Fimo Nail Art – Polymer Clay Canes for Fingernail Art Designs
Ever put tiny slices of pretty polymer clay canes onto your fingernails?
Because I'm not much of a girlie-girl certain things like fancy manicures and pretty nail art are things I have not had much exposure to.
Sure I've had a couple of French manicures as a gift from my sister and friends. But since I pretty much have them destroyed after a day in the garden, doing housework and making polymer clay beads, I had no idea that Nail Art Professionals were using thin slices of polymer clay canes in their fancy nail art designs! Who knew?
Well… one of my readers knew and she wrote to me about wanting more information and pictures on using fimo canes for nail art. Here is what she said:
Hi Cindy. I ran across your website while searching the web. I am a nail artist and looking for someone whom makes fimo/sculpey canes that are 1/4" in diameter to put on nails. Do you do these or know someone that does? Can you please contact me I would love to see pictures of some work. Monique.
I had to write her back and say I had never heard of this but would look into it. I have been around the polymer clay industry a while and have seen and heard of lots of things…. but I'd never come across using fimo cane slices for nail art. So I did some digging.
Guess what? There's one lady Angie Scarr who is making teeny tiny pre-baked polymer clay canes of fruit and vegetables. These canes are then warmed up and sliced thinly with a razor to embed into nail art designs or sliced more thickly as miniature fruit slices and pizza toppings for dollhouses. The nail art industry calls them Fimo Frooties.
Here's a whole nail art gallery of these Fimo Frooties you might want to check out.
Instantly I got excited! I can see all kinds of opportunities to teach people how to make all sorts of miniature fimo canes for nail artists… many more designs than just a few fruits and vegetables.
Now don't get me wrong. The Fimo Frooties I've seen are very cool and well made. But I can envision a whole bunch of the cane designs that I'm preparing for up coming courses, as easily adapted for DIY (do it yourself) nail artists… flowers, pirates, tattoo designs, face canes, geometrics, etc, etc.
So thank you Monique for exposing me to the world of fimo nail art! I'll be adding that to my video tutorial courses right quick!
Filed Under: 07: Cane Work, 13: Musings-News, 14: Feature Guests by Comment. 
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Comments on Fimo Nail Art – Polymer Clay Canes for Fingernail Art Designs
8:55 pm
LOL – okay, now I HAVE heard everything! How cool is that?
10:45 am
Very pretty!
3:49 pm
Thanks for your comments Laurel and Sher! They are very pretty aren't they? It wouldn't be practical for me to have nails like that, but I would be happy making the canes for them!!
Cindy Lietz's last blog post..How to Make Rose Petal Beads from Dried Flowers
3:51 pm
Thanks for doing a feature on polymer clay nail art! You can find some of my nail art canes at the Beauty Tech Shoppe. Cat
7:14 pm
Cat – It's great to hear from you. I was *very* excited when I first found about about Fimo nail art! Didn't know that you were involved with these nail artists too.
Someone just emailed me the other day with a question that I couldn't answer. You might know. Is there a specific type of nail polish that works best with fimo cane slices applied to fingernails? Any compatibility issues that you know of, because I've seen that nail polish on polymer clay beads grows sticky over time.
Cindy's last blog post..Jewelry Making Supplies – 12 Shopping Tips for Polyclay Artists
7:52 pm
Debbie Doerrlamm from the Beauty Tech Shoppe just sent me the following info via email. FYI: She tried to add her comment directly, but for some reason it did not end up working. Not sure why that happened Debbie but thanks for responding. Here's your post:
"The fimo clay slices don't work well on polish.. most of the nail techs are embedding them in either acrylic or gel enhancements. The purple fruitie nails you see there are mine.. they are still on.. and perfect., 30 days later.. yes it is exactly 30 days last night since they were applied :) On the other hand, I did my 12 year old niece's nails, glued the slices to the polish and lots of top coat.. 3 days they lasted before they started to pop off."
