Elizaveta Rumyantseva

Nothing is impossible for diligence and art.

Content

Recently, handmade products have been in great demand. Modeling from polymer clay and cold porcelain is very popular; any novice needlewoman can make such crafts with the help of master classes and even without tools. In order for the finished product to be of high quality, it is necessary to follow a certain technique and sequence of actions.

What is polymer clay

This substance was created artificially by a German woman, Fifi Rehbinder, to create heads for handmade dolls. Polymer clay for modeling has a specific herbal smell and contains plasticizers, which give it plasticity. When baked, they are absorbed, the mass hardens and can no longer change its shape. Polymer clay (or plastic) comes in two types: self-hardening and thermoplastic.

The latter requires heat treatment, but you can sculpt anything from it - from small parts to large figures. The self-hardening material dries naturally in the sun, which will take at least a day. If you have not heard about the properties of clay before, then know that after drying, the finished product decreases slightly in size, the surface is uneven, but it can be drilled and processed with a file. This type of material is more suitable for sculpting dolls and other large crafts. The mixture should be stored in closed packaging.

What can you make from polymer clay?

Modeling from polymer clay opens up great scope for imagination. You can make anything from fine jewelry to handmade dolls and figurines. Thanks to the unique properties of plastic, working with it is easy and simple. Some types of thermoplastics can imitate the properties of various natural materials: stone, wood, metal, fabric. For beginners in sculpting, it is better to start with simple techniques and techniques, gradually moving on to more complex ones.

Products

Decorations, costume jewelry, key chains, pendants, souvenirs, and refrigerator magnets are often made from plastic clay. Plastic is non-toxic, so it can be used in games with children. It’s easy to teach a child how to make vegetables, fruits, and simple flowers. More experienced needlewomen sculpt complex items from polymer clay, such as doll heads, arms and legs. The properties of the mass allow you to make crafts as similar and realistic as possible.

Ideas for modeling with polymer clay

Inspiration for creating masterpieces from polymer clay can be drawn from various sources. There are special printed publications on sale that teach such modeling. There you can find a lot of useful information, step-by-step instructions and many craft options. Modern needlewomen find ideas for modeling on the Internet, where there are photo/video instructions with a detailed description of the actions.

How to sculpt from polymer clay

To create with polymer clay, you don’t need any special skills, because the mass is similar to plasticine. In your hands it becomes soft and pliable, ready to create any crafts. To make the product beautiful and durable, choose high-quality material for your creativity. There are many types of polymer clay: Sculpey, Cernit, Viva Pardo, Deco (Japanese), Kato Policlay, Sonnet, Pro, Flower (sold in sets) and others. Most jewelry is created from Decoclay and Fimo clay.

Tools

Polymer clay tools can be purchased at any arts and crafts store. Some items can be replaced with improvised materials, but some special tools cannot be done without. Before starting work, you need to prepare for the process. You will need:

1. Large work surface made of glass or plastic.
2. PVA glue. It is useful for connecting thermoplastic parts together.
3. Sharp knives, maybe stationery ones.
4. Sandpaper to remove roughness.
5. A piece of suede fabric that adds shine to the finished product.
6. Toothpicks, rolling pin for rolling.
7. Cutters are special molds for cutting out figures.
8. Extruder, rolling pin.

Modeling techniques

There are several popular techniques that are used in creating crafts from different types of plastic:

1. Smooth transition. The method is to mix two different colors.
2. Sausage (sape, cane, millefiori). Several layers of different polymer clay are combined, and then the mass is rolled into a roll.
3. "Kaleidoscope". Multi-layered, using the kaleidoscope technique, the pattern is symmetrical and multi-colored.
4. Watercolor. A technique for smooth color transitions when sculpting.
5. Filigree. Complex, requires professional skills and patience.
6. Salt technology. Salt is used in sculpting to add texture to the creation.
7. Mika-shift. Creates a 3D effect.
8. Mokume Gane. It consists of layering several layers of plastic clay of different colors.

Some parts need to be glued together after firing to avoid damage during baking. Use liquid or gel glue for this purpose; it is better if it is fast-acting and will set in 15-20 seconds. This way you will have the opportunity to fit the parts as best as possible to each other. Do not apply glue in strips to avoid smudges, do it in the form of separate droplets.

Baking

This process requires certain conditions to be met. The most important thing is to adhere to the baking temperature indicated on the packaging by the manufacturer. If you violate this indicator, the product may not bake or change color. It is better to bake the mixture in the oven on a ceramic tile or a regular baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Small parts need to be pinned onto a toothpick and placed on a ball of foil, so they are baked better. Flat parts are laid on a flat surface.

Complex crafts can be baked in several stages, for example, if they are made using the filigree technique. Each stage lasts a certain amount of time (from 1 to 15 minutes), and the total duration of the process can take up to half an hour. It is also necessary to remember that in its raw form the material is not toxic, but when heat treated it emits an unpleasant, harmful odor. Follow safety precautions: ensure the room is ventilated, remove food from the kitchen, and wash the oven after firing.

