In the 1930s, a gorgeous material was invented in Germany for creating extraordinary products - polymer clay. At first, dolls were made with the help of it, but in the 60s it rapidly gained popularity, after which clay began to be used to create various sculptures and compositions.

Now from of this material create original jewelry, souvenirs, flowers. Wedding bouquets are excellently obtained from polymer clay, so clay has become an indispensable material for wedding celebrations.

You, too, can learn how to make chic crafts from this wonderful material. In order to create your first masterpiece, it will be enough for you to familiarize yourself with the material below.

Polymer clay modeling tools

• Surface for work. You can take a flat and perfectly level board made of glass or plastic, tiles or ceramics.
• Knife. Suitable for both office and construction. Have spare blades on hand.
• Rolling pin made of acrylic - very convenient when rolling out clay.
• A syringe and various attachments with which you can make a variety of stripes, floral elements.
• Forms for cutting figures (cutters).
• Stacks.
• Polymer clay.
• Polymer varnish.
• Brushes of different sizes.
• Toothpicks.
• Napkins.
• Hardware items.

Before starting work, the clay must be kneaded well.

1. Wash your hands well first, as clay absorbs various impurities well. Working area keep it clean too. Gather your hair or put a kerchief over your head.
2. Apply talcum powder to the clay to prevent debris from sticking to it.
3. Calculate the amount of clay correctly, because colored clay has a short shelf life.
4. When the clay dries up, do not lose heart, but just add regular hand cream to the material, but not much.
5. Be careful with pottery - they are quite fragile.
6. Save packaging with material only when closed. To make the clay serve you for a long time, put a damp cloth there.

Polymer clay at home

If you do not have the opportunity to purchase ready-made clay in the store, then below is a recipe for homemade this material.

You will need: butter for children, flour (1 teaspoon), regular white glue (1 teaspoon), cornstarch (1 teaspoon).

Combine starch, glue, add flour. Stir until the mixture looks like clay. Then add five or six drops of oil to keep the clay from sticking to your hands. To make the clay colored, take a little of this material in your hand, drip a little acrylic paint and knead it in your hand.

Polymer clay flowers

Callas

For those who are just getting started with polymer clay, calla lilies are the easiest to make. This is very simple craft and it can be done in a matter of minutes. And if you decorate the resulting flower with beads and insert a special hook into them, you get gorgeous earrings.

Take a couple of clay flowers, a toothpick, a stationery knife, rubber gloves, and beads.

From the clay pieces, make sausages, then roll them around one another. Roll the resulting product into a ball. Do these manipulations until you get a marbled color. After that, using a knife, cut the ball into two equal parts.

Make a rounded flat plate and pull out its edge a little, which you pin with your fingers. Gently roll up the opposite edge (like a paper bag).

Straighten the edges, correct. You should have a drop-down bud. Make small holes with a toothpick and insert an earring and beads into the flower.

Lily

Lily is more difficult to make than calla lilies, but the result is worth it!

Take the clay of the color you like, a bottle or rolling pin, an awl or a large needle, a knife, paints (preferably watercolor), brushes, paper clips.

Put gloves on your hands, take a piece of clay, roll it out thinly, outline the petals. Draw out the borders of the petals with a needle. You should have three large and three small petals. Small petals will be in the center of the flower.

Cut the resulting petals with a knife or scissors. Draw veins on the petals - it looks very beautiful.

Let the resulting components dry, while you yourself make the center of the flower, namely the pistil and stamens. Roll out the clay and cut into thin strips. Make a strip for the pestle wider, apply a brown color to its tip. Use a needle to twist the edges of the smaller petals. Straighten a paper clip and attach the flower to it, starting with the pistil and stamens. Next, we attach the petals symmetrically.

the Rose

Roses are considered the most sought after flowers, even if they are made from polymer clay. To make this beauty, take polymer clay, put gloves on your hands.

Make a sausage from a piece of clay, cut it into pieces, from which make balls of different diameters. Nine balls will be enough if the rose is small.

Blind oval petals from balls. To do this, put a ball on the left palm, on which we carry out pressure thumb right hand... Form a petal. We make the edges of the petal thinner and the base denser. We do this with all the balls. After that we collect the rose. Make the middle of the flower - roll one petal into a roll. Next, we attach the petals to the center from the smallest to the largest. Make sure that each petal covers the middle of the previous one.

The rose is done. It is perfect for decorating various accessories. Will look great as a fridge magnet.

Orchid

After you have practiced making a rose and calla lilies, you can start making an exquisite flower - an orchid. For work, take clay, a flat board, gloves, a rolling pin, wire, a special form for cutting, knives, brushes, paints, molds, a stick with a rounded tip.

Use a stick to paint a piece of clay and make a small ledge in the middle. Cut out a cross with a mold - this will be the middle of the flower. If there is no form, then draw the core yourself. We take the resulting part in our hands and bend its upper tip inward. With the help of a stick, we bend the rest of the blanks in the same way.

We take the wire, bend it in the form right angle... On the tip of the wire we put the middle of the flower, smeared with glue. Blind the middle part of the flower sponge from a small piece of clay. To do this, make a grain out of it and cut it a little with a knife. Wire it in the middle of the sponge. Color the flower lip.

After that we make petals. Roll out the painted clay piece that has a ledge. We put the blank on the mold, cut off the excess. We attach the wire to the base. In the same way, we make five more petals. Draw dots on all the petals. Take all the petals, lip, connect. The result is a gorgeous orchid!

