Video #764: Big thanks to Emeline from Sergent Guimauve, and Elodie from Créomax, for the Cernit clay used in today’s video review.
In this video I review and share with you my findings on a European polymer clay, call Cernit. It is manufactured in Belgium.
Although this clay has been around for a long time, I finally got the opportunity to test it for myself, thanks to the generosity of two wonderful ladies from France, Emeline and Elodie. Even their names sound wonderful don’t they?
I had more than twenty different colors of Cernit to test, including samples from every series that Cernit carries in their clay line. The series categories are: Number One, Translucent, Neon Light, Nature, Glamour and Shiny.
You will learn about the color shifts between raw and unbaked clay, the translucency of the different colors, the different series carried in the line and the strength of the clay when baked for different lengths of time.
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- Related Resource: Emeline from Sergent Guimauve
- Related Resource: Elodie from Créomax
- Amazon Affiliate Link: Cernit Products On Amazon
- Related Video: Comparing Translucent Polymer Clay Brands
- Related Video: Pardo Professional Art Clay Translucent Review
- Related Video: Ten Minutes NOT Long Enough to Bake Polymer Clay
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Hi Cindy!
I was so excited for you to review Cernit when you said you had gotten some in your last video, since I myself just received some for Christmas and am absolutely loving it. Like yourself I normally work with Premo clay and so I was a little nervous about what Cernit would be like to work with (especially considering the only other clay I’ve ever tried is Fimo and…. let’s just say Fimo and I aren’t exactly the best of friends), but I found Cernit incredibly easy to work with.
Some of the clay I received was a bit hard (either it was old or because it’s been so cold here in Alberta lately, it got a bit chilled on the postal truck), but I agree with you that it’s pretty easily reconditioned with the help of some clay softener.
Something that I noticed that I thought was interesting is actually about the smell. I found that the clay does have a smell, but it’s a faintly sweet smell, almost like, oddly enough, a marzipan cookie. In my experiences with it, the smell got a bit stronger after it was baked, but it’s certainly not an obnoxiously strong smell by any means. It’s been about a week since I baked my pieces and the smell is almost completely gone again, though I’ll be honest when I say I wouldn’t have minded if they stayed smelling like cookies :)
The only negative I really found in working with Cernit is that it seems to dry my hands out a fair bit, but I consider that to be incredibly minor given all of its other great qualities. I also wish it were easier to get here in Canada, since I genuinely love this clay and would love to just be able to go to the craft store and buy some.
Thanks for your input about this clay Kelin. That is very interesting about the cookie smell. I haven’t noticed a smell at all yet, even when baking but I haven’t really spent much time with it yet. As far as being able to buy it easier, I just found this ClayFactory site out of the states. I haven’t had them ship to Canada. Looks like their clay prices are decent but it is in US funds and the shipping is pretty high so I don’t know if this will be a better option for you or not. It is a cool clay though. I have liked it so far!
Thanks Cindy, I’ll have to go have a look at that site. If I find anywhere else to buy some I’ll come back and make note of it in case you or anyone else is interested.
At one time Hobby Lobby in the US carried Cernit but has since stopped stocking it. It does have a big color shift between raw and cured. I love some of the colors like Ruby Red and the Mint. I wonder if it coud be mixed with Premo. I have become a bit disillusioned with Premo. I seems the colors are not consistent from one batch to the other, I had some Turquoise that was way off. Many times it seems Premo is mushy; sad because I like products made in the USA…or Canada-that would be great. Maybe Cindy and Doug can come out with their own line of clay.
I haven’t yet had the chance to play with it much, but sine it bakes at 265F it would be reasonable to try combining it with Premo or Souffle and see how it does.
In regards to the color changes with Premo in a few of the colors, that has been frustrating. I have seen it with Turquoise, Rhino Gray and Fuchsia Pearl (I think. It was one of the pink colors). They shouldn’t be changing the colors ever… unless they change the name too so there is no confusion, but at least when they change the color, it is consistently the new color and it doesn’t flip flop around. I think it is an issue with being able to source the pigments. I have heard that China sometimes buys up all the supply of certain chemicals and pigments. Making it difficult for other countries to manufacture certain products. This happened once to PYMII and they had to change their formula a little because of supply for a certain chemical. Turned out OK but a change in pigment could change a color completely and us artists are picky about their colors!
Hi Cindy – interesting video, thank you!
I use Premo, Fimo and Cernit and really like the Cernit a lot. An interesting thing about it is that it responds to body heat when you condition it so with stiffer blocks you can stick it in your pocket or sit on it for a while and it will be much easier to condition by hand than through the pasta machine. (I put some in my bra yesterday!)
Likewise, if it gets a bit soft while you work with it just leave it alone a bit.
I really like it for caning – the colours stay so crisp and don’t get smudgy.
You can buy it in the UK at Emma Ralph’s shop, EJR Beads.
Thanks for the pointers Carrie! It’s kinda cold here in the studio right now so it hadn’t really got the chance to warm up too much, but that is good to know. Also thanks for the resource for getting it. That will be helpful for those in the UK! :)
Thanks for the info on cernit, I did not know they had such a varied line. I enjoyed learning about this clay.
You are more than welcome Karon! It would be a wonderful clay for making your flowers I think. You could make some lovely translucent ones!
Loved this post on Cernit. You’re the best clay guru. And I will keep on sending folks to you. Your reviews alone are worth the membership.
Patty that is the sweetest thing to say! Both Doug and I work so hard and it means a lot to hear that you still love us after all these years. Thank you for being a wonderful student! :)
Cindy – I always learn so much from you and was especially appreciative of this Cernit video.
I purchased a bunch of Cernit last summer, and perhaps it was because of the hot/humid temperatures, but I found it to be as gooey and stretchy as bubble gum on a hot day. As such, I couldn’t get it to hold shapes, which is one of my favorite things about PC. Now that it’s winter time, you’ve encouraged me to pull it out again and see if perhaps it might perform a bit better. The clay as you’ve described it is certainly impressive! I also found it to be a bit pricey compared to Premo. Thank you for taking the time to do your informative videos!
Also, not sure what your rules are here, but Marie Segal also sells Cernit on her shop ClayFactory website here in the US. at prices quite a bit better than what is shown on Amazon (i.e. $2.89 for a 2 oz. vs. $8.19 on Amazon – big diff).
Those prices are a lot better ! Thanks for sharing them Kathy!
Out of topic questions: Have you use air dry clay? Can you use the air dry to create the armature of a figure, and cover it with polymer clay?
Hi Joel, I haven’t tried that, but is seems like a reasonably thing to do. I would definitely give it a try. I would just make sure that the air-dry clay was completely dry before covering with oven bake polymer, because the water in the air-dry clay may steam while baking and cause the reg. polymer clay to crack.
I would let my air-dry piece dry normally for a day or two and then pre-bake for a half and hour or so, just to be sure it was good and dry before putting on a layer of polymer clay. This would also give you a good idea as to whether or not it will handle the baking process in the first place.
Of course testing first would be smart, just in case it doesn’t work, but it is a great idea in concept! Let me know if you try it and how it works out for you!