Varnishing

Finished products are coated with a special varnish, which gives them a finished look. There are matte and glossy varnishes; you need to choose them based on the desired effect of your craft. Many plastic manufacturers also make varnishes, so you can purchase products from the same brand. It has a composition that will not fade over time and will not begin to stick to your hands. Some needlewomen varnish their creations with water-based varnishes for wooden floors. The main thing is that they do not contain latex, which is incompatible with thermoplastics.

You can apply the varnish with a brush, but it is better to “put” the product on a toothpick and dip the whole product into the liquid, twisting it around its axis. This way the substance will be distributed evenly and the excess amount will drain off. Next, the toothpick with the craft is inserted into a piece of foam plastic (or other material) and left to dry. If after a while a drop of varnish forms at the bottom, it must be carefully removed. It is necessary to cover the crafts in several layers, drying each of them for a certain amount of time (indicated on the packaging), sometimes this time is several hours.

Safety precautions

Working with any material, even food, has its own safety rules. If you decide to sculpt from plastic, take the following precautions:

1. After sculpting, be sure to wash your hands with soap, or better yet, wear rubber gloves.
2. Do not burn the mass in the oven where you cook. If there is no other, and you are forced to do this, wash the oven thoroughly and ventilate well.
3. Observe the baking temperature, and if the material is burnt, be sure to ventilate the room and wash the oven.

Having prepared all the necessary materials and tools, you can begin to create various masterpieces. Watch a few simple modeling lessons and start with the basics, moving on to complex crafts as you gain specific skills. Over time, this exciting hobby can grow into a small business that brings in a good regular income.

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Polymer clay crafts for beginners

For those who have basic knowledge and are starting to work with plastic for the first time, a simple master class on sculpting a refrigerator magnet from polymer clay will help:

1. Stock up on: self-hardening polymer clay in pink, yellow, white, green, light green colors, a soft magnet, acrylic paints, glue, scissors, toothpick, beads.
2. Roll small balls from yellow, white, pink polymer clay, form a droplet out of them, cut the thick edge into 4-5 pieces with scissors.
3. Flatten them and give them relief with a toothpick. You will get flowers.
4. Form droplets from green-colored material, flatten them, and make veins with a toothpick. These will be the leaves.
5. We make buds: we press stripes on a white droplet, imitating unopened petals. We wrap the bottom of the workpiece with a piece of green mass.
6. Paint the magnet with paint of a suitable shade and glue the resulting blanks onto it, creating a composition. Complete it with decorative beads. Leave until completely dry.

New Year's crafts

An excellent New Year's gift would be a magic ball made at home from polymer clay:

1. Prepare: a small transparent spice jar with a screw-on lid, plastic (white, black, red, pink, beige), glitter, glitter, glycerin, vodka, pin, glue.
2. Roll 2 white balls of different sizes, put them on a pin (thin wire) to make a snowman.
3. Make indentations for the eyes and insert 2 black balls there. Insert a carrot made of red plastic into the recess for the nose. Draw a smile.
4. Roll 4 white balls, flatten 2 on one side - these are the legs. From the rest, make elongated droplets - these are hands. Build a snowman.
5. Roll out 2 thin long sausages from beige and pink polymer clay. Twist them with a rope. Form them into a scarf and hat for a snowman. In the same way, we make a candy in the form of a hook (we use red and white mass), insert it into the hand. Bake.
6. Coat the inside of the jar lid with waterproof glue, place a snowman in the center, and sprinkle glitter around it.
7. Pour different medium-sized glitters into a jar, pour 1 tbsp. l. glycerin and vodka, add water, taking into account that the snowman should still fit.
8. Coat the lid threads with cream, tighten, and let dry. Shake, turn over.

Decorations

As a decoration, try making a simple “knitted” bracelet for your wrist that imitates real yarn:

1. You will need: a base for a bracelet, plastic of the desired color, liquid gel plastic, an extruder, a knife.
2. Place the plastic mass into the extruder and extrude. Take 2 strips and twist them into a rope. Do the same with the other two strips, twisting them in the other direction.
3. Coat the surface of the base with gel, apply the first tourniquet, cut the required length. Then attach the second tourniquet as tightly as possible to the first one, cut it off.
4. You will get an imitation of knitting. Repeat the steps until you have knitted the entire bracelet. Do the same on the inside (optional). Bake it.

Toys

Modeling toys using thermoplastic is a great pastime with children. Try making a turtle like this:

1. Stock up on baked polymer mass (blue, light green, pink), a brush and 2 small black beads.
2. Make 4 large drops from the blue color - this is the preparation of the legs.
3. From a piece of light green plastic, form a blank in the form of a bell with a recess inside - this is the future shell.
4. Place the legs side by side with the wide part down and put the shell on top. Using the handle of the brush, holding it vertically, make a depression in the front of the future turtle - a place for the head.
5. We form a head blank: roll a ball and a cylinder out of blue plastic, connect them. You should end up with a head on your neck. Attach it to the body.
6. Roll pink balls, flatten them, stick them to the shell - these are spots. Make eyes from beads. Roast the turtle.