Crafts made with polymer clay are gaining popularity every day, a type of ceramic floristry is developing. They sell well and are highly regarded.

It should be noted that modeling from this type of material is in demand not only among needlewomen. Children are becoming more and more interested in this kind of art. This activity is very exciting, with the help of it your child will actively develop and relax. Children with great pleasure will help you make crafts and decorations.

Learn to create masterpieces from polymer clay, and it will open for you new world art with which you can create chic jewelry and even have additional income from your work!

117 photos of examples of colors

Polymer clay (plastic) is a plastic artificial material for creating jewelry, boxes and various crafts... This material is much easier to work with than ordinary clay. It is more elastic, the products are of fine workmanship.

There are two types of plastic:

• self-hardening. It dries in air and becomes as hard as plastic in about a day. Crafts made from self-hardening clay are very fragile, so it is more often used for decorative art.
• polymer baking clay... It hardens only when baked in the oven at a temperature of 100-130 degrees. The products are not as brittle as when using self-hardening plastics, so this type of clay is used to create jewelry.

Making flowers from clay

Initially, polymer clay was invented for making dolls, then it became more widespread, for example, in ceramic floristry. At first, flowers were made from fabric, then from foamiran, and now thermoplastics are very often used.

To work with plastic, you need equipment:

• sculpting surface, a plastic or ceramic board will do.
• a knife for cutting out parts,
• extruder (syringe with various attachments) for the formation of shaped elements,
• molds for creating flat parts of the craft,
• rolling pin for rolling out plastic,
• awl or needle.

If you have no experience in sculpting, then you can watch a step-by-step master class of polymer clay flowers.

The main principles of using plastics: you need to work with clean hands, and preferably in thin medical gloves. Thermoplastics dries quickly, so the material that is not needed at the moment is best kept in cellophane film... If the clay has hardened a little, then you can add any cream and it will regain its former plasticity.

Making crafts for inexperienced needlewomen

The simplest polymer clay flowers for beginners are calla lilies. You need to take a base of any color. To create marbled calla lilies, you need to take two colors of clay. Roll up two sausages and twist them into a common rope. Then the tourniquet must be rolled into a ball and cut in half. Flatten the half into a thin layer, which is pinched at one end. Then you need to take an awl or a toothpick and wrap a petal around it with a bag, bake. Next, pull out the awl and insert the earring fittings into the resulting hole.

It is also easy to blind a rose. To do this, it is necessary to make thin petals, slightly different in size. With a thin needle, mark the veins on them and, starting with the smallest, rolled into a tube, attach them with an overlap, slightly bending the edges of each petal towards you.

Creation of flowers for experienced craftswomen

More delicate work- This is the manufacture of medium-sized products, for example, sakura branches. For the successful production of this inflorescence, you need a two-color polymer clay and a master class. Sakura flowers are pink inside and white around the edges.

First you need to take a sausage of pink and white tones and fasten it so that the pink color is at the bottom. You need to cut them into thin slices and form the petals in the shape of a boat so that the thin edge is pink. Then collect a flower of 7-9 petals on a rod (toothpick) and make a sepal from light green clay. Next, you need to insert the flower into the sepal, bend the tips of the petals and cups in random order so that the flower looks like a real one. In the same way, you can mold the rest of the flowers, making them slightly larger or smaller in size.

There should be several buds in the sakura branch. For their manufacture also need two-tone plastic and a piece of wire. The tip of the wire should be wrapped in a ring and using clay to form a droplet. Make 3-4 petals and wrap the droplet, bending the petals inward. You also need to make a light green cup, and then collect the unblown bud.

We need more stamens for each flower. With your own hands, you need to cut thin stripes-stamens from a thin sheet of thermoplastic with a sharp knife. Put several stamens together and paint the tips with acrylic paint - the pistil is brown, the stamens are yellow. Also, stamens can be made from thin wire or threads.

Crocus Bouquet different shades- in this version, both petals and stamens are made of thermoplastic with their own hands. The master class will teach you how to create such simple bouquets. Materials needed: wire, clay different colors, plastic spoons, tape tape.

You need to make 5 petals for each flower. To do this, roll out purple and white clay and place it in plastic spoon for shaping. Then cut into triangles from the yellow thermoplastic and make a fringe on the short side with a knife. Roll up the triangle with a tube so that the fringe is on top. To covered tape tape wire it is required to attach 3 such stamen tubes and a small pistil droplet to the center of the flower, wrapping 5 purple petals around them. By the same principle, you will need to make a few more purple and white crocuses. You can form a bouquet and tie it with a decorative ribbon.

Attention, only TODAY!

Polymer clay - one of a kind unique material, allowing you to create products of amazing beauty and subtlety. This material can be used to create small sculptures, jewelry, decorative elements for mirrors and vases. It is also used to craft original bouquets for brides and flowers for interior decoration.

Photos of flowers made of polymer clay amaze the imagination and give the impression that only experienced professionals can handle such products. However, with the right approach and knowing some of the tricks of working with the material, you can create delicate, beautiful flowers yourself.

Material

So what is polymer clay? It can also be found in handicraft stores under names such as plastic or cold pottery. Polymer clay is a plastic material composed of a polymer such as polyvinyl chloride.

