finished articles, gloss, silk, and matt acrylic varnishes work best, take care not to use model makers varnish and paints as they will not dry. Before painting it is essential to degrease, I use acetone; I then apply a thin coat of matt varnish before painting. Once the paint is dry, apply another coat or two of whichever varnish you wish to use.
Ground rice, ground nutmeg, poppy seeds and sesame seeds are used in several recipes. You will also need an assortment of items in which to display your finished items, paper and metal can be put in the oven with the polymer clay, the cooking temperature is very low.
Warning: Polymer clays are very easy to use, and providing some simple precautions are taken, they are very safe. Do not try to cook polymer clays in a microwave oven. Never cook the clay at a higher temperature than is specified on the packet, it will burn and give off toxic fumes. Do not use tools used with the clay for food preparation. Lastly, although it seems silly to say so, do not try eating the clay, either cooked or in its raw state.
Box of Chocolates
The following is a quick and easy method of making the chocolate box in the above picture. Cut a piece of card 2 3/4" x 1 1/2", score the card 1/4" in on each of the long sides. Score the card at 1/4" in from each short end, measure 1" from each score line and score again. Cut a 3/4" square from the top of the box. Fold each score line, make one cut at each of the four corners, also make a cut in the 1/4" squares on the centre fold, fold these small pieces inside and glue the box together. Cut a small piece of acetate and glue inside the box.
Now make the chocolates. Roll small balls of white with a speck of yellow, to make white chocolates, dark brown makes dark chocolates, 1/3 dark brown and 2/3 white makes milk chocolates. Flatten some of the balls, make some into crescents, make logs from others. A tiny ball of red makes a cherry, very thin sausages of pink look good as a swirl on the crescents, sesame seeds look very much like almonds, make tiny swirls in a different colour chocolate on others. Wrap some chocolates in coloured foil obtained from full size chocolates.
Glue the chocolates into the box with a tiny amount of white PVA glue. Decorate the box with a small piece of silk ribbon across one corner; glue on matching silk roses.
Above all, do have fun making these chocolates for your mini people.