Flowers

Using this clear step-by-step master class, sculpting flowers from polymer clay is easy and simple:

1. Prepare the following materials: white and blue thermoplastic, toothpick, 2 white beads, knife.
2. Make 2 balls of different colors, connect, knead them until you achieve a marble pattern.
3. Divide the resulting ball in half, sculpt each half into a flat plate with 1 elongated edge.
4. Roll each into paper seed bags so that the elongated edge is at the top. Pin it and straighten the free edges as if a flower is opening. Bake, glue a bead in the middle.
5. If you first make a hole in the middle with a toothpick before firing, then you can then insert the fittings and form earrings from the flowers.

Children's crafts

Children love cartoons very much, so they will be interested in the process of creating popular characters from polymer clay. Let's make Krosh from Smeshariki:

1. Prepare: plastic (white, mint, red), 2 black beads, knife.
2. Roll a mint-colored ball - this is the head blank; prepare 6 more small pieces of mass separately.
3. Take 2 small white pieces, roll identical balls, press them down, attach them to the head close to each other - these are the whites of the eyes. Stick black beads to them - pupils.
4. Roll a small ball of red polymer clay and stick it just below the eyes - this is the nose.
5. Using a knife, cut out Krosh’s mouth, fill it with red, and stick on 2 small white teeth.
6. Let's return to the 6 mint pieces prepared earlier. From 4 we form elongated droplets, make 2 flat and glue them - these are the ears. The other 2 are arms; there is no need to make them flat.
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Modeling from polymer clay: master class for beginners

Finding more and more recognition among needlewomen. It has excellent plasticity and is easy to work with. Products obtained by firing a plastic clay mass are distinguished by high strength and aesthetic appeal. A wonderful hobby for modern girls is sculpting jewelry, figurines and decorative items from polymer clay.

Preparatory stage

When wondering how to use polymer clay, you first need to do some preparatory work. You will need special tools and materials: sharp knives and blades, sandpaper, suede scraps, PVA glue, bowls. For work, it is necessary to allocate a flat surface of sufficient area.

There are many techniques for sculpting with polymer clay. The choice of method depends on the type of product, the type of clay, as well as your own skills.

Modeling for beginners

Working with clay mass is similar to modeling from plasticine. If you are just starting to master the techniques of working with clay, you need to learn how to sculpt simple elements that are the basics. Roll the ball by rolling it over the work surface, holding it by one edge, and form a drop. By bending the end of the drop you can get a figure resembling a comma. Using a round tool, you can make hollow shapes from a drop. If you roll the ball between your palms, you will get a sausage. It is easy to sculpt sharp corners from it.

Cane technique

This type of technique involves laying out pieces of plastic in layers in a certain combination. Then a roll is made, which is cut into pieces. The cut of an individual piece has a laid out pattern.

Salt technology

Performed using coarse salt. You need to roll clay into balls or any other elements. Then each ball is rolled in salt and baked. After cooling, the salt must be washed off. You will get a fancy relief surface.

Filigree

Small pieces of multi-colored polymer clay are glued onto a workpiece of any shape. The patterns can be absolutely anything. There are entire catalogs with examples of drawings and ornaments. This technique requires perseverance.

Kaleidoscope

Sausages of various sizes and colors are formed, which are given a certain shape: square, triangle, circle. Next, layers are laid out in a certain set of sausages. The resulting block is cut into elements of the desired shape. An interesting pattern is formed on the cuts.

Watercolor

A great idea on how to work with polymer clay and get smooth color transitions is to use the Watercolor technique. Three strips of different colors are made from the clay mass. When laying one on top of the other, they need to be pressed lightly. The resulting element is kept for some time and then divided into pieces. These pieces are used to cover the workpieces. As a rule, this technique is used to make beads or balls.

Heat treatment

Freshly molded products require heat treatment. Depending on the type of polymer clay, products are baked or boiled. The products are baked in the oven and cooked in the microwave or on a regular stove. The main thing is to observe the time and temperature conditions.

Security measures

The composition of clay includes a complex chemical compound - a plasticizer, due to which the clay mass is easily processed. When fired, products begin to release harmful compounds. The concentration of these compounds is low, but safety measures cannot be neglected. When firing or cooking products, the room should be well ventilated.

In the 1930s, Germany invented an amazing material for creating extraordinary products – polymer clay. At first, dolls were made with it, but in the 60s it rapidly gained popularity, after which clay began to be used to create various sculptures and compositions.

Nowadays original jewelry, souvenirs, and flowers are created from this material. Wedding bouquets are excellent made from polymer clay, so clay has become an indispensable material for wedding celebrations.

You too can learn how to make gorgeous crafts from this wonderful material. In order to create your first masterpiece, you will only need to familiarize yourself with the material below.

Tools for modeling from polymer clay

• Surface to work on. You can take a flat and perfectly even board made of glass or plastic, tiles or ceramics.
• Knife. Suitable for both stationery and construction. Have spare blades on hand.
• An acrylic rolling pin is very convenient for rolling out clay.
• A syringe and various attachments with which you can make various stripes and floral elements.
• Forms for cutting out shapes (cutters).
• Stacks.
• Polymer clay.
• Varnish for polymers.
• Brushes of different sizes.
• Toothpicks.
• Napkins.
• Fittings.