Due to the properties different types of this polymer, plastic is divided into 2 types: baked and self-hardening. The first type of plastic requires heat treatment at a temperature of 100-130 ̊ С. Self-hardening clay does not require heat treatment and hardens at room temperature.

Also, such clay is divided into 3 more types: heavy and light plastic, as well as cold porcelain.

After drying, heavy plastic resembles natural clay and is used only for the manufacture of massive products.

Light clay rolls well into thin layers and has a delicate texture, which allows it to be used for more delicate work.

Cold porcelain has been specially created for making artificial flowers. Plants from this type of plastic have a very natural appearance due to the consistency of the material, its plasticity and flexibility.

Before buying polymer clay, you need to clearly define for which products the material will be used. After that, study the pack of the selected plastic - it will contain instructions with a description of work for beginners. It will help you understand which of the plastic in front of you is baked or self-hardening.

Before buying, be sure to check the shelf life of the plastic and the integrity of the packaging. Expired or damaged packaging material quickly loses its elasticity and becomes unusable.

Safety engineering

Each master class on polymer clay colors should begin with a study of safety rules when working with this material.

Despite the manufacturers' statements about the safety of polymer clay, it contains phtolates, which can negatively affect human health if the material is carelessly and carelessly handled. It is best to work with polymer clay with fine latex gloves. When working with plastic, it is undesirable to eat or smoke.

If you bake polymer clay in your home oven, then after the products have polymerized, you need to clean it well. It is best to put a deep dish filled with water and set the temperature in the oven to a maximum of 10-15 minutes, then turn off the gas and leave the door open for 20-30 minutes.

Be careful not to exceed the baking temperature of the material. If the polymer clay still burns out, you must turn off the gas, open the windows and leave the kitchen until it is completely ventilated.

Instruments

To correctly make a flower from polymer clay, in your arsenal you need to be able to adapt, without which it will be difficult or completely impossible to work with it.

First you need to take care of organizing a flat sculpting surface. It is best to use a flat plastic board or tile... It is strictly forbidden to use cutting boards if they are expected to come into contact with food again.

To cut various elements from polymer clay and dividing it into parts, you need to purchase a scalpel or stationery knife. The ideal choice would be to purchase a special construction knife with replaceable blades of different sizes and shapes.

A rolling pin must be used to roll polymer clay into thin layers. A clear acrylic rolling pin works best.

To make drawings on polymer clay and to give petals and leaves from artificial material a natural relief, a set of stacks is required. You can also use special stamps and texture sheets for this purpose.

Also, take care of buying cling film - under the influence of air, polymer clay loses its plasticity in 10 minutes, after which it becomes unusable.

Making flowers

To quickly learn how to sculpt flowers yourself, you need to start with simple jobs to understand the basics of working with such a capricious material.

For beginners, it is best to start learning how to make simple flowers like feces. For the manufacture of this flower you need to take clay of two matching colors, latex gloves, a stationery knife and stacks. Simple toothpicks can be used instead of stacks.

Roll both pieces of plastic into long sausages and wrap one around the other. After that, roll up the clay and one ball. Divide it into 2 balls again, and then into 2 sausages. Tear them into 3-5 pieces, and roll into 1 ball. This will help you achieve a marbling effect.

Using a stack, poke a hole in the base of the funnel - you need to insert a pestle made of metal wire and beads into it.

For more complex colors, the petals must be cut out with a knife separately. To give the flowers a more natural look, you can structure them with molds or stacks.

You can also use acrylic paints for tinting plastics. Beautiful ideas for flowers and their manufacture can be gleaned from sites dedicated to the manufacture of similar products.

Photo of flowers made of polymer clay

Hello dear readers. Here is the second edition (third edition is available in PDF) of my very first article on polymer floristry. Since the day I wrote this article, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge. I learned a lot, rethought some important points for me and even changed my opinion to something almost cardinally. In this article I will try to tell you as much as possible of what I know about this exciting activity - creating artificial flowers from cold porcelain, polymer clay, or even ceramics.

Flowers. How much joy they bring us. They are given for the holidays, they are bought just for the soul, they are grown on windowsills. But no matter how beautiful they are, cut flowers fade sooner or later, and potted flowers sometimes require such painstaking care that not everyone can cope with it. For many years, people have replaced natural flowers with artificial ones, trying to solve the problem of the fragility of fresh flowers. They made them from stone, clay, paper, fabric, leather ... And nowadays flowers from cold porcelain and polymer clay, created especially for polymer floristry, are becoming the most popular.

Despite the fact that many hear about cold porcelain only for the first time, it appeared in the middle of the last century. Many sources prefer to pay tribute to the first discovery in Argentina, but there is a lot of information that it was "discovered" at approximately the same time everywhere. After all, cold porcelain itself is an easy material to manufacture - it is based on starch and pva glue. And only over time, when the florists turned their attention to him, he began to refine and improve in the pursuit of softness and elasticity. Why is a composition that in fact has nothing to do with porcelain (starch + PVA) called cold porcelain? Everything is very simple and without frills. The dried mixture in its appearance resembles porcelain, and since the material does not require firing and dries on its own rather quickly, it was given the name "cold porcelain".

