Color Recipes for Polymer Clay – Instructions and Tips
An Introduction to this Section of the Blog Including General Mixing Tips and Techniques for Polymer Clay:
In this section of the blog you will discover some great polymer clay color recipes I've come up with either through experimentation, through online research or as submitted by subscribers.
The recipes work by mixing equal sized parts of clay in the prescribed quantities. For a video tutorial on how to do this, click here: Mixing Polymer Clay Colors
Keep in mind the size of the cutter you use will determine the amount of clay you end up with. For example, if you are making lots of beads, you may want to use a larger cookie cutter to mix up a larger amount of that color. This also means of course that if you only need a small amount of a color, then use a smaller cutter.
In my recipes that suggest using a Trace amount, this means to just add a tiny, tiny amount of a color relative to the total amount mixed. It's obviously better to start with minuscule portions and then keep adding until the desired color is achieved… rather than adding too much right at the beginning.
As with any color mixing, there will always be slight differences from batch to batch. So if it is extremely important that the color be exact for all of the beads in a project you are doing, then for good measure mix up a little more than you think you might need. Personally I like variation and never really care if the color is exact. But I know that not everyone likes to be as random as me.
Each recipe I provide has the brand of clay listed that was used to make that particular color. Each clay company uses different pigments and color combinations. So if you want to substitute a different brand, you will have to make your best guess and then experiment to come up with your own recipe.
Cross brand substitutions of some colors like black, white, silver, and gold are pretty straight forward. But other colors such as red, green, blue, yellow, etc., are a little more complex and will require more fiddling.
Filed Under: 02: Tools, 03: Supplies, 08: Color Theory, 09: Color Recipes by Comment. 
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Comments on Color Recipes for Polymer Clay – Instructions and Tips
11:11 am
As you go through the recipes in this section, don't forget to leave some Comments about your learning experiences and accomplishments. Feel free to post new recipes that have worked for you.
I will be adding new color recipes as often as I can, as well as color schemes that follow popular lifestyle, decor and fashion trends. If you have any specific requests, just let me know below.
8:18 am
Mixing colors has always been difficult for me. You make it easy. Lots of prettier beads are going to come out of my workshop now.
7:38 pm
That makes me very happy to hear Freda… Thank you very much for commenting!
Cindy Lietz's last blog post..Memorial Jewelry – How To Make Rose Petal Beads with Polymer Clay
12:54 pm
Dear Cindy,
I was toooo late I know. Is there any chance to get the bonus recipes? I started with PC beginning of September and at the beginning I was not so vermiliar what I really need and what not. And now I know…. I need colors and of course a lot of colors, much more then Premo, Cernit and Fimo offers right from the pack. I will order the back issues within the next week, but how could I get the bonus colors.
I love your side and your tipps.
Greetings from Germany (and sorry for my horrible english)
Janine
12:58 pm
Great to hear from you Janine from Germany! Your English is definitely not horrible. I think if I tried to write in your language… now that would be horrible :-)
Anyway… about the bonus color recipe giveaway that you missed in my October 18, 2008 polymer clay colors blog post. Although you did in fact miss out on that survey event, there will be other opportunities to get those receipt cards again at a later date, through other promotions and contests I have planned.
In fact, one fun event I do every week is a rewarding treasure hunt where the free prize is a new bonus color recipe card you can download to your computer. Details are emailed out on a regular basis to everyone on my Polymer Clay Tutor Guest List. So make sure you keep up to date with those weekly emails I send out :-)
9:32 am
I can't seem to access any of the color recipes. How do I do so? Thanks. Barbara.
10:06 am
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for your question about the polymer clay recipe cards. Rather than going into detail here, follow the link by my name above (the one that says Toner Photo Transfer Method For Polymer Clay). It will take you to an explanation I provided for another reader, about how to access the color recipes.