Which Clay's Do I Use?

Recently, I was sent an email asking what brands of polymer clay I use when making the jewelry displayed on my website. 

That's easy to answer. My all time favorite is Sculpey III. Next on the list would be Premo and Fimo. 

I will list a few of the pro's and cons I've encountered. Although there are many polymer clay brands available, I can only comment on the one's I've actually worked with.



Sculpey III
Sculpey III would be my all time favorite. 

Pro's

• It's easy to work with and is soft right out of the package. This clay requires very little conditioning. In most cases you'll be able to begin using the clay immediately.
• Working with a clay gun? Sculpey III pushes through a clay gun easier than any other clay types I've worked with.

Cons

• Sculpey III will get really soft after you've worked with it for a short period of time. Because of it's softness many people don't recommend using this clay when doing cane work, especially if using the millefiori technique.
• My solution to the softness issue is to pop it in the refrigerator for a few minutes. This will stiffen up the clay enough to continue any type of cane work. I've also left the clay in the refrigerator overnight with no problems
  

Premo Accents & Premo Sculpey
These come in Second Place. 

Pro's

• The clay colors are absolutely beautiful. The color palette is very rich in color making Premo ideal for jewelry making. 
• This clay is stiffer than Sculpey III. I have found no issues issues with this brand becoming too soft.

Cons

• I find Premo very hard to condition.  It just seems to take forever. At times I have needed to add a few drops of mineral oil (baby oil) while conditioning the clay.  Mineral oil makes the clay softer and allows it to warm up quicker IMO.

Fimo Effect & Fimo Soft
And Third Place goes to...

Pro's

• These two clay types are also stiffer than any of the Sculpey clays. Many people recommend using for all your cane work because Fimo keeps it's shape well.

Cons

• Fimo Effect takes longer to condition than Sculpey III. 
• Fimo Soft is soft like Sculpey III. No real cons found with Fimo Soft.  

Silver & Gold Metal Clay's
This clay comes in last because I rarely use it. I have taken several class on making jewelry with metal clays. All classes have a kiln for firing clay, a tumbler to make the finished pieces shine and all types to products to alter the metal's color (like Liver of Sulfur for example). So, I purchased some Silver Metal Clay to work with while at home. 

Well, at home I had to use a blow torch instead of a kiln and a soft cloth instead of a tumbler for buffing my metal piece. With limited tools available it just took too much time completing the project.

So, no pro's or cons on this one. Without the proper tools these clays are just not worth working with IMO. 



Other Clays
With the many different clay's available on the market, there are two I plan on adding to my inventory this year.

1. Granitex comes in 8 colors that resemble the colors of natural stones. This clay states it is a soft and easy clay to condition.
2. Pardo is currently the newest clay on the market. The write-ups I have read claim this clay is quite soft. It is the best translucent clay on the market. It has no odor when baking (made with beeswax). Comes in 70 jewel-like colors.

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That's it for today. 
Happy Holidays everyone.