I will not delve into a boring story or comparative characteristics... I just want to say that today there are more and more polymer clays, which are similar in composition to cold porcelain, and technical qualities even overtake him. But if you are just starting to be interested in polymer floristry, and are not sure that you are ready to spend an impressive amount on studying various types plastic, as well as to buy a solid mountain of tools, then cold porcelain is what you need. What polymer clays are unlikely to win with this simple mixture is the price. Factory-made polymer clays are sold for relatively large sums of money. For example, at the time of this writing (early 2013), Modena polymer self-hardening clay from the Japanese company Padico in Moscow costs 550 rubles per 250 grams, Sukerukun (Japan) - 900 rubles per 200 grams, Clear (Japan) - 450 rubles per 100g. Thai clays, which I put one step lower in quality, as well as due to the absence or presence of a dubious certificate of non-toxicity, cost from 300 to 450 rubles. While the material for making porcelain at home will cost you 5-10 times cheaper. It all depends on what materials you buy and what effect you want to achieve. Of course, over time, you will understand that the price problem is solved by the wholesale purchase of clay for a year at once, but only those who decide to sell their products come to this. And even then, the price still remains higher, but you save in another way - the time that you spend on the cooking process and your health, which few people think about, neglecting by simple means safety while cooking cold porcelain.

The second no less important quality is elasticity during modeling. Well-prepared cold porcelain has an extraordinary elasticity of the material, which remains even when the clay begins to dry out a little and only especially expensive clays (for example, Sukerukun, Clear) can be compared with it. This is very important especially in cases where the master has to work for a long time with one piece of cold porcelain due to inexperience or due to the increased complexity of the product being created. Many craftsmen do not pay attention to this point and consider accuracy to be an excess. I'm not going to argue with them. Everyone is free to go the way he likes best. I prefer the path of grace, neatness and tenderness. With each of my new products, I slowly but persistently move on it and do not regret the time spent on all this accuracy. Because I see joy in the eyes of people when they receive my flowers and jewelry, and this is the best indicator for me that I am doing everything right.

So, the time for lyrics has passed. I assume that since you started reading this article, then you have heard something about artificial flowers from polymer clay, flowers from cold porcelain, ceramic floristry and the like. And you wondered how to try to do something like that yourself? What is needed for this? How to start? Where to? What for? How!!! Personally, these questions overwhelmed me when I realized that there is not so much information on the resources known to me. No, of course, if you set a goal, you can always find what you are looking for, but how much time was spent in order to isolate what is paramount and what is not so important to begin with. I think that many creative people familiar is the passion that overwhelms us when we light up with a new idea. Not really knowing the technology and the essence, we go to the store and buy everything related to the theme we have chosen, and only after a while we realize that somewhere two-thirds of what we bought is either simply not needed, or will not be needed soon. Having started writing this article, I first of all set myself the goal not so much to tell about cold porcelain, polymer clays and polymer floristry in general, but to show what a novice master may need in the first couples. How can you get by with the materials at hand and cut costs to a minimum in case your passion passes. After all, not everything that we want to try suits us.

I want to say right away that if you plan to move along the path of polymer floristry, then you simply must have unlimited patience in stock, well-developed finger motor skills, as well as a craving for accuracy. And if you dare to look in the direction of white porcelain ... You need patience, speed and accuracy like air! The absence of any of the components does not deprive you of the right and opportunity to engage in this work. In no case! But you must understand that realistic flowers are obtained only with the lion's share of patience, accuracy and dexterity of the fingers. Although all three of these qualities develop beautifully in the process. So, probably, the main thing is still desire. Well, we have plenty of it!

Polymer and ceramic floristry

Artificial flowers from porcelain, cold porcelain and polymer clays began to appear in our lives not so long ago. But every day more and more information is leaking out and becoming available. I want to start, perhaps, with the fact that at the very beginning, like many other people, I was misled by the fact that cold porcelain and self-hardening polymer clay belong to ceramic floristry. This delusion was instilled in us by the first company that appeared in Russia for modeling flowers from polymer clay. Why such misinformation and confusion was created, I do not know. Perhaps the people who let it in really wanted to bring ceramic floristry to the CIS countries, but they realized that distributing it to the masses is even more difficult than polymer floristry.

One way or another, remember that ceramic floristry is flowers made from clay that must be burned. That is, from ceramics. The most common material is white porcelain and certain types of porcelain, which have very good elasticity. But, due to the high complexity of the sculpting technique itself, a small circle of consumers (prices for such compositions reach hundreds of thousands of rubles) and the need to have a kiln on hand, this type of creativity is very rare, but I can assure you that the results are amazing.

With a big, very big stretch, cold porcelain, which as such is not porcelain, can be attributed to ceramic floristry. Although, personally, I relate it more to polymer floristry, which, in fact, we are talking about when we say "Flowers and decorations from cold porcelain" or "Flowers from self-hardening polymer clay." Polymer floristry is the creation of flowers from various kinds of polymer clays. Whether baked polymer clay or self-hardening. Moreover, the degree of realism of polymer colors depends solely on the polymer clays you choose. Well, or, from your cold porcelain recipe. Some of them, in terms of their properties and durability, will not get tired of polymer clays. But I personally would not dare to cook such at home. Yes, and I do not advise you!

Cold porcelain and its analogues - self-hardening polymer clays

During the time this article was written for the first time, I studied a huge variety of polymer clays and realized that my first conclusion was correct - there is no need to describe one hundred and one polymer clays in this article. But, perhaps, I will nevertheless tell about several of them, as the most memorable to me. In all other cases, if you have a desire, then you can go to search engine and spend a couple of hours / days / weeks studying this material. You can spend money and buy yourself different varieties clay, in practice, finding exactly the material that is most suitable for you. And here and now I will only briefly tell you what I consider necessary and of which I am sure.

