Member Benefits 023-2: Tips Baking
When I was searching the Internet for a new adventure Cindy’s website was coming up again and again. I believe it was Cindy who inspired me to open my ETSY store. I have learned so much from this website… The cornstarch was a beautiful thing. ~Susan-L >> This comment was originally posted here: Polymer Clay Beads
Hi Cindy, The Baking Tips you offer are completely priceless! I have had the same issues as others… soft clay, cracking, and scorching… and you have covered all kinds of ways to prevent that. I made these totally great “fat sunbathers” that would float in water, but when I put them in the oven… needless to say they burned. The irony was not lost… but I was so disappointed after taking all the time to make them, that I haven’t gone back to try them again. Now that I have had all your tips and tricks, I am re-motivated to give it another shot! Thanks so much for making these tutorials… they are definitely worth the money! ~Kim-E >> This comment was originally posted here: Polymer Clay Tutorials
I had one lentil bead from that same jellyroll cane that I hadn’t baked yet. As you told me, baking it buried in cornstarch made a huge difference. So from now on, that’s what I’ll be doing. If I didn’t have you and this group, there’s a good chance that I would have given up on clay after burning those beads. Thanks! ~Linda-K >> This comment was originally posted here: Baking Polymer Clay
Thanks so much for all the information about how to bake polymer clay properly. Its good to have guidelines which we can trust. Trouble is I spend far too much time reading all this fascinating stuff, must really get on with the practical! ~Christine-L >> This comment was originally posted here: Polymer Clay Fundamentals
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-L >> This comment was originally posted here: Baking Polymer Clay Beads Properly
Hey Cindy, I have a cane that I made quite some time ago that I really like. I used Kato clay, which is ridiculously hard to begin with, and made a geometric design. Unfortunately, I left it in the car during the summer and now it’s impossible to slice without crumbling into bits. All I really want to do is take some big slices from it for disc beads. Is there any way to soften it a bit from its half baked state? Some kind of plasticizer I could soak it in perhaps? Thanks for your help! ~Ashlyn-N >>> ANSWER: Hi Ashlyn, great question! Once a cane is partially cured, you can not really ‘re-hydrate’ it. But what you could do is bake the cane before cutting it. While it is still warm you can slice it into beads, then drill the holes into them. A lot of people actually make cane slice beads this way. Let me know how it works out. ~Cindy-L <<< oooh, that is a fabulous idea, I had forgotten how squishy stuff gets when it’s still hot from the oven. Thanks! ~Ashlyn-N >> This comment was originally posted here: Soften Polymer Clay
Hi, Cindy! Thanks so much for getting back to me! I appreciate that you are a busy woman. I also asked for help straight from Polyform, and their advice was to bake at a higher temperature than was listed on the package (which is frustrating, ’cause why not just print that on the package, you know?) So I baked at 145C for an hour, and lo and behold – strong clay! No breaking, no cracking, I can bend it, it stays strong! I am so happy! Now I can go on the try more of the techniques featured on your blog, knowing that the results will not break. … I’ve been reading your blog for the last couple of months and have found it to be a great resource for ideas and techniques. Thanks again for your reply. ~Lana-K >> This comment was originally posted here: Clamation
Thanks so much for your help with my question about baking polymer clay safely. I also really appreciate your promptness! Have a good day! ~Sam-M >> This comment was originally posted here: Baking Polymer Clay Safety Tips
I just love this site and am going to be just full of questions today. I recently baked beads covered in cornstarch and rinsed them off in the kitchen sink. Later in the day I was cleaning and turned on the garbage disposal and there was just a loud pinging noise that did not go away. When I reached down in there I found one of my beads that must have swam away. There was not a nick on it. Now THAT is strong. ~Anna-S >> This comment was originally posted here: Baking Polymer Clay Beads
I got a bubble on my first batch of jewelry pieces, one piece. I will be more careful to follow these instructions next time… wonderful! Thank you so much! ~Peggie-F >> This comment was originally posted here: Conditioning Polymer Clay
Great article Cindy! Personally I love card stock and tile method to keep things flat and to avoid shiny spots or sometimes I’ll use printer paper if weighting it down with another tile. I’ve had mishaps with Parchment as it tends to wrinkle with heat, at least the stuff I’ve used. This treasure hunt is fun, but I don’t really need to win a treasure, you’ve got all sorts of treasures on every page! :) ~Tina-H >> This comment was originally posted here: Baking Flat Polymer Clay
