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Originally Posted by CherylNYC
Yes, I've used Fimo and Sculpey for some of our projects. I haven't tried the dryer lint trick. Thanks for the tip. Are you making cliffs for model trains?
If you use Fimo and its ilk I hope you have a dedicated toaster oven for baking your projects. That stuff is super toxic and it's terrible to cook it in the oven you use for your food. I sometimes cook my projects with a heat gun and work outside when I'm using those polymer clays. One of the drawbacks to my job is that so many of the materials we use regularly are shockingly toxic.
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No, I don't make little cliffs, but I did laugh at the idea, so thanks!
I collect gem stones, and I'd love to put some giant specimens in the long planters in front of my house, but I fear someone might make off with them. So I use Fimo, Sculpy, Kato, Primo and Pardo to replicate mostly opaque rocks, like turquoise, malachite, amethyst, rose quartz, citrine, tiger eye, fool's gold, hematite, copper, and snowflake obsidian.
Pardo makes nice translucent, mica and other clays that help with replicating quartz or filling veins with shiny stuff.
The rocks I use are either smooth, oval pond rocks, around 2-3 pounds each, or I use large, craggy rocks. First I base paint the craggy rock gold, silver or copper, then cover with clay, letting the metallics peak out. Then I seal them with clear acrylic so the garden soil and water don't mess them up.
On really hot days, I just bake my clay on the dashboard of my car, and park it in the sun. I swear, I could bake a turkey on that dashboard in the summer. Maybe a chicken in early fall.
Thank you for the tips on toxicity; I'll keep them in mind.
I don't use my oven much, but it's self cleaning and I blast it several times a year. So far so good.