First of all, it is worth noting that all the clay (in the future, I will also call cold porcelain as one of the "brands" of polymer clay, although this is not so, but it is easier for the story, and this does not contradict generally accepted concepts) divided into soft and hard, porous and smooth. There are many more different classifications, but for me they are not relevant. As I have already noted, in the sculpting technique, people like to work with either very soft, elastic clay, or with a harder, rubbery one. My personal opinion is that elastic, soft clay allows you to make more realistic compositions, close to vibrant colors. My mind rears up when I get my hands on a clumsy rubber material that can be used to make decorative flowers, but nothing like the real ones. Someone may disagree with me, but this whole article is my personal conclusions and reasoning, not claiming to be tutorial and common truths. I am making my experience and my opinion. How to use it and what to learn from all this for yourself is up to you. So, it is for this reason that almost 80% of polymer clays are immediately eliminated. I didn't buy all the clays in a row. I read reviews about them, watched the work done from them, watched the available videos. I just want to note one thing. When buying clay, remember that almost all (or even all) of them are afraid of freezing. For this reason, do not buy clay by mail in winter time... If you want to try the clay for the first time, buy it during the warm season or purchase it directly from the store. In the bag, the clay will not die for a couple of hours in the cold. Frozen clay, after defrosting, loses its elastic properties and becomes "oak" or "rubbery". Some of them can be reanimated by mixing in water or glycerin cream, but in both cases the result will already be, frankly ... a hundred times worse than the worst cold porcelain. Perhaps I am exaggerating a little, but one way or another, flowers made from clay reanimated after freezing do not look so "fresh".

But back to our properties. The second not unimportant attribute for me is the texture of the material itself. I love it when the clay has a smooth texture, reminiscent of Fimo firing / baking polymer clays. That is, in fact, like a very soft and elastic plasticine. For this reason, I immediately discarded two popular brands for ceramic floristry Claycraft by Deco and Hearty by Padico. These clays are more porous than I would like, although I have a Hearty range that I use for special occasions where roughness and paperiness are needed. In addition, Claycraft is too fragile, and if you really choose between it and cold porcelain, then the second is both cheaper and stronger. Although, if I choose between smooth polymer clays and cold porcelain, I will choose the former. Why? Because recently I believe that the polymer base is more flexible and durable. But if your main question is the price at the initial stages, then I see no reason for you to chase a well-known brand that you can replace with something that you can cook yourself cheaper? The main thing - do not forget about safety precautions!

Of all the polymer clays purchased today, I liked Modena by Padico and Sukerukun clay. The second clay is just a dream! However, its price significantly reduces the excitement. The advantage of both clays over cold porcelain is that after drying, these clays become water resistant and flexible, which cannot be said about cold porcelain, although flexibility can still be achieved when added to the mixture rare species PVA glue or elasticizers. Modena clay is inferior in elasticity during molding to cold porcelain and Thai polymer clays such as Thai Clay, Modern Clay, etc. But, in my personal opinion, no clay can surpass the elasticity of Sukerukun. Perhaps this alone already justifies its cost. Although, it seems to me that the price, which is almost twice as high as that of Modena, is due to the dubious transparency of the clay. Yes, it is undoubtedly the most transparent, but do not expect to get currants or grapes from it. Unrealistic. That is why, due to such different properties of clays, I use combinations of different types in my compositions.

For jewelry, I always use only waterproof and flexible clays. The main clay for jewelry is Modena. In cases where this clay does not cope with its elasticity, I use Sukerukun. I use the well-known waterproof clay Luna Clay when I need, on the contrary, a rigid structure in decoration or compositions.

For flower arrangements I use Thai clays, or rather one - Modern Clay Blue. It is softer and more elastic than Modern Clay Green, which can be obtained from blue by airing.

When I started sculpting, my arsenal was limited to only Modena Clay. I want to honestly tell you that even now I can safely manage only with her. But here only curiosity and a desire to experiment, to learn something new, and therefore now in my box with clay a whole heap of various packages "of all colors of the rainbow" are used. I’m even scared to think how much money it took ...

So. Well now main question! Where can I buy! It is already clear that cold porcelain can be cooked by yourself. Fortunately, the network has an endless number of recipes. The main thing here is not just to find a recipe, but also to see what comes out of it. Be careful and make sure that the photos laid out in the recipe were made by the author precisely from cold porcelain brewed according to this particular recipe, and not collected from all over the Internet, which is more beautiful. For example, now my tulips from Modern Clay Blue are walking on the net, which show how they are molded from cold porcelain without cooking. I very much doubt that something closely similar can turn out there ...

Self-hardening polymer clays can also be purchased at the store. The best place to search is our native and unique Internet. You just need to enter the brand name of the clay you are looking for and the word "buy" and you will find many useful results. If you try too hard, then you can search Japanese and Thai sites. There, clay is much cheaper. But delivery will pay off only if you order a large batch. Commercials, just a year in advance.

