Here's a "Never Throw That Clay Away" Polymer Clay Projects List

I love all these suggestions! (especially the "send it to me!" lol)

Some sculptures I have made were created from left over clay because I had accumulated such a large amount.

After baking, I gessoed and then applied a couple of coats of acrylic paint.

I also found that mica powders could cover raw clay really well, so a molded piece of a yucky color could end up with a beautiful metallic finish.

I just do not think there is such a thing as scrap clay!

You are so right Shannon… there is no such thing as scrap clay… or at least there shouldn't be from now on.

Great suggestion for sculpting with it. Also the mica on the outside of a molded piece is a good idea! Thanks so much for sharing!

Another thing that I've done with scrap clay is to mix it together until I get a nice earthy color. Then I impress it into a deeply impressed rubber stamp (my favorite is the big paisley stamp from Lisa Pavelka) then cut out a shape with a cookie cutter (my favorite is a cross from Wilton). Once it is baked, I dry brush it with different colors of metallic acrylic paint to give it a faux raku look. Just too cool, and a great seller!

Cindy and all,
Wow…I am speechless.Ask and you will receive in spades!! Thank you so much for all the creative ideas.Now if I only had more time to jump into the mountain.Yes Cindy I have decided to keep it,but if it starts to take over the house………

@Arlene: That sounds gorgeous! Great way to use up that clay!

@Sam: You are so welcome! I was being cheeky about sending your scrap clay my way! Just hate the thought of throwing it out, when there are so many cool things to do with it. Glad you had procrastinated on that!

Too much scrap clay! Don't throw it away put it up on ebay, I have bought a lot of scrap clay and cane ends that I now have a huge draw full to play with. All sorts of possibilities like Natasha beads and fillers to wrap canes around, mud clay looks gorgeous with mica powders, also scraps are good for backing on to a pendants, wall hangings, etc., etc….. You could perhaps also donate to a children's hospital, local school or rehabilitation center, etc.

Sounds like you got a great deal Charlotte! I am always surprised when people sell their scraps. I never seem to have any left. I'm always using them up on one of these projects!

Hi, Cindy!

I am new to polymer clay and was wondering if you could demonstrate the different ways to get a metallic finish on clay. I searched the archives and didn't see anything that has already presented on this topic. If I missed it, please tell me.

With all of the different products out there for metallic finishes, I tend to get overwhelmed because I don't know what kind of look each will give my project without a lot of costly experimenting. Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Jayne

Hi Jayne, I am not completely sure about what you mean by a metallic finish on the clay but there are a few things you can do to get the look of metal on your clay. You can add a metal leaf or foil to the outside of the clay. Click the link by my name for more info on that. You can also add acrylic paints, inks or mica powders to the clay. If you type words like 'pearl-ex', 'paints', 'ink', 'mica powder', 'metallic', etc into the search box at the top of the page you will find there are tons of articles that should help.

Cindy – does it make any difference what type of clay is used when we work with scrap clay. In other words, should I be keeping my Premo, Sculpey III, Studio or Fimo clay scraps separate from one another – or doesn't it matter what kind of clay is used say as a base for a bead? Can Premo slices be placed on Sculpey III and still come out right?

Good question Carolyn I have often wondered the same thing so I have kept scrap clays seperate for now. This isn't too hard because I mostly use Premo.

What is this suggestion from above on using scrap clay??
- Make beautiful muds for wrapping canes. I will probably feel silly when I hear the answer but have never heard of this before.

Just an FYI now that I have advanced to making some canes: As soon as I am done with the cane project, I gather the otherwise unuseable scraps right away and turn them into a lentil bead. This way I have a bead to use as a focal point if I ever get around to making something from the canes.

Great questions girls! As far as keeping the clay scraps separate, that depends. You can mix whatever brands of clay together, but you will then get the properties of both. What I mean is if you mix a soft clay like Sculpey III with a hard clay like Fimo Classic than you will get a medium density clay as a mix. This is sometimes preferable, but it is something to keep in mind as well if the change would not be preferred.

So separate your scrap clay if you don't want any changes. Don't separate if you don't care. For core beads and such, it really doesn't matter which clay you use. Sculpey III is a weak clay however and is better when layered with a stronger clay such as Premo, Fimo or Kato.

Wrapping a cane in beautiful muds means this: Take all your scraps and mix them together until you get a beautiful muddy colored clay (usually browns and grays). Roll out this 'mud' color into sheets and use instead of black to outline the different parts of the cane. (Say you are making a bird cane… the wings, the body the beak and the legs could all be outlined in mud instead of black.) Mud is softer looking and more neutral than black or white and can really accent the look of a cane.

Hope that makes more sense… and is not 'clear as mud'! :-)