Before starting work, the clay needs to be kneaded well.

1. First, wash your hands well, as clay perfectly absorbs various contaminants. Keep your work area clean too. Tie up your hair or put a scarf on your head.
2. Apply talc to the clay to prevent debris from sticking to it.
3. Calculate the amount of clay correctly, because colored clay has a short shelf life.
4. When the clay dries out, don’t lose heart, just add regular hand cream to the material, but not a lot.
5. Be careful with clay products - they are quite fragile.
6. Store the packaging with the material only when it is closed. To ensure that the clay serves you for a long time, place a damp cloth there.

Polymer clay at home

If you do not have the opportunity to purchase ready-made clay in the store, then below is a recipe for making this material at home.

You will need: baby butter, flour (1 teaspoon), regular white glue (1 teaspoon), cornstarch (1 teaspoon).

Combine starch, glue, add flour. Stir until the mixture resembles clay. Next, add five or six drops of oil to prevent the clay from sticking to your hands. To make colored clay, take some of this material in your hand, drop a little acrylic paint and knead it in your hand.

Polymer clay flowers

Calla lilies

For those who are just starting to work with polymer clay, it will be easiest to make calla lilies. This is a very simple craft and can be done in a matter of minutes. And if you decorate the resulting flower with beads and thread a special hook into them, you will get gorgeous earrings.

Take a couple of clay flowers, a toothpick, a utility knife, rubber gloves and beads.

Make a sausage out of the clay pieces, then roll them around one another. Roll the resulting product into a ball. Do these manipulations until you get a marbled color. After this, use a knife to cut the ball into two equal parts.

Make a rounded flat plate and slightly extend its edge, which you pin with your fingers. Carefully roll up the opposite edge (like a paper bag).

Straighten the edges and straighten them. You should end up with a pop-up bud. Use a toothpick to make small holes and insert the earring and beads into the flower.

Lily

Lily is more difficult to make than calla lilies, but the result is worth it!

Take clay of the color you like, a bottle or rolling pin, an awl or a large needle, a knife, paints (preferably watercolor), brushes, paper clips.

Put gloves on your hands, take a piece of clay, roll it thin, outline the petals. Draw the boundaries of the petals with a needle. You should end up with three large and three small petals. Small petals will be in the center of the flower.

Cut out the resulting petals using a knife or scissors. Draw veins on the petals - it looks very beautiful.

Let the resulting components dry, and then start making the center of the flower, namely the pistil and stamens. Roll out the clay and cut into thin strips. Make the strip for the pestle wider and apply brown color to its tip. Using a needle, curl the edges of the smaller petals. Straighten the paper clip and attach the flower to it, starting with the pistil and stamens. Next, attach the petals symmetrically.

Rose

Roses are considered the most sought after flowers, even if they are made from polymer clay. To make this beauty, take polymer clay and put gloves on your hands.

Make a sausage out of a piece of clay, cut it into pieces, from which you make balls of various diameters. Nine balls will be enough if the rose is small.

Make oval petals from the balls. To do this, place a ball on your left palm and apply pressure with the thumb of your right hand. Forming a petal. We make the edges of the petal thinner and the base denser. We do this with all the balls. After that we collect the rose. Make the middle of the flower - roll one petal into a roll. Next, attach the petals to the center from smallest to largest. Make sure that each petal covers the middle of the previous one.

The rose is done. It is perfect for decorating various accessories. It would look great as a refrigerator magnet.

Orchid

After you have practiced making roses and callas, you can begin making an exquisite flower - an orchid. To work, take clay, a flat board, gloves, a rolling pin, wire, a special form for cutting, a knife, brushes, paints, molds, a stick with a rounded tip.

Using a stick, paint a piece of clay and make a small protrusion in the middle. Use a cookie cutter to cut out a cross - this will be the middle of the flower. If there is no shape, then draw the core yourself. We take the resulting part in our hands and bend its upper tip inward. Using a stick, we bend the remaining pieces in the same way.

Take the wire and bend it into a right angle. We put the middle of the flower, coated with glue, on the tip of the wire. Make the middle part of the flower sponge from a small piece of clay. To do this, make a grain out of it and cut it a little with a knife. Place it on the wire in the middle of the sponge. Color your flower lip.

After this we make the petals. Roll out a painted clay piece that has a protrusion. Place the blank on the mold and cut off the excess. We attach the wire to the base. We make five more petals in the same way. Draw dots on all petals. Take all the petals, lip, connect. It turned out to be a gorgeous orchid!

Crafts made with polymer clay are gaining popularity every day, and the type of ceramic floristry is developing. They sell well and are highly rated.

It is worth noting that modeling from this type of material is in demand not only among needlewomen. Children are becoming more and more interested in this type of art. This activity is very exciting, with its help your child will actively develop and relax. Children will be very happy to help you make crafts and decorations.

Learn to create masterpieces from polymer clay, and a new world of art will open up for you, with the help of which you can create chic jewelry and even have additional income from your work!