By the way, earlier in this article there was information about the Fleur clay, which, as they say, is still the same Modern Clay in its maiden name. I still think that Fleur is inferior in quality to Modern Clay. And I do not plan to change it. At least until frozen or old clay with broken package sealing stops appearing on the shelves. Of course, you can find low-quality goods from other sellers, but Fleur is still found here (at least in Moscow) more often than other polymer clays. I'm not even talking about the fact that its price is twice as high as Modern Clay ... In general, just be careful when buying clay, even in a tight package, it should crumple well under your fingers. And Modena is even more - completely flattened at the corner. However, I am by no means saying that the "fresh" Fleur itself is bad material. It's just very difficult to find it. Even if you buy directly from the store of this company.

But regardless of the firm and freshness of the clay, it must be stored in an airtight state. The cling film allows air to pass through, so in addition to it, it is best to wrap the clay in plastic wrap... Then even the tinted pieces will last long enough.

Secondary materials and tools

The purpose of this subsection is not to list all the existing options for tools and materials for you, but to tell you what will come in handy at the very beginning, and what you can replace it with.

Paints

The most basic of the secondary materials, which is difficult to refuse, is paints. Paints are painted over ready product, they are also added directly to the clay, giving it the desired color. Professionals use oil paints, as they, unlike acrylic paints, do not contain water and do not dry out so quickly, and, therefore, do not accelerate the process of hardening of clay, and you do not need to fiddle with them, as with pastels after which everything around is covered with a thin layer of colored dust. Also, when toning with oil paints, you can make beautiful and smooth transitions that cannot be obtained when working with acrylic.

You can use both the cheapest oil art paints and the most expensive ones. The only difference is that cheap paints can sometimes have unexpected effects on clay. For example, many are faced with, and I also experienced that blue colors Sonnet and Master-class, when added to samovar cold porcelain, lead to the appearance of a very bad smell near the clay. This smell disappears after drying, but it is unpleasant to work with such material. Or, for example, a sonnet contains so many linseed oil that it just pours out of the tube instead of paint. You have to constantly monitor the process, and this is not always possible. One of the recommended firms is Winsor & Newton. You can buy oil from this company at almost any art store. I use these paints. My palette of colors is quite large, since I paint pictures with the same paints. For starters, you can buy an inexpensive, small set oil paints Sonnet firm of 12 colors. It doesn’t cost much, and if you don’t like polymer floristry and you don’t find any other use for the oil, then you will not be so sorry for the money spent.

I also use Winsor & Newton water-soluble oil, but only for toning and texturing already dried items. This allows me to avoid using solvents and thinners, which then give me such a terrible headache. Adding this oil to the clay will shorten the time of its elasticity. Even in a sealed bag, clay begins to lose it over time. But the addition of conventional oil paints, on the contrary, increases the elasticity. After you add a little color and mix the clay well until a uniform shade, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it sit for about five minutes. You can even warm it up a little in your hands. Then stir the clay again, and you will see how elastic it has become.

Please note that there are two types of whitewash in oil paints. Zinc and titanium. In polymer floristry, zinc white is mainly used. They retain the porcelain appearance of the clay and even transparency in small portions. Titanium white completely kills transparency, and also makes the clay look like plastic, in addition, such clay very quickly loses its elasticity during molding and often even begins to crumble. But sometimes you still need titanium white.

Glue

Almost all flowers are made in parts, and these details then need to be connected somehow. Usually, the most common PVA glue is used for these purposes. However, it is worth remembering that PVA glue perfectly connects raw material with raw material or dried material, but two dried pieces of clay are most likely not to be connected using PVA. And then you need something more reliable. The simplest solution is super glue a second or a moment. Grip instantly and firmly. Especially fingers with clay ... Usually both PVA and super-glue are in every home, and if they are not there, then it is not a problem to purchase.

Many florists use latex glue instead of PVA. Outwardly, it looks like PVA glue, when it dries it becomes transparent, specially designed for working with plastic. Although, like PVA, it is difficult to connect two dried parts made of cold porcelain or polymer clay. Personally, I don't see much point in buying this glue in the first stages. If you decide to sell your work, then you should look for a similar glue. I buy a big bottle and pour myself a little. Since latex glue tends to dry out, it becomes tighter or completely dry out altogether. Since you always forget to close the jar of glue during the sculpting.

Wire

Most colors are based on a wire frame. Depending on the size of the flower, the wire can be either very thin or as thick as a pencil lead. Perhaps this is the tool that is difficult to replace with something and which you will sooner or later need. And usually sooner rather than later. Therefore, if you are planning to do polymer floristry, then you definitely need to probe the soil of your city for where you can buy wire. You can buy it in construction markets and art shops (I bought my first wire in a bead shop) ... I think you can find many more places if you try hard. In specialized flower shops, wire is sold wrapped. Usually green or white. To be honest, there is no sense for us from this winding. More inconvenience, more likely. But such a wire looks more beautiful and it is more pleasant to work with it, although sometimes the winding has a habit of shaggy and unwinding at the ends, and it has to be glued, which, of course, is a little annoying. Personally, I prefer uncoiled wire. I really like the dyed wire that is sold in bead shops. Moreover, such a wire is also cheaper.

Tape tape

This tricky tape is not sold in every city. Several years ago it was difficult to find it even in Moscow. Perhaps only in rare specialized floristry shops. Things are easier now. In polymer floristry, tape is needed to connect parts to the frame if they are attached to a wire. Double-sided sticky tape pulls together all the wires very well, turning them into a neat stem, which can then, if desired, be rolled with clay. But even without rolling, such stalks already look good enough. You will have a hard time without tape. If you don't have any opportunity to buy some tape ... well ... then you have to improvise. You can try using construction paper tape. This, of course, is still that substitute, but it's better with it than without anything at all. The main thing is, do not forget to roll in the stem later, otherwise such a flower will not look very beautiful.

