A good friend and blog follower asked if I would post the materials I use when sculpting with polymer clay. I am by no means an expert, but these are the items and brands I’ve been using to make miniature food.

I use Sculpey III polymer clay. I like it as it’s pretty easy to work with out of the package without having to knead and condition it. With that said, sometimes I think it’s too soft and I have to let pieces sit for awhile before I cut or texturize them as otherwise my tools squish them out of shape. I started with the sampler above and have just mixed the colors as I go. The sampler is around $16 on Amazon.

I also use a lot of translucent clay. I buy whatever Sculpey version is available.

I use Liquid Sculpey when I need to make something less solid, for example catsup and mustard or icing on a cake.

These glazes and the bakeable adhesive are essential. They are used to seal the clay, add translucency to clay, and to glue baked pieces of clay together.

These are my tools. The razor blade is used constantly; the others as needed. These types of tools are readily available on Amazon and in craft stores.

My “texturizers”. Essential and easy to find around the house.

My sanding block for finished pieces. This and small grit sandpaper are quite useful.

As I’m getting more experienced, I’m using this small extruder more frequently. It’s a pain to clean, but it makes such uniform shapes it’s becoming an important tool.

I add color to pieces with chalks, pastels and acrylic paint. The brands I use are inexpensive and easily available. (Add paintbrushes to your shopping list as well as they work the best for applying the colors.)

A pasta machine is very helpful for blending clay; flattening clay to uniform thicknesses; and conditioning /softening clay that is too crumbly to work with.

I use a dedicated toaster oven to bake my clay pieces. Everything I’ve read says it’s safe to use a regular oven, but I am overly cautious in our apartment so I set this up in the guest bathroom and use the exhaust fan when baking so fumes don’t permeate the rest of our place. I bought this toaster oven for $10 at the local Goodwill.

Finally, these two items are quite important. I use the alcohol CONSTANTLY as it’s the best way to clean up clay from surfaces, tools and hands. I used alcohol wipes for awhile but they are hard to find and too expensive. I now make my own with paper towels and alcohol. Trust me –DON’T START USING POLYMER CLAY WITHOUT THIS ALCOHOL ON HAND!

The baby powder (or cornstarch) is a must when molding or stamping clay as it prohibits the clay from sticking to another surface.

I hope this helps anyone who wants to try sculpting with polymer clay. There are lots of how-to books available that recommend these and other supplies and have great step-by-step instructions on how to use everything. I have also learned a lot watching YouTube videos. (It’s astounding how it is so much easier learning new things with the internet than it was just a few years ago!) Don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions–just write a comment below and I’ll get back to you asap.

Joan