I see that you have a nail art forum over at your Beauty Shoppe site. I've put it on my list of things to do to go over there and spend some time hanging out. It looks like you have a very active following.
3:00 am
Hi Cindy, Yes, I first heard about fimo nail art at the beginning of June, when an etsy customer asked me if I'd reduce and bake some of my canes for her to use on her nails. The idea blew me away and really got me excited about making canes again.
In answer to your question: No, there isn't a nail polish that can be used by itself in direct contact with the polymer clay nail art. It works great with the nail acrylic, and some beautiful, long-lasting nails result from using the fimo nail art within the layers of acrylic.
We should be passing along to the technicians this warning about using the fimo nail art in direct contact with the polish, so they don't have upset customers returning to them with cracked and flaking fimo nail art, or bubbles above the surface of the fimo where it came in contact with the polish.
Cat
5:41 am
A question about warming up the pre-baked polymer clay canes: This makes them easier to slice? Do you have a tutorial on slicing pre-baked canes? any other application for this technique?
8:20 am
Hi Kathy – Thanks for your questions!
One of the reasons nail art canes are pre-baked is so that you can add the design to your nails (real or false) without having to bake again. The cool thing is you can still slice the cane easily after it is baked.
By warming the cane first, it makes it way easier for the razor or tissue blade to go through the clay. I like to warm them in a cup of boiling water. Once they are warm enough, they will slice the same way as a raw cane, although you have to push just a little harder. The nice thing is you don't have to worry about distortion.
I do have a video on slicing canes coming up soon in my Polymer Clay Tutor Video Newsletter so do watch for that.
As far as other uses, you can use these Fimo cane slices in scrapbooking and card making projects. Any sized baked cane works well for that.
You can also drill holes through thicker cane slices to make cane slice beads. Some people even like to bake their long tube beads before cutting into shorter beads. You get straight cuts and no distortion that way!
Cindy's last post..Cool Polymer Clay Tutorial – A Fimo and Sculpey Cane Making Tip
12:26 pm
hi everybody,
i happened to chance upon this website. n i would like to highlight that the using of polymer clay on nails was actually all the rage in japan a few years back so there is actually nothing new about it. it would be more of a trend revival.
regards,
michelle
6:20 pm
That is so funny Michelle!! I wonder how come us North Americans have been so out of the loop? Do you know of any Japanese sites with pictures of Fimo Nail Art? That would be a fantastic thing to pass on to everyone!
Cindy Lietz's last blog post..What's Better than Receiving Beaded Polymer Clay Jewelry as a Gift
11:54 am
hi there i love the ideas here with the clay im self taught and like to expierament but my dilema is, where can i find the canes to just buy i remember some craft stores used to carry them do they anymore? i just dont alwayz have time to make my own!!! well hope u can help…great nail site! ~Suga
3:25 pm
Hi Suga,
Glad you are enjoying the site. For purchasing Nail Art Canes, you could try the Beauty Tech Shoppe.
4:24 pm
how would i make my nails grow faster than they are.
10:14 am
Hannah – I really don't know of anything you can do to make your nails grow faster. Mine grow super fast but I think that is because I leave them natural and I use my hands a lot which keeps them healthy. If you google the phrase, "how to make nails grow faster" I bet you find some helpful tips though.
1:50 pm
does anyone know how to teach someone how to make fimo cane's ?
4:57 pm
Yes vito. I teach people how to make Fimo canes. How much do you currently know about polymer clay at this stage? It's important that you understand the basics before jumping right into making Fimo canes. I'll wait to hear your response…
7:11 pm
i have no knowledge ..
7:13 pm
Then the best advice I can give to you at this stage is to learn the basics first. My polymer clay beginners course will get you up to speed quickly.
8:44 pm
Hi,
I'm after the bumble bee cane, but can only see it on the American sites, do you know of anyone selling these in the UK?
Also what the best way of getting really thin slices for natural nail art!
Many thanks
1:50 pm
Hi Susan! The Beauty Tech Shoppe is an online store that sells Bee Canes and they are out of the UK. As far as how to slice the canes, click the link beside my name for more info.
2:12 pm
Sorry Susan, but BeautyTech is actually out of the States. I'm not sure why I thought they were out of the UK. My mistake. I did a Google search but couldn't find anyone in the UK selling the Bee design. Sorry I couldn't help.
9:36 am
hi, i am having a go at making my own fimo clay canes for using in my nail art, and wondered how long to bake the cane for so i can still slice it.
Thank you
5:51 pm
One of the things you may want to consider trying Charlotte is leaving the canes raw. Many nail artists are using the canes raw, sandwiched between layers of Gel Acrylic and getting wonderful results. If you do decide to bake them, just bake for ten minutes or so, since they do not need to be as hard as beads.
9:45 am
Seems like polymer clay would be the ideal nail tip or nail cover since it has a little give and won't snap as fast when in contact with a hard object.
Big trend at work during the eighties (oh, if I had just saved that money, the money from take out food, and the money from dry cleaning and invested it, I'd be a multi-thousander today, lol).
Probably had MS back then, just didn't know it. Adding to the finger accuracy problem in my new job designing software for field users were those long perfectly finished red beauties.
All of us woman. The men working on the team grew very disgusted with us all because it slowed us down. One, as a gag, came in on Monday morning with gloves on. When he whipped them off to type, he had a perfect set of stick on long red nails.
We all had coffee with us at that moment, and I shudder to think how many keyboards were ruined. Too funny.
10:49 am
Jocelyn, while in theory your idea of raw clay as an "enhancement" makes sense.. it wont last long.. the clay would smear and wipe off.. you can't put your fingers in the oven at 265 for 5 minutes to cure them :) and even if you could I highly doubt it will adhere for any length of time.
Some technicians are using raw clay UNDER an enhancement of gel or acrylic.. they lay down a base of either gel or acrylic then the raw clay, then throughly cap it with the same gel or acrylic.
11:21 am
@ Debbie
Ahahaha, during that competitive period, I think I would have tried shoving my hands in the oven if I got good results!
Seriously, what I meant was make the entire nail out of polymer clay, cooked on molds of your finger tips in the oven, then applied to your natural nail using the standard glue.
Fast and easy. Only if you have a decent nail over which to place one which will support it well.
Would this work?
11:48 am
Jocelyn.. well yes that might very well work :) but why make more work.. every nail company makes tips to apply then cover with something :)
4:47 pm
@Debbie
Oooooo,every girlie here go click on Debbie's link. Wow,I see your point.
Just challenged to make as much stuff out of polymer clay as is feasible.
Stuff just gives me goosebumps,lol!
4:49 pm
@ BitzASuga
I have the best luck finding canes or cane "bits" at eBay.com. I just search under "polymer clay" and all sorts of wonderful stuff comes up.
7:32 am
Hiya
I am trying to use canes as a design under polish can this be done using the raw canes with polish over the top or would I have to bake the canes and then apply the polish??? Any tips would be great, as i would prefer it if i could step away from using gels and acrylic if possible.
8:21 am
Angela, the cane baked or raw will really will not work with polish applications. Baked you can use some nail glue and LOTS of top coat and it should stay several days. I can't imagine the raw working at all with a polish application.. the gel or acrylic "seal" the raw onto the enhancement.
I would polish the nails, slice the baked just as think as you can get it and place it INTO the wet polish, pressing it in there real good as you would a rhinestone. LOTS & LOTS of top coat. Or once the polish starts to dry, apply some nail glue then the thinnest slice you can manage, again, load it up with top coat.
Depending on the size of the cane, you may want/need to warm it slightly to allow it to bend to conform to the nail better. You can pick up the slice with tweezers and hold it near a regular light bulb for a few seconds to warm it enough to be more pliable.
.
8:41 am
Thanks Debbie for the step by step tips on cane design. I've been trying to learn this technique, your tips are quite easy to follow.