Article Links | Instructions For Baking Polymer Clay Beads Properly

This is a very timely article for me because I have just began using a toaster oven. Even though it is a new oven the first beads got over cooked pretty quickly. A little voice reminded me about tenting and now I use that technique, keeping it way from the heating elements. I also place my baking tile inside the broiler tray and this makes tenting much easier. Your article Baking Sculpey, Premo and Fimo Polymer Clay Toaster Oven is a very good resource.
I also bought an oven thermometer and found this brand new Black and Decker Toaster oven runs 75 degrees higher than set.

I know Anna my home oven is 50 degrees too hot! I couldn't figure out why I was burning my cookies and things, so I brought down my oven thermometer from the studio and checked it. What's with those things anyways?

OK I am going to get an oven thermometer tomorrow! I use an OLD toaster oven for clay (my parents received it for a wedding present 35 years ago!) I'm sure the temp. is off, thanks for the articles!

I just started using a toaster oven. I bought a mine during a huge Day After Thanksgiving sale. So the price was low plus there was a rebate. I am surprised that a Black and Decker brand would be so off. The one from 35 years ago probably will work great because it is probably made with fewer parts made by slave labor in China.

@Lindsay: You're welcome! Getting an oven thermometer will definitely put you in more control and give you better results. And you know what… I bet that old oven works better than the most new ones do!

@Anna: I think it's more about the companies wanting you to buy repeat items, than who actually puts it together. No appliances seem to last anymore. That is why it's fine to buy them in trendy colors, since they will never outlast the trend!

I look forward to your weekly members video. I am so glad to be a member- my beads have become so much better and I have the confidence to experiment now, which is important in skill development.

Speaking of which, I tried boiling the beads for 15 minutes before baking for 30-40 minutes. The premo beads looked beautiful and were hard. with sanding, buffing and future floor polish they looked amazing. The fimo soft were a disaster- they cracked and were brittle – they do much better baking in cornflour for an hour. I now bake all my beads in cornflour and double the recommended time. This method is very successful and the beads are enhanced by using the cornflour and no way degraded. When boiling the beads I put them on pins and then place on the bead rack. I then place the rack in the pot. That way the beads are not flying everywhere.

Again thank you for the great teaching- the courses are a great investment and I am anxiously waiting to purchase the cane tutorial when it comes out. All the best- Cara

How do I know if my beads have baked long enough?

The answer to your question Joyce comes down to how your beads "feel" after you have taken them out of the oven and they have cooled down.

Try this experiment… make two beads or pendants the same size and bake one for 20 min and the other for an hour. Then feel them. Bend them (if you can). Sand them. Tap them on a piece of glass. You should be able to tell the difference.

The one that was baked for an hour will be harder, sand easier and will make a higher clinking sound when tapped on the glass compared to the other.

If it is a flat pendant, the longer cured one will also be stronger and will be harder to crack or break.

Make sure to read the articles I have written about baking beads listed above. It will make a big difference in the quality of your beads!

I have been coating my fingers with cornstarch and using my fingers to smooth all raw clay surfaces before boiling or baking. I do this to smooth out any previous finger print and reduce any bumps, lumps or uneven areas. I rinse them with water after they are cured They come out with a matte finish which is pretty cool and take less time to sand. I will do ANYTHING to reduce sanding.
I have recently been boiling my beads for 30 minutes before baking for an additional 30 to 40 minutes. They end up really hard and seem to sand easiler.

Hey Anna, thanks for the tip! I tried it today and it works pretty good! I was surprised how well the beads cured in the water.

Since water boils at only 100C and 212F, you were right to continue curing your beads in your oven.

I'm not really seeing a big benefit to boiling it first though. It seem like they get just as hard if you bake them for an hour. Also for people who live in places that have hard water, it might leave a chalk residue on the beads.

Why do you prefer to boil them first? Is there something that I am missing?

I saw the tip from a reader on your site and so I tried it. I always worry that larger beads will not get cooked all the way through, even after baking them for an hour. i use an oven thermometer but I do not know the tempeture is even all through out the cooking chamber. I have also found that if I boil them first the outside gets hard and I can cook more beads in the toaster oven. It will not matter if the beads are touching each other, can even do 2 layers in a pan. I will do an experiment here in a couple days and make a comaprison.

That makes sense Anna. Especially with being able to get more beads in the oven when their hard! I would love to hear what your findings are. Thanks so much for sharing everything you do here. I really appreciate it!

I just have a real fast question. I just started working with clay and so far I like it, my question is after you bake the clay does it feel rubbery? Or am I doing something wrong? I have enjoyed your tutoring!

I have baked quite a few clay items and they turn out a hard rubber. Am I not mixing the clay properly, or cooking it wrong? Could someone give me some suggestions?
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Dean Andrews