117 photos of color examples

Recently, plastic modeling has become quite a popular hobby, and for some, even a professional activity. Designer jewelry, toys and souvenirs made from polymer clay are in great demand. What features does plastic or polymer clay have, and how to work with it?

This material is used for sculpting various products: jewelry, dolls, souvenirs, flower arrangements, etc. Before you figure out how to sculpt any decorative item from polymer clay, you need to choose the appropriate type of material.

Types of materials for modeling

Depending on the method of hardening the plastic, it can be self-hardening or baked.

Lung material self-hardening clay is softer. It is also classified into different types depending on its purpose. For example, there are floral polymer clays designed specifically for making artificial flowers and compositions from them. The material is very plastic, easy to stretch. But it is unlikely to be suitable for creating other products: it is not very durable, many floral clays cannot be wetted, etc.

Other types of self-hardening masses are much stronger in their properties than floral ones. They wrinkle well, are much more convenient (and cleaner!) to work with than traditional clay, and the finished products are lighter in weight. Self-hardening masses are most often used to make various decorative figurines and toys. In air, molded products quickly gain strength.

Self-hardening masses lend themselves well to grinding after drying, the products can be artistically cut into patterns with special knives, they can be painted with any paints, and varnished for additional strength.

Unfortunately, self-hardening clays do not perform well if you need to sculpt some small and thin parts - they turn out brittle and break easily.

The most popular type of modeling materials is baked clay, or thermoplastic.

Products made from such polymer clay harden only after heat treatment. Depending on the manufacturer, the temperature and baking methods for polymer clay may vary slightly. But the average baking temperature is approximately the same: 110-130°C.

Methods for processing baked clay

Methods for curing thermoplastics:

1. Baking in the oven.(Microwave ovens cannot be used!)

First you need to preheat the oven to a temperature of 110-130°C.

Then the molded product is placed in the oven. Ideally, in earthenware or ceramic dishes, but you can also place the products on a metal baking sheet, but then it is better to cover it with baking paper.

Baking time depends on the thickness of the product, from 5 to 40 minutes. If you perform complex techniques with many elements, you can bake the clay in several stages.

After baking, it is better to let the product cool inside the oven.

However, everyone knows that thermoplastic can be baked, now let's figure it out, is it possible to boil polymer clay?

2. Cooking in boiling water. Yes, this is a less popular method, but it also has its supporters.

One of the obvious advantages of this method is that the product will definitely not burn or deform, which is possible when baking in the oven if you suddenly miscalculate the processing time.

The main disadvantage is that some clays after cooking may become covered with a light whitish coating and lose their brightness. However, if you plan to paint the product in the future, this cannot be considered a minus. In addition, this is not fading of the plastic, as some believe, but the deposition of water salts on its surface. You can easily get rid of this whitishness if you boil water for 5 minutes before cooking, or if you sand the product after drying.

It is also important to remember that it is better to use plastic for cooking specially designated utensils that can no longer be used for cooking.

1. Place a spoon or spatula in boiling water for a few minutes. carefully the finished molded product is lowered.

2. Cooking time depends on the thickness of the product. Experienced craftswomen use the formula 3-4 minutes + 1 minute for each millimeter of product thickness. However, as mentioned above, exceeding the processing time with this method will not make things worse.

3. The finished product is removed with the same spoon or spatula and washed under running cold water.

Important! If in your work you used a special glue or gel to connect different elements of the product, this processing method definitely cannot be used.

Features of baked polymer clay

Polymer clays from most manufacturers mix well different colors of clay with each other, allowing you to get different shades and smooth transitions in your work.

After heat treatment, thermoplastic products are very durable and resistant to mechanical damage and living conditions! That is why this material is actively used in the creation of jewelry, souvenirs, and toys.

After processing, baked polymer clay can be sanded and sanded well; it can be painted with any paints, coated with varnishes and other special compounds. If necessary, it drills perfectly.

Another great feature of polymer clays is the ability to imprint different textures into them, which can greatly simplify and facilitate your work.

Required tools for making crafts

Select the necessary tools for working with polymer material depending on the desired result and the techniques in which you plan to work.

The following devices are commonly used:

Ceramic or glass work surface;

For rolling - a rolling pin, roller or a special pasta machine;

Extruder with replaceable nozzles for extruding simple or shaped shapes;

Stamps, texture sheets, brushes for modifying the base;

Stacks with different profiles for sculpting small parts;

Stationery scissors and knives for cutting parts.

The great thing about working with polymer clay is that you can choose: work with budget or expensive tools (for example, a rolling pin or a paste machine); as well as extensive possibilities for using a wide variety of available tools - for imprinting textures and creating shapes. Beginning craftsmen may well use stationery knives instead of special cutters, or children's plastic stacks for plasticine instead of professional metal ones.

Secrets of making decorative items from plastic

Before starting work, knead the baked plastic so that it becomes soft and warm. To knead the plastic of some companies, you have to make a noticeable effort at the beginning :)

To avoid leaving fingerprints on the finished work, you can work with medical gloves or sand the product after heat treatment. Before starting work, wash your hands thoroughly.

