Craftsmart clay fails

[Former_Member]

So I am somewhat new to polymer clay, so I decided to start off with craftsmart clay. I now want to transition into the quality clays. But I still have quite a bit of craftsmart left. Half of my colors crumble a little bit. I can get it to work but it reaaalyyy stinks. Any way to get this to be easier to work with for now? Also I just noticed with my pink...It was clean and smooth going into the oven, now that it's baked, it now has tiny bubbles everywhere and that has never happened to me before!

What brand should I try next? Sculpey, Premo, or Fimo? A lower cost is best but I do want quality,

[Former_Member]

Good morning Danica!
I also use craftsmart/due to budget as well as availability/and I read a tip that has really helped me
Instead o putting my pieces on parchment paper and a cookie sheet/now I use a glass casserole bowl filled with baking soda/that not only keeps my color of the clay true but also stopped the pieces from curling or drooping! Now I dont have to use wads of paper to help the pieces stay in shape and the best thing of all is there is absolutely no odor! I do get premo or other brands if they are on sale at michaels but I like my craftclay a lot more now! Happy claying! Barbara B

[Former_Member]

Hey there!

I've used both Sculpey III and Premo, and if you are making things like beads, then Sculpey III is fine. If you make charms, sculpey III is very brittle after baking and small parts break off easily. Premo has more flexibility and so is better suited for thinner parts. However, both are easy to work with and aren't too hard to condition. I've never worked with Fimo, but I hear it's very hard, but then this hardness lets you make finer details. So! It all depends on what you need from your clay, and there's always the choice to mix clays and see where that takes you.

Hope this helps you!

[epicycledesigns]

That trouble with the pink is called "mooning," and I have the same problem with Premo Green -- I don't treat it any differently than my other clays, but it seems to be an issue with certain colors of all clay brands. I often mix a bit of a darker green in with the trouble clay, and it either covers up or cures the problem for me (either way it works!). That may be worth a shot!

If you keep an eye out at munrocrafts.com, dickblick.com, joann.com and the like, sometimes you can get the namebrand clays for half off. Then it's not nearly as pricey! munro actually has a deal that if you buy over 200 worth of clay you get it half off of retail -- but I know that's a whole lot of clay!

Good luck!

[Former_Member]

I've tried the Craftsmart brand, and it seemed okay, took a bit more work to get it conditioned, although I mixed the ones I tried with Sculpey (to get a certain color blend), so I don't know how it does on its own. I bought it more out of curiosity - I prefer Fimo (or Fimo Soft) and Premo Sculpey. Those are the brands I'd recommend - I haven't tried Kato PolyClay, but people seem to like it.

One brand I definitely wouldn't recommend is Sculpey III - it crumbles and is not made for blending and such, in my opinion.

[Former_Member]

Hi Danica,
I work mostly with Premo, and Sculpey III. Both are easy to work with; Sculpey III is harder and makes it easier to craft finer details.

NOTE:The quality of these two as well as other polymer clays tends to vary in stores - so be careful. For example, we have a store here in Texas that I use quite a bit, however, have had a problem with both Premo and Sculpey III crumbling. The store took it back, however I've learned that most of their clays are good. The store is Hobby Lobby and they always run a 40% of an item sale, including regular sales. But safest bet in dickblick.com - reasonable prices, and coupons are out there. Products are always in great shape.

Hope this helps!

[Former_Member]

I have never used Craftsmart clay but believe that I've seen this brand at Michael's.

I tend to only use Sculpey III or Premo. III is extremely easy to use for me and is the best option for most of my items - most of the time it's extremely soft and workable but sometimes, I'll get a block that is hard and crumbly. Premo is firmer, but I really love the end result of it.

[Former_Member]

Just an FYI on Munros for the budget conscious. There are several discounts they offer.

Straight off the top is a 25% discount
Spend $200+ and get a 50% discount as mentioned earlier.

But the discount I find more small order friendly AND cost effective only costs me $60!

Spend $100 and you get a 40% discount! Premo clay I believe is $2.79 a 2oz block. That means you buy 36 blocks of clay which total $100.44. Minus your 40% discount you end up spending only $60.24. That means you get your clay for only $1.67 per block! The only other thing you need to factor in is the shipping cost. I live 15 minutes from them so I don't have to take that into account.

But the other thing to keep in mind regarding Munros is that they have lots of things besides clay that is discounted. And the things that are not discounted like Swarovski crystals, still count towards the total that qualifies you for the discount.

http://munrocrafts.com/

As for the topic that brought me here (ADHD much! LOL) I haven't ever used the Crafsmart Clay. I used Sculpy III when I first started and I have to say that the ready to use array of wonderful colors is a big draw. But I found it too brittle and very disappointing when you spend time making something only to have it break. I now primarily use Premo, Fimo soft, Fimo effect and sometimes Fimo classic.