Scented Polymer Clay - Is There a Secret Formula?

If you know ways to scent polymer clay, than post a comment below. Inquiring minds want to know!

Cindy's last blog post..How to Make Rose Petal Beads from Polymer Clay

Cindy! Thank you OH SO MUCH for your advice! I actually found some great oils, I purchased some from a seller on Ebay that i have yet to use, as well as some from a seller on Etsy.com, they're oil perfume rollers and come in all kinds of scents from apple pie to chocolate chip cookie. I tried it on a few 'tester' charms and it works great, the clay holds together well and even after glazing you can still smell the scent. It's only been a few weeks since I've had them and they still smell as strong as the day I made them.

I really appreciate your post and your email comments!

THANK YOU!

That's Sweet Ryssa looks like you uncovered the secret!!! Tell us who you bought the oil perfume from. (Best to go with what works!!) Also, did you put the oil in the clay, on the clay or both? Plus what finish did you use? I'm sure some finishes would mask the scent! Answer me back and I'll write a post about you and your discovery!!

Cindy Lietz's last blog post..How to Make Polymer Clay Beads and Canes

Definitely let us know the details, Ryssa! Inquiring minds want to know! ^_^

Hi BunnyKissd! Thanks for your comment! I think Ryssa is away right now but hopefully when she comes back she will give us the answer! You're right… Inquiring minds do want to know!!

Cindy Lietz's last blog post..Bead Mosaic Jewelry Brooch Design by Polymer Clay Artist Naama Zamir

Update:
A store on Etsy called TheGardenBath is selling a rolled on perfume oil called Pumpkin Pie. It is in limited quantities so you would have to buy fast.

Although Ryssa didn't get back to me on who sold her the roll on perfume, I do believe this could be the company.

So if you are making Pumpkin Pie Charms for this Thanksgiving or Christmas, this may just be the product to try!!

Thanks for the update, Cindy!

You are more than welcome BunnyKissd!

This is a business for a few people and if you just give away how these people make their charms then it will ruin thire business.

Why would you want to do that?

Amanda I would never, ever want to ruin someone's business!

Let me explain why I don't think this would be the case by sharing the secret to scented polymer clay.

I have found that when more people know about an idea the better the product sells. I would not want to be the only one in the world working with polymer clay because then no one would know what it was and the harder it would be to sell. It already takes a bit of an explanation.

The same thing goes for scented clay. By teaching more people about it, there will be more of it in the marketplace and more people will become aware of it.

When people are aware of something that is cool like that, they want it. Sales will go up rather than down with a little more competition!

WOW! i never thought of it that way before. Thank you!

You're welcome Amanda! I always appreciate your comments!

I want to learn how to scent polymer clay too. This article helped so much!!!

I use my kitchen oven though. If I add say, the essential oils or rolled on perfume oil, is it safe to bake?

Btw, how did the incense and candle/soap scents turn out?

Glad the article was helpful for you, Cevangel.

I can't see why it would be a problem to bake the scents. But if you were concerned you could bake your beads inside a covered dish like an old dutch oven for safety.

I haven't tried the candle scents myself but I hear they work wonderfully!

Thanks for your comment!

I too have been wondering how to scent polymer clay. I made a bunch of yummy looking clay cupcake charms. I did some searching around to see what other cupcakes there were out there and noticed a bunch of them were scented. Neato!

I figured since you can mix oils into the clay to soften it, maybe you could mix fragrance oils in as well. So I have ordered a few different scents from a candle supplies store. They should get here in the mail tommorrow. I will get baking as soon as possible so I can let you guys know how it turns out.

I can't wait to smell the buttercream icing and cookie dough!!! MMmmm!

candlescience.com had the cheapest shipping costs I could find and they give you a free 1oz sample scent with your order. I was going to go with them but had some trouble getting the payment to go through. I called they're support number but they hung up on me three times in a row.

Sooo…I went with candlesandsupplies.com instead. Shipping was a little bit more, but they give you a 10% discount when you order five bottles of scent(even if they are the 1oz size). Also, they had the toasted marshmallow scent I'd been looking for. Yays!

I hope this helps. I'll be sure to get back with you as soon as I can to let you know how things turned out.

Happy Claying!
Rainy

Thank you Rainy for such a wonderful comment! I am very excited to hear about how your projects turn out, and I'm sure others here will be as well.

I just finished baking a test batch of scented cupcakes last night. I mixed only a little bit of the oil into the clay that was to be the cake part and enough oil into the icing clay to give it a constistency that was a bit firmer than real icing. I had to use toothpicks to manipulate it because it was so messy.