When working with self-hardening clay, use a small amount of material so that it does not dry out quickly. Place the remaining plastic in film, moisten the unfinished parts with water.

When using thermoplastic, make sure that there are no air bubbles left in it: it will expand when heated, which means the product will be deformed.

Be sure to try working with polymer clay! There are a huge variety of techniques that will allow even beginners to make something beautiful and original.

Looking at these artificial flowers, you never cease to be amazed - they are absolutely life-like!

What's the secret? How can you create such beauty? It turns out that polymer clay is capable of such miracles. But material is not everything to achieve such a result. If you want to sculpt beautiful flowers from polymer clay yourself, you need to consider the following points.

There are several types of polymer clay, and not all of them are suitable for creating flowers. That is, of course, you can sculpt them from any clay, but the effect and quality will be different. Not only flowers are made from polymer clay, but also dolls, decorative figurines, and jewelry. Each case has its own clay that is best suited.

Flowers made from polymer clay cannot be distinguished from real ones!

To create naturalistic flowers, light self-hardening clays are used (there is no need to bake them, they harden themselves in the air). In terms of their plastic properties, they resemble marshmallows: they stretch easily and roll out thinly. The most famous self-hardening clay for creating flowers is ClayCraft Deco made in Japan. It is especially recommended for beginners in sculpting. It contains cellulose, which is why flowers made from it are light, matte and thin, like paper. They cannot be washed - only clean with a dry brush.

Cold porcelain (one of the types of self-hardening polymer clay) has been developed especially for making flowers. With its advent, such a direction of creativity as ceramic floristry was formed. Flowers made from this material are so naturalistic that in photographs they can hardly be distinguished from the real thing.

Ceramic floristry is a separate direction of creativity

You can buy ready-made cold porcelain - for example, brands Modena, Modern or Fluer. Or you can prepare clay for sculpting flowers yourself: it’s very simple. Here is one of the recipes.
We will need:

• corn or potato starch
• PVA glue
• baking soda
• petrolatum

Starch (two tablespoons) needs to be ground with a teaspoon of Vaseline (it’s most convenient to do this in a ceramic plate or shallow bowl).

Add a good pinch of soda to the resulting mixture and mix. Now we begin to gradually introduce glue until the “dough” becomes elastic enough, but not too thick or tight. If you overdo it, dilute it with glue. Knead the lump by greasing your hands with Vaseline. Porcelain is ready for use. After sculpting from it, no additional processing is required - you just need to let it dry. Finished products are coated with acrylic paints.

Ready-made self-hardening clays are only available in white, gray or terracotta colors. But baked polymer clay (plastic) has a wide range of colors. In addition, it may include glitter, filler that imitates metal or stone, and be translucent or fluorescent colors. Figures made from it should be baked in the oven (but under no circumstances in the microwave!) or simply boiled like dumplings to give them hardness. The finished products are very durable, and thin parts are flexible, easily restoring their original shape after deformation. So, for example, a petal no thicker than a millimeter, bent almost in half, will not break, but will return to its original position. Valuable quality for polymer clay jewelry. But this result is obtained only when it is fired correctly.

Rules for baking plastic

If you have chosen baked polymer clay as your modeling material, you can only welcome your decision. Plastic products do not lose their shape, are not afraid of water and do not fade over time. They can be polished, varnished, or coated with acrylic paints. The plastic itself is very easy to use. It is as easy to sculpt from it as from plasticine; it can be rolled out, baked and cut out into parts and figures with scissors or a knife.

The only difficulty is the baking process. If you underexpose or overexpose it, all your work will be in vain. But if you strictly follow the instructions, this is not a problem.

Before going into the oven, the figurines are placed on a ceramic tile, old earthenware dishes or a metal baking sheet covered with baking paper.

For better “baking”, flowers (or other products) need to be placed on toothpicks or pins and stuck into a wad of foil.

Strict adherence to temperature conditions is the main condition for successful “baking” of thermoplastics. You must adhere to exactly the level specified by the manufacturer. In one case it may be 110 degrees, in another – 130.

At a temperature lower than required, flowers and other crafts made from polymer clay turn out brittle and very fragile, and at a higher temperature they darken and become glossy. A significant increase in temperature leads to complete deformation of the product, it spreads and begins to release toxic gas.

It is important not only to sculpt it beautifully, but also to bake it correctly!

An oven thermometer will help you monitor the correct temperature.

It’s not scary if you keep the product in the oven a little longer than expected at the required temperature, but if you don’t keep it in the oven, it may begin to crumble over time. A timer will help you stick to the time frame exactly.

When firing clay, take precautions: remove children from the kitchen and open the window for ventilation, put all food in the refrigerator or under plastic wrap, do not “bake” clay with food. After firing, wash the oven thoroughly, wash your hands with soap, wipe off any clay stuck to your palms with a sponge soaped with dishwashing detergent (after this you need to throw it away). In its “raw” form, thermoplastic is not toxic, but when heated, everything changes.