Burnt clay has happened to most of us Tiffany, so don’t let it get to you. Part of the initiation rites, lol. Save the remains, in a couple of years, you’ll be laughing about what came out of the oven the first time. Best of luck next time out. ~Jocelyn-C >> This comment was originally posted here: Translucent Polymer Clay
These beads are just beautiful. Thanks for the video. I am definitely going to bake my beads on cornstarch. You can really tell the difference in the colors. And it works perfectly for the those particular flowers. Thanks! ~Lupe-M >> This comment was originally posted here: Trumpet Flower Beads
FROM UPSET TO SUCCESS – LEARNING FROM MISTAKES: To say I am a little upset is a little bit of an understatement… they burnt like hotdogs on the BBQ… ~Doug-K >> To read this whole story about how to bake Sculpey properly, here is the link: Polymer Clay Canes, Color Blends
I finally discovered the real reason – I mean, not only suppositions. My roses cracked because of the temperature. It took me a lot of time because I searched the reason everywhere else but not here. I baked on the recommended t-max130 C. I didn’t dare to go over as I was afraid of burning the beads and poisoning the living creatures around:) But finally I did increased it to 150 C which is about 300 F and the roses forgot about cracking:) ~Nevena >> This comment was originally posted here: Polymer Clay Videos
Cindy – In regard to Carol’s above comment, something you said this time made me understand why my things were coming out so powdery. Now I know that you don’t want to let your pieces stay in the cornstarch too long before baking. I was just leaving them in before for extended periods of time. My mom has Calla Lily wallpaper in her bathroom and I’ve been trying to make her something as an accent. Now I’ll be able to. Thanks again, Cindy! ~Maria-C >> This comment was originally posted here: Polymer Clay Calla Lily Beads
On the aluminum foil – after learning the hard way – NOTHING goes in my convection oven without a piece of foil over it. Especially when you are baking something tall – like the light bulbs. Since I started doing that I have not had anything scorch. It’s all a learning experience! And this is a great place to share what we’ve learned. Thanks Cindy! ~Arlene-H >> This comment was originally posted here: Baking Polymer Clay
Thank you for the Cornstarch tips, Cindy – I learned that the hard way having made some beads and sat them in the bed of cornstarch for a couple of days whilst making more (being pragmatic – get as much in the oven as I can) – what a disaster! brittle bits all over the place. ~Penny-V >> This comment was originally posted here: How to Bake Polymer Clay
I agree with you all about Carol Duvall. I taped all her shows so I could watch them when I got home from work. I thought some of the people on there did some weird things but Carol always made me laugh. I could never figure out why someone would want Sock Monkeys. I taught glass engraving for 6 years and after watching some of the polymer people on there I thought I could incorporate the glass engraving and the polymer. The first few things I made turned out to look like cow pies because my toaster oven’s heater was on the top so I burned everything. Now my glass engraving stuff is in the back of the closet and my polymer clay stuff has taken over my entire studio. Wish Carol would come back on tv, not much else worth watching out there anymore. Thanks Carol, we still love you, and you too Cindy. It’s like having a young Carol Duval every Friday morning. ~Bonnie-K >> This comment was originally posted here: Polymer Clay Possibilities
Wow, fantastic work ladies! I really get inspired seeing beads/jewelry made by artists in our clay community. I love the idea of purse charms and soon I will atempt my own. I’ve made some neat beads with the Tribal Cane and I plan to use them to make my purse charm. Now I’ve just got to get busy piercing and baking… *grin* Thanks for posting these pictures Cindy, it’s great to see what people have done with your lessons! ~Lisa-W >> This comment was originally posted here: Purse Charms, Spliced Flower Cane, Lentil Beads, Kaleidoscope
Jeri, I am still closer to the “newbie” stage than the experienced and one of my biggest challenges was getting to know my oven. I burned my first piece I think because I was too impatient with the temperature and set the thermostat a little too high. I wasn’t watching when it spiked and so the burn. I found the correct setting and it stays there but I probably do more checking than is necessary. I love this clay world and Cindy is the greatest. Welcome to our world. Let success be at the end of each of your adventures. ~Joyce-M >> This comment was originally posted here: Polymer Clay Inlay Techniques
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