Common Polymer Clay Brands in North America
Vid #6: Why I Like Premo Sculpey Polymer Clay for Bead Making:
For bead making, I recommend using the Premo! Sculpey brand from Polyform, for the following reasons:
(1) It is by far the strongest polymer clay brand that I've come across so far.
(2) It's also the smoothest. You'll see what I mean when you use it for yourself.
(3) It remains soft enough to condition easily.
(4) And it sands and buffs to a beautiful shine… better than any of the other brands.
>> Polymer Clay Tutorials <<
The full version of the "Polymer Clay Brands" preview video shown above, is included in my Polymer Clay Bead Making Fundamentals Course [SEE Video #1 of 39]. In North America, there are a few other brands of polymer clay besides the four I describe in this video. But these are the most common and most readily available.
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Comments on Common Polymer Clay Brands in North America
2:56 pm
I have run into so many problems lately with Sculpey III breaking that unless you already have some I would recommend not bothering with it at all. Paying a few cents more for Premo is definitely worth the money.
5:58 pm
As a beginner any and all information on polymer clay is invaluable. And, back in the '70's I had a friend that used to always tell me "I want you to learn from my mistakes so you don't have to make them". The mistakes he was talking about were much harder to learn from another person but I know I will be happy to follow along with Cindy and learn from hers!!
4:10 pm
Yeah, crafting mistakes are much easier to 'get over' than life mistakes… but who really wants to make them, if they can be avoided!!
Thank you Katina for your great comment!
Cindy Lietz's last blog post..Blue Flower Earrings – A Jewelry Making Project Using Premo Sculpey
10:08 am
Hi Cindy, I'm new to working with Polymer Clay. I have several books that I have purchased, but find it extremely hard for me to get my pieces to look the like the ones in the book. One of the problems I'm having is getting my clay the same thickness in making strips if the project requires. Also I find some of the projects lead you to believe that some of the strips are really long but actually, they are not, I never seem to get mine as long as the one's in the projects look to be. Thanks, for your time in reading this, any information will be appreciated.
12:13 pm
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for your comment. In regards to getting your clay all the same thickness, the pasta machine is by far your best bet. But if you do not have a pasta machine, you can use barbecue skewers or chopsticks to help you out… I discussed a very simple technique on how to do this in another post. Follow the link by my name for more info about this easy method for rolling even thicknesses of polymer clay.
And in regards to "between-the-lines" information that you don't get when reading instruction books or written tutorials, that is exactly why I love to teach using video. Have a look at what of my students had to say about this and how my Beginners course helped her: Making Beaded Polymer Clay Jewelry
If you want more information about the full motion video beginner course here's some links for you to have a look at:
Polymer Clay Basics Course Info Page
What Some Of My Other Polymer Clay Students Are Saying About The Beginners Course
6:10 am
Thanks, Cindy for your quick response. The information I know will be very helpful to me. Also I just want to comment you on the wealth of information and techinques that you have on your website great job.
12:29 pm
I WISH I had read all your blog articles AND bought the course (which I did a few days ago with birthday money) before I bought a bunch of Sculpey III a couple of weeks ago while it was on sale. Oh well, at least I have some clay to play with while I'm learning. I now know first hand that it's too soft to use for canes. Never having played with polymer clay, I would have thought I was doing something wrong because it was way too soft and I couldn't cut the log without squishing the whole thing flat.
On to play some more!
3:58 pm
@Barbara: You are very welcome! Thank you fro your very kind comments!
@Joyce: That's too bad, but at least now you know! You can always mix that Sculpey with some other clays like Premo , Fimo or Kato to give it some more strength. You can also use it for round or square beads that aren't as vulnerable to breakage and mold making is also a great way to use of sculpey iii. Click the link by my name for how to make a mold.
6:28 am
Due to the recent controversy in the US related to high levels of cadmium in jewelry, I was wondering if you have any knowledge of cadmium content in polymer clay. I notice that Premo has two colors specifically labeled "Cadmium". Jewelry containing cadmium is being pulled off store shelves in the US. I am concerned about polymer clay containing cadmium. Any info would be appreciated.
9:06 am
Hi Roxanne – Thanks so much for your question and for the follow up research that you did on this topic. You can follow the link by my name to see the resulting article.