Tape tape comes in different colors. We'll need the green ribbon most of all, but you can also get brown if you find it or any other if you don't find the colors you need. Better with tape than without!

Plastic wrap and sculpting mat

I believe that it is not worth explaining the necessity and essence of these two subjects. You can do without them, but the film will help keep your clay for a long time, and the rug will organize your workspace and keep it clean while you work. If you really disperse, you can buy a mat for cutting paper (they are usually green with dividers by centimeters) and an airtight container for wrapped in cling film polymer clay. This will provide an additional guarantee against drying out and organize dozens of colorful pieces that will accumulate over time.

Scissors, nippers, side cutters and more

It will be difficult for you to work without small scissors. In the first couples, ordinary nail scissors will suit you, but in the future I strongly advise you to find and buy small scissors with straight and long, thin blades. The thinner and longer the steel, the better. I had to spend several weeks before I could find the scissors I needed at a reasonable price in the next store.

You will also find it useful in the future:

- round-nose pliers - if you are going to make jewelry using accessories
- tweezers - sometimes the details are so small that the fingers begin to seem thick and clumsy, and with tweezers you can quickly make loops on a thin wire
- side cutters - for cutting thick wire
- pliers - for straightening and bending thick wires

Most tools can be easily found in any home. And if you don't have them, then, in my opinion, it's time to get them!

Stacks

The last series of important tools are stacks. Unfortunately, most sculpting stacks will not work. This is where you need your own specific stacks. But over time, perhaps you will buy something from ordinary sculptor stacks, depending on your desires and needs. Our two main stacks look like this:

Knitting needle

In the form of a stick with balls at the ends

If you have the opportunity, it is better to buy such stacks right away. Different sizes and more! If you have a sane person in your head, then first, it is better to understand what stacks you need.

The first basic stack is very much like a thick knitting needle. On the one hand, the diameter of the circle is 1.5-2 mm, and on the other, 4-5 mm. Despite its size, I roll out even miniature lilacs and forget-me-nots with this stack. A smaller stack that I bought later and looks like a thin knitting needle is used by me to create very small flowers, for example, heather or miniatures. In general, summing up, I want to say that first you should try out some improvised materials, and only then, relying on this knowledge, buy yourself a stack. Although there is not so much variety among them. As a substitute, you can use a knitting needle, a stick from Japanese cuisine, or even an awl. For example, I started with sewing.

The second stack of balls seems to be irreplaceable, but it is not. It is enough to find a strong stick (brush, pencil, thick wire) and glue smooth beads of the size you need to it. For example, for a very long time I used a cold porcelain ball, planted on wooden stick... Only much later I bought myself a set of stacks of different sizes and, in fact, did not feel much difference. Well, besides the fact that iron tools are still better than a light brush and an equally light ball.

A useful tool, in my opinion, is the roller knife. I remember how I studied it with surprise, not knowing where to apply it, but then it turned out that with such a knife it is very good to cut it out of a rolled layer of clay required forms or make depressions in the clay to roll the stem. However, you can perfectly do without this tool, but if you buy it yourself, then it will definitely not be superfluous. The main thing is to buy immediately steel, not plastic.

Molds and cutters

This is where you can endlessly pour your money. Molds and cutters make life a lot easier for a florist, but if you don't have a bottomless bag of gold, then you should think ten times before buying a mold or cutter.

A mold is a texture print from a petal or leaf of a living flower that we use to give a realistic likeness when sculpting. It will be difficult to do without molds, but many flowers can still be sculpted without them, so do not rush to buy molds. Firstly, they are expensive, and secondly, you can make them yourself.

To do this, you will need:

- plasticine.

- epoxy or the most common silicone sealant.

- the leaf from which you want to make an impression.

First, roll out a piece of plasticine and attach a leaf to it. This way you will get a print. Stick more plasticine around this print in the form of sides. Pour the prepared epoxy resin or silicone sealant into the resulting "container" (do not forget to smooth the sealant carefully so that it fills all the recesses). Let dry and remove the plasticine. That's the whole story. You can also order a two-component silicone paste from the USA, which is suitable not only for creating various impressions, but also for making bakeware. So if you are simultaneously decorating cakes, you can safely create molds for yourself for this direction. To create such a silicone mold, you need to mix two components and make an impression on the resulting mass, which is very similar to our polymer clay. After a few hours, the silicone will harden completely. And the mold can be used. Also, in summer and spring, you can use just living foliage as molds, but closer to autumn, I advise you to take care of the supply of necessary molds.

As for the cutters - molds for flowers and foliage, I personally think that they kill the vitality of the flower, but sometimes you still can't do without them. Identical, boring petals do not look very natural where nature allows imbalances. If you use boats, do not forget to work on each leaf and petal after that, adding individuality to it, and slightly change the shape. Cutters are very expensive and many craftsmen make them by hand from cans, slicing them into strips and then sculpting them into desired shapes. Some cutters are quite useful, but most can still be dispensed with, or you can use cardboard patterns that you can attach to a rolled piece of clay and then carefully cut with scissors or a roller knife. You won't need cutters for the first couples, so you can safely forget about them.