How to sculpt flowers from polymer clay

In addition to the material, to make flowers from polymer clay you also need to have:

• Latex gloves or finger pads. It is not always convenient to work in them, but fingerprints will not remain on the products, spoiling their appearance. Gloves should be your size - they fit tighter to your fingers and interfere less with your work.

• Knives.

  To cut out petals and other parts of a flower, it is better to use a sharp stationery knife; a blade will also do. They allow you to avoid deformation of the product when cutting.

• Stacks. To draw veins on the petals and leaves of a flower, you will need toothpicks, knitting needles or special metal stacks, which can be found in Drawing supplies stores.

• Rolling pin. You can roll out the clay using a glass bottle or a special glass rolling pin.

To sculpt beautiful flowers and floral arrangements, you don’t need to have any special artistic abilities, but perseverance, patience and skill will come in very handy.

You can start with the simplest thing - modeling a rose from clay for jewelry.

You will need: baked pink polymer clay and rubber gloves.

Roll a sausage out of clay and cut it into pieces - future petals. Form them into petals of different sizes.

Forming flower petals of different sizes

Twist the middle of the flower from the smallest petal, attach the rest from the smallest to the largest - in a circle.

Use a pin or toothpick to make a hole in the finished flower so that you can then attach accessories to it (a chain or hook for an earring).

“Bake” the product in the oven, observing the temperature and firing time specified by the manufacturer in the instructions on the clay packaging.

When the simplest technique is mastered, you can try to make a more realistic flower using various special devices: molds for cutting out petals, molds for petals and rose cups, wire for artificial flowers, green tape for stems, a stack with a round tip. Using a stack with a ball at the end, the edges of the petals are thinly rolled out, and with the help of a mold they are given a similarity to the texture of a real rose flower. In this case, the petals are glued with PVA glue to the drop-shaped base of the bud. A five-pointed flower cup made of green clay, the ends of which are cut with a knife for realism, completes the beautiful picture.

Flowers made of polymer clay: you can’t tell them from real ones

Flowers made of polymer clay: master class for beginners. magazine "Rutvet"

Flowers made of polymer clay step-by-step master class with photos and videos

Flowers made of polymer clay (master classes)

Flowers made of polymer clay (cold porcelain photo, video, how to make)

Do-it-yourself plasticine at home: varieties and recipes

What could be more enjoyable and useful than modeling for children? Perseverance, creativity, fine motor skills, and coordination develop. Fingers become stronger and more dexterous. And most importantly, modeling is easy to organize at home, almost at any time. Hence the great need to learn how to make plasticine at home with your own hands.

Why do we do it ourselves?

• Homemade plasticine has a number of significant advantages over purchased plasticine.
• Plasticine made at home is safe because the materials used are substances that will not harm the child’s health. Natural dyes are used. Parents are confident about the quality of the material.
• Homemade plasticine is usually softer and more delicate - it does not need to be kneaded for a long time.
• If the baby is still very small (1-2 years old) and actively tastes everything, plasticine made at home, with the addition of salt and citric acid, will quickly discourage the desire to eat it, and without unpleasant consequences.
• Plasticine created at home is distinguished by the fact that it does not dry for a long time, does not stick to your hands and does not leave greasy stains, and is very easily washed off with water.

  And it’s also quick and fun to do!

• Finally, homemade plasticine is much cheaper, especially if you take into account its consumption by children and the cost of materials.

What is needed to make plasticine?

To make children's plasticine, they mainly use food products that can be found in any kitchen. These include: flour, starch, soda, salt, citric acid, vegetable oil and food coloring. To make plasticine with unusual texture and properties, you may need: PVA glue, sodium tetraborate, glitter, paint, foam balls, cream of tartar, glycerin, hand glue, etc. The composition of plasticine depends on its purpose and type. There are many different recipes for preparing the “dough”, and they differ in components, complexity and cooking time. There is cold-cooked plasticine, and there is one that needs to be boiled, fried, baked. But in fact, homemade plasticine is an elastic mass, like dough, so the first recipe that will be considered is plasticine, which you most likely know as “salt dough”.

A simple recipe for modeling mass made from flour, salt and water

Yes, this is the simplest recipe from which salt dough is made. But, despite the widespread use of this material, salt dough has not lost its popularity and relevance today, and it can safely be classified as a type of homemade plasticine. Salt dough is soft, elastic, holds its shape very well and is suitable for making “long-lasting” products - it dries well, turning into a strong and hard result. When you add dyes to the test base, you get a wonderful, bright “plasticine” that is no worse than store-bought. The only disadvantage of this test is its relatively short shelf life - in the refrigerator 3 to a maximum of 7 days. After this, an unsightly and hard gray crust forms on the dough, which is no longer suitable for use.

Manufacturing materials and manufacturing process:

• 1 cup flour;
• 1 glass of water;
• ½ cup of finely ground salt;

Mix the ingredients in the following order: dissolve salt in water, add flour, knead the dough. If necessary, add flour and salt (observing the proportions). Knead the dough very well, wrap it in a bag and put it in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours. You can, of course, immediately sculpt from the dough, but after “settling” in the refrigerator, it becomes more elastic and pliable, and holds its shape well. Dough figures are strong and light. You can immediately sculpt from colored dough, or you can paint already dried products with gouache. To make the dough more like plasticine, add a spoonful of vegetable oil (or a little hand cream) and a spoonful of citric acid to the base.