I was afraid that using that much oil was going to cause the clay to fall apart, but after the baking and cooling process was done everything turned out just as hard as regular clay.

I did notice that the scent seemed alot fainter after baking. At one point I thought I couldn't smell anything at all. So I asked my husband take a smell. He said," What IS that!? I love that smell!" . I was suprised that he could smell it. We came to the conclusion that I had been sitting there working with the oil for so long that I had become desensitized to it. He wants to get me some gloves and a mask for working with the stuff. lol!

I took a whiff of the cupcakes this afternoon to see how the smell was holding up. I still think they smell weaker than compared to before they were baked, but the scent is still definatley there. It's just very light. my husband said it would probably be kind of annoying to wear them if the secnt was strong. Not sure if he was just trying to make me feel better or not. heh heh.

I also did a couple of other experments. I brushed a light coat of oil onto pre baked cupcakes that did not have a clear coat on them. I popped them into the oven for about five mintues so maybe the heat would help the clay absorb the oil. When I took them out they were not oiley at all, and scent was only a tiny bit weaker. I think this method works well…just don't know how long it will last.

My next test was kind of a strange idea. I tried mixing about 6 drops of fragrance into half a teaspoon of Delta Ceramcoat satin varnish. I mixed and mixed, but it kept wanting to separate. I went ahead and painted it onto a cupcake. Then I tried mixing the same proportions, but with Krylon triple thick Crystal Clear Glaze. I mixed and it didn't separate at all. Brushed a thin coat onto the cupcake and waited for it all to dry.

The scent on both turned out awsome, but the krylon cupcake seemed to hold the scent MUCH better. I am not very fond of this Krylon clear coat, but both me and my husband agree that the shiny one looks better than the satin one…and it smells better too! :)

So, to rate the differnt methods from weakest to strongest scent…it'll have to be in this order:

VERY WEAK: Mixing into raw clay and baking
WEAK: Brushing onto pre baked clay and heating
GOOD: Mixing into Delta Ceramcoat and painting on
STRONG: Mixing into Krylon CrystalClearGlaze/paint on

I guess any of the methods can work. Just use the one that works best for the type of thing you are making and the strength of scent you wish to achive.

Oh yeah! I did come across a nice tutorial from MonsterKookies at DeviantArt for those of you wishing to mix oil scent into clay.
http://monsterkookies.deviantart.com/art/How-to-Scent-Polymer-Clay-98814686

Good Luck to you all!
Rainy

Rainy!!! Wow!!! Your comment is incredible! Nothing is more valuable than information found through testing. Thank you so, so much for sharing your findings!!

On mixing the scent with the different finishes… have you let them sit for awhile to see if they become sticky again? Sometimes finishes react with the clay over time and they could react with oils over time as well.

I would consider trying this technique with Future Floor Finish, it may work too. Who knows, you would have to test it to see.

Thanks again for coming back with your results. I'm sure everyone who reads it, will appreciate your input tremendously!

Has anyone tried the soap scent yet?

I think candle and soap scents are pretty much the same thing Amanda, as long as their oil based and not alcohol based. I would give them a try if you have access to them.

Candle and Soap Scents work the best - and the type of scents you can get are ENDLESS. That is why you see so many people that have things like Buttercream scent and Angel Food Cake Scent. You can only find scents like that in Candle/Soap scent oils.

Thanks for the info Kimberly! I know that it is coming from experience! Your scented cupcake charms are crazy cute. Bet they smell great too!

With the upcoming Rose beads, any new information on the scenting clay front?

Nothing new Ken, but it would be a fantastic idea to find an oil based rose perfume to sent the roses with! Wouldn't that just take the realism to a whole new level?

That's what I was thinking. When I read that the next videos were going to be this rose bead technique I remembered this thread about adding scent to the clay.

Why not try rose essential oil?

On a slightly related note, I made chocolate rose brownies the other week using rose water and rose oil, as well as Turkish Delight chocolate. My choir friends LOVED them, they were awesome!

I also made some inclusion beads with various spices ages ago and they still smell really strong. The curry bracelet definitely smells like curry - I think it's the garam masala that smells strongest.

@Ken: Yeah it sure would be the perfect combo! Let me know if you try it!

@Silverleaf: Rose essential oil would be perfect for this technique! Chocolate rose brownies sound fantastic! I used to make a rose syrup using real rose petals that was lovely on ice cream. So I know the flavor well. Curry does hold its scent well in beads doesn't it! Mine still have a scent to them and they were made over a year ago.