Pasta machine
I will not tell you which car is better to choose and how to use it. I can only say one thing - most pasta machines are simple cars for rolling out the most ordinary dough different thickness... You won't need a pasta machine for quite some time, but if you want to speed up the process of sculpting flowers, whose petals and leaves need to be cut with cutters, then the pasta machine will save you a lot of time. Moreover, it will roll out your clay layer evenly and, just as important, it will not leave your fingerprints on it. Don't forget that unlike baked plastic, our polymer clay is very sticky and can wrap around the rollers of the paste machine. Therefore, it is best to roll the clay in a special film or "file". Both can be bought at any polymer floristry store along with a paste machine.

Cream
In my master classes, I often come across the fact that always at the very beginning, when I talk about tools, the question arises ahead of time, “why do we need a cream and which one?”. First, there is a misconception that clay can be restored with a cream. I must say that I myself believed in this for a long time, until I realized in practice that the main meaning of the cream is quite different - it is used in cases where your clay is too sticky to your hands and tools. It also helps a little, quite a bit to restore the elasticity of the clay, but not its ductility. These are slightly different concepts. To restore the clay itself, you need to mix into it what it has lost, becoming hard, namely water. The cream, as a more liquid substance than the clay itself, can partially restore elasticity by replacing water, but in large quantities the cream leads to a violation of the structure of the clay. And great disappointment on the part of the creator.

Which cream is right for us? Yes, absolutely any containing glycerin. I have been using Velvet Handles for a long time, and then I bought a pleasant smelling Pond's cream, which is available in large quantities in polymer flower shops. Perhaps its main advantage is the wide mouth of the can.

Well then. That's all, perhaps, that I wanted to report on the materials. As you can see, I have told very briefly and little, but it seems to me that I have communicated the most important thing:
- which clay is better to start with
- which paints are better to buy
- what tools can be useful in the beginning
You will learn the rest yourself, gradually learning techniques, techniques, tricks.

In the next part I will tell you about.

In the meantime, you should stock up on the materials you need for it:

1. In the meantime, you should stock up on the materials you need for it: Polymer clay (you can cook it yourself or purchase polymer clay Modena, Modern Clay, Thai Clay)
2. A set of oil paints "Sonnet" 12 colors small, brushes No. 1, 2, 4 (synthetics or columns, preferably flat or oval), N8 (fluffy round brush made of very soft synthetics), thinner
3. Wire # 28x12 - 22 pcs
4. Wire No. 18x12 - 1 piece
5. PVA glue (or latex glue)
6. Tape tape green or brown
7. Manicure scissors (preferably with straight ends)
8. The base stack (or something that can replace it, such as a spoke)
9. Patience and good mood!

If you have any questions, ask! If I know the answers to them, then I will definitely share the information.

When copying a lesson to other resources, remember that you agree that the lesson should be posted as is. You are also obliged to indicate the source - that is, to establish a link to this resource.

Flowers made of polymer clay have gained particular popularity, which are used to decorate the interior (for example, vases or photo frames), when creating original jewelry, and even in. To learn how to make such flowers from polymer clay, you do not need special artistic abilities and skills, but good taste, patience and desire are required.

Clay is different - self-hardening and fired. For modeling flowers, the first is usually used. Some time after production, the flower will harden itself. Fired clay is more often used where it is necessary to obtain a super-durable product, for example, jewelry. At first glance, it looks like ordinary plasticine, but thanks to the plasticizer, which is necessarily included in its composition, under the influence high temperatures it gradually evaporates and the finished sculpture becomes solid. For novice ceramic florists, it is better to take softer varieties of clay - it is easier to process.

Polymer clay can be used to create products that resemble stone, wood, glass, porcelain, fabric, clay in texture. The easiest way to use this effect is to make beads, it is only important to learn how to make balls of the same size. For originality, you can make prints of beautiful buttons on the balls, you just need to moisten the workpiece first.

How to prepare your workplace

• In addition to the clay itself, you will need a perfectly flat working surface- a glass board, ceramic tiles or, in extreme cases, a piece of cardboard.
• Stationery knife and a special machine for rolling out clay. But this is ideally, for a start, you can get by with a rolling pin - glass or ceramic.
• Special varnish for polymer clay - matt or glossy, depending on the desired coating result.
• Several artistic brushes of different numbers.
• Toothpicks, wet wipes and jewelry accessories.

Before you start sculpting, it is very important to knead the clay well. This should be done in small pieces, gradually adding to new portions in order to get a soft, homogeneous mass, very convenient for sculpting.

One more important rule- use tools and other materials for modeling only for their intended purpose, for other purposes you should have other scissors and rolling pins.

Accurate work is obtained only when working with gloves, otherwise even handprints may remain on the product.

Cala from polymer clay

The first master class of polymer clay flower for novice home craftsmen. These simple feces are relatively easy to make and will take little time. If you decorate the middle with beads (as in the photo), you get very pretty earrings. But it's better to say everything in order.

Tools and materials

• polymer clay in two shades;
• rubber gloves;
• wooden toothpicks;
• beads for decoration;
• hooks for earrings.

Step-by-step instruction

Sculpt a lily

If the rehearsal was successful, you can move on to more complex colors.

You need to tinker a little with this lily, but, most importantly, understand the principle and then you can create not such a tiny flower, but a whole bouquet as a gift to a loved one.