Starch plasticine

If for some reason there is no flour, then you can make plasticine from starch and soda. This dough is distinguished by its white color, flexible consistency and longer shelf life.

To prepare it you need:

• 1.5 glasses of water.
• Soda - 450g.
• Corn starch - 1 cup.
• Dyes.

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and stir until smooth. Then heat the mixture, stirring constantly. The resulting solution will increase in volume and boil.

Cook for about 5 minutes until the mixture becomes thick and smooth. The dishes must be removed from the heat, put the plasticine on a plate and wait for it to cool completely.

You can come up with a variety of creative tasks for children: modeling aliens, sweets, plasticine landscapes. Teach students to sculpt basic elements - cakes, sausages, balls, flagella. To begin with, show how to make a tree, how to create a caterpillar from balls, how to make dishes and fruits. By combining elements and using your own imagination, you will have a fun and useful time, and when the plasticine runs out, you can easily prepare a new one.

In these videos you can watch the process of making 4 types of plasticine from different materials.

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The topic of modeling from polymer clay has now become very popular. This is understandable, clay is very pleasant to handle, you can’t get dirty with it like paints, the process of working with it is calming, and most importantly, products made from it turn out to be very entertaining. Clay resembles plasticine, but its plasticity is much higher, which allows you to create crafts of much higher quality than plasticine ones. If you don't want the hassle of baking homemade clay, then DIY self-hardening polymer clay is the way to go.

The only disadvantage of polymer clay is its price. High-quality clay is not cheap, and if you consider how much it has to be ruined by beginners, you immediately begin to think and look everywhere for a DIY polymer clay recipe.

How to make homemade polymer clay yourself? First, let’s find out what components this clay consists of. So, its main part is polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, and various types of plasticizers, which give the clay softness and elasticity. As well as pigments to give clay different shades. And stabilizers that slow down its hardening. We will make homemade clay, of course, from other ingredients, but the final product will be significantly closer to plastic in its plastic properties.

To create 350 g of homemade clay we will need:

• a glass of PVA glue;
• a glass of corn starch;
• 1 tbsp. l. Vaseline;
• 1 tbsp. l. non-greasy and silicone-free hand cream;
• 2 tbsp. l. lemon juice;
• enamel dishes;
• plastic spatula;
• plastic board;
• a little cling film.

Cooking method:

Pour cornstarch into an enamel bowl, add glue and Vaseline. Mix everything thoroughly so that there are no lumps. Then add lemon juice and mix everything until smooth. The mixture should be plastic. Then put the resulting mixture in the microwave at maximum power for 30 seconds.

Remove and stir, then set again for 30 seconds. The mass is slightly covered with a dry crust; it should be cut off. Grease a plastic board with hand cream and place the prepared mixture on it. Next, you need to knead the mass well like dough. This process lasts about 5 minutes. The result should be a plastic and elastic mass.

We roll the resulting clay into a sausage and place it on a cloth so that the clay cools and excess moisture is removed from it, then we wrap the plastic in cling film. You can start working right away, or you can wrap it in better film, put it in a box and leave it in the refrigerator. If you decide to use homemade clay right away, you can make it colored immediately or paint it later.

To give the clay a tint, you need to divide it into several parts and add a little acrylic paint, then mix each piece. Wrap each colored lump of clay separately in film and store it until use. It is important to remember that to make the clay softer, just heat it a little and then add a little Vaseline or cream to it. But the best way is to mix it with softer clay.

The clay is ready, now you can get to work. Let's try to make the first products from our plastic. From this clay you can create the most extraordinary crafts and decorations.

Examples of work from home length can be seen in the photo:

You can create a product from one color of clay, you can do a combined work, but in any case, the main thing is to decide and take the first step. You can make a simple flower, as shown in the photo:

In another way it is called cold porcelain. One caveat: for its production you will need a plasticizer; it will significantly improve the plasticity of the product. Don't be afraid, it is sold in any car store. Let's begin.

We will need:

• 350 mm glue Moment and PVA 1:1;
• 150 mm corn starch;
• 1 tsp. citric acid;
• 1 tsp. glycerin;
• 2 tbsp. l. plasticizer;
• any cream without silicone.

Cooking method:

Mix glycerin, glue, citric acid and starch. Mix and add glue. Mix again until smooth, add plasticizer. The mass acquires elasticity and viscosity. Place in the microwave for a minute at maximum power. Then take it out and mix again. We repeat this 3 times, reducing the heating time first to 30 seconds, then to 15 seconds. During the last stirring, add the cream.

Lubricate the inside of the bag with Vaseline and place the resulting porcelain there. There it should be stored for a day. Then it can be used in the same way as clay, but it does not need to be baked, it hardens itself in the air after a day. More information on the preparation of self-hardening clay can be found in the video: