Sunshine Discount Crafts Largo, FL.
Order by Phone 1/800-729-2878
order by website: http://www.sunshinecrafts.com

They have the best craft catalog in the country!!!!! They carry the regular Fimo and the new Soft Fimo at better prices than retail stores. Delivery is great - I usually get my order (I order by phone) within 6 to 8 days. Sometimes faster.... No matter what it costs, GET THEIR CATALOG. You will receive updates and sales brochures periodically. Trust me - I've been buying from them for 15 years and they can't be beat.

Joanne Briggs

Future Wax works beautifully for getting a shiny coat on Fimo items. I learned this from Judy Kafka, renowned for her Fimo Candy Castles and trains. No stickiness whatsoever. Future is made by Johnson Wax Co. of Racine, Wisconsin and is still available as far as I know. I've used it on my no-wax floors, too, to enhance them.

Jeanette in Wisconsin

When I took Sharon Warner's fimo food class in Dallas, she told us that old fimo could be revived by mixing in tiny amounts of hand lotion (any kind). We tried it in class and were quite impressed.

Anyway last night my sister and I tried it on some fimo that was about 25 YEARS old. IT WORKED!!We broke it into about 1/2" cubes and worked it adding hand lotion a bit at a time and within minutes it was totally workable. And colour stayed exactly the same. Wonderful!!

Maureen in St. Albert AB Cda

Let's say you have a hand held (as opposed to those square plastic ones) maple leaf shaped paper punch. You want to make a maple leaf shaped candy dish, but out of polymer clay, not paper. (You can use the other punches too, and the method is basically the same.)

The first thing you have to do is remove that 'trap' on the back of your punch, meant for catching the cut outs.

Take a good size piece of polymer clay and dust it lightly with baby powder. Press part of your clay into the hole on the hole punch. Pull it out using the rest of the chunk of clay as your 'handle'. Using a NEW, sharp single edged razor blade, dusted with baby powder, slice the shaped part of the clay away from the backing.

Now you will have a chubby maple leaf shape. By gently squashing it, and curving the edges, you will have your maple leaf shaped candy dish! You can paint and give it a coat of gloss to make it look like ceramic, too!

I have done this with many of my punches, and it has not seemed to adversely affected their original use!

Alice Zinn- Pt. St. Lucie FL

An excellent source for Cernit and any other polymer clay is Marie Segal at the Clay factory in Escondido. Her website for ordering http://www.clayfactory.net/

Carol Wagner Joshua Tree Calif.

A source for molds for making miniature ceramics / porcelain.
Cross Country Molds
Rt. 1 box 231
Greenfield, Missouri 65661
crosscountrymold@netscape.net

417/637-2606

Kathy in Wisconsin

I'm working on a project using wood and plastic together and I found the water soluble paint Polly Scaleworks GREAT! It is put out by Floquil. But if you get it on your hands it has to wear off! AND it sticks to plastic! The pigment is so fine you don't get that gloppy buildup.

I am very excited about this paint for polymer clay too. Doesn't chip easy like other acrylics. One drawback--it is a killer on brushes. The paint almost immediately dries so you have to keep the bush rinsed often.

I found another paint that looks similar at MicroMark http://www.dxmarket.com/micromark/products/81878.html

Judy K

I thought it might be useful to go over some points. The artist pastels are basically like chalk, sold as sticks of different colors.

These are used as an alternative to paint for the purpose of making objects appear more natural. They are especially useful for coloring baked goods, roasted meats, fruits, some vegetables, flowers, and much more. (I buy an entire set of 12 colors at Wal-Mart for something under $5.)

To make the powder, take a stick and press it onto paper (like you did as a kid writing with chalk on a sidewalk) and that's all there is to it. You can mix colors as well. (Example: I use a coat of "mustard" mixed with a touch of brown to coat pastries and breads. Then I add a bit of solid brown and/or some burnt sienna to the tops. Note: I make burnt sienna by mixing orange and brown, then just a tad of red.)

Brush on the pastels prior to baking the clay. The idea is to pretty-much dab on the color, rather than to solidly paint the object. To apply pastels to small items, such as potatoes, just roll the objects in the powder.

The whole point in using pastels is to impart a depth and variance in color, such as for making oven-roasted potatoes. The pastels become a permanent part of the clay when baked, and do not need a gloss or matte protection.

If you use pastels after baking, you'll find that it is harder to apply the pastels and you'll need a gloss or matte finish to protect them.

Do NOT use "oil" pastels … just the regular artist pastels. Honestly, if you make mini foods or flowers from polymer clay, this product is a "must-have."

Doc

Try this site for some of the original Fimo.
http://store.yahoo.com/fimo/closeoutitems.html

Donna

If you are painting Fimo then only use acrylic based paints as anything else will react with the clay. You generally paint afterwards although there are some innovative artists who experiment with paint and clay in the oven, but let's not go there right now!!!!

Most of the commercial craft paints will do the job quite nicely and for the more experienced artist then Daler Rowney or Winsor & Newton both have a range of acrylic paints and these would be found in your local art supplies shop.

Don't ignore this type of paint as there are some wonderful interference mediums that are great for fantasy figures or simply the iridescent sheen on a fresh fish (for example).

If you want to color clay before baking there are a few similar ways to do this, most suppliers of the clay may or will stock the pearled and mica powders. Powdered food coloring can be used or even cosmetic powders although the longevity of these is still subject to debate.

My own favorite is powdered artist pastels, they come in a myriad of colors and different grades. The softer pastels are easier to grind to a powder and easier to use, application is with a soft paintbrush or a cotton bud. The pastels are generally inexpensive and available at art supplies shops also. There is a range of colors sold for use with cold porcelain but the only ones I have found so far are quite pricey in comparison.

As a general rule, dry color is applied before baking and wet color (as in paint) is used after baking.

Jacquie Hall