More Ideas for Polymer Clay Plastic Storage Boxes

Plastic embroidery boxes come in quite a few different colors of plastic. A cool idea is to color coordinate your boxes with the canes or clay kept inside of them. If you have lots of canes to keep organized, this makes finding the right one when you need it, a whole lot faster.

Cindy Lietz's last blog post..Creative Techniques for Polymer Clay Inclusions

So, are all the embroidery boxes safe for polymer clay, regardless of the color? And, can they be left in the boxes unwrapped or do you still have to wrap them with a film of some sort so they don't dry out?

This particular brand and model of embroidery box is fine without wrapping the canes. If you found your clay was sticking you would have to wrap them. Generally all plastic boxes with a 1 or 5 in the recycling symbol are OK to use with polymer clay.

Cindy's last post..Polymer Clay Tutorial: Adding Fimo Cane Slices to Round Beads

Cindy: What a great idea! I have several bead boxes and they would work well also. Your idea made me think of using those. I also use a fishing tackle box by Plana (you can buy cheap at WMart) for beading and they would work great for polymer clay. They come in different sizes so there would probably be one for everybody. Thanks again for helping me learn something new today. love ya, Zoe'

Hi Cindy,

I've been playing with clay for awhile now but really appreciate your videos. They're straight forward and easy to follow. Thanks so much :)

Heather

Dear Cindy,

How do you always read my mind? I was just trying to figure out the best way to store my canes (which I'm happy to say are looking better!) when out pops this video. Thank you, yet again!

Maria

OOH OOH membership news, now I'm afraid to leave the computer,don't want to miss out if numbers are ltd.Also cos of the time difference here in the UK I will just have to use matchsticks to keep awake.
Great box tip, as I have several of theese just waiting to be filled & good to know that you don't have to wrap [I couldn't make anything rhyme even if I tried-ha ha].Going to frieds tonight & I had asked for some claying stuf for my birthday,so getting excited[I am also looking forward to seeing them]

I also find that the 'Stanley' type tool boxes work great as well…these are the black and yellow boxes and they come in all sizes too…You can purchase these at your local home improvement store….
Once again Cindy…..you done good….;0)
PJ

@Zoe: Thank you for your comment! You're right those Plano Fishing boxes are excellent for clay! For those that want to see what we're talking about, click the link by my name.

@Heather: I really appreciate that!

@Maria: Didn't I tell you I was Clairvoyant?! ;-) Glad I could help!

@Andrea: I know it is really exciting isn't it! That is cute about the toothpicks! Maybe we should launch in the middle of the night, just for you! :-)

@Pamela: Thank you! I'll have to go take a look at those boxes… they sound cool!

This was very helpful. Thanks for the information.

I was going to ask about any symbols I should look for to know a box is safe, but you already answered this. So if Recycling symbols 1 and 5 are okay, are there any symbols that will tell me for sure that I should not store clay in them? What type of plastic is the problem (for leaching, right)?

Hi Cindy,

How long can you keep the canes in there with out them getting hard or crumbly?

Thanks,
Kim

@Brenda: Thank you… I appreciate that!

@Kimberlee: That's a good question. I should do a test on that! I have had some problems with some hard crystal clear plastics, you know the ones that snap and break in sharp points. The kind that CDs are in and some small plastic hinged boxes for beads. Unfortunately they didn't have numbers on them, so I can't give you a definitive answer right now.

@Kim: You technically can keep canes in there forever as long as they are not leaching out. It probably depends on the brand and the temperature of storage though. I found some old clay in my stuff that was from the 80's. Some was super crumbly and some was just fine. So I guess what I'm saying is 'a long time', but use them up just to be sure!

Thank you for the very helpful videos! I found late about it, and i don't know how to get the videos i missed. Sorry for my english, I hope you understand! Love, Oana

You are very welcome Oana. Your English is fine. What country are you from? I love it how the Internet brings so many like minded people together from all around the world!!!

In regards to getting access to the missed videos from the weekly Guest List newsletter series, please click on the "Bead Jewelry Making Link" by my name above. It will take you to a response that I just posted yesterday about this question in another thread.

Hello, dear tutor!
I am from Romania, and I am very happy to learn about polymer clay from you! You are the best tutor ever!
I speake english good, but writing, well, that's another story :)!!!
Love, Oana

And a suggestion: maybe you will make a video about baking polymer clay, because my work with fimo soft is not very hard after is baked, and if I try, I can bend it (the flat pieces). Y don't know what I do wrong, because the temperature is good, the time should be longer than 30 min.?
Thanks!
Love, Oana

Thank you so much Oana and welcome!! It is wonderful to hear from you, all the way from Romania!

Yes, bake your beads longer. Go to the Baking Beads link beside my name to read more about that.

Ask as many questions as you like… I love to help!

Cindy,

Thanks for letting us know about these boxes. I have some that I use to hold my findings for jewelry making. I was not sure if they were the right kind of plastic or not for polymer clay. It is good to have options!

:)Cindy Erickson

You're welcome Cindy E.! Glad I could help!