fimo harvest
Lest you think I only crochet these days, I’ve been working on a commission for some polymer clay fruits and vegetables, and now they are ready to be harvested:
Vegetable magnets and berry pins. The magnets are embedded invisibly in the backs of the avocadoes and aubergines so they stick to the fridge as if by magic. The pins are baked into the backs of the berries for strength – no glue involved 🙂
Oh, and that’s one of my pincushions in the background with most of the berry pins stuck into it – it’s not part of the order!
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Andrea said
Your work is incredible. I do wonder though, how do you soften you clay enough for the intricate work. My son loves to make things with clay but we have the hardest time getting it soft enough. Any suggestions?
June said
Thanks, Andrea! Different brands of polymer clay have different properties: some are softer, some are stronger, some are more resilient and less brittle, etc. I like FIMO Soft – as the name implies, it’s more workable than some of the others. But there are a couple of things you can do to improve any brand’s workability:
1) Condition it – work it in your hands a lot to make it warm and pliable before you attempt to form it. This is especially true for very fine work – the clay need to be completely conditioned or it’ll crack. I use a pasta machine to help condition the clay – it’s easier on my hands than rolling it into a snake and pressing it into a ball over and over again! I also like to keep the (wrapped) package in my pocket for a while to pre-warm it with my body heat before I begin – this also makes it softer and easier to condition.
2) Use a softening agent. There’s a product I like called MixQuick. It looks like a white package of polymer clay but it’s a bit softer. You can add it to your clay and mix them together, and it makes your clay much softer and more workable without changing the colour.
I hope that helps! If #1 and #2 don’t fix your problem, try using a softer brand of clay. I believe that Sculpey is the softest, but may be too soft for detail work. FIMO Soft would be my recommendation, although FIMO is the only brand I’ve ever used, so I can’t say for sure whether others are better!
courtz said
i make fimo craft and this has really helped me thks x
Costa said
Could you please e-mail me or add me on msn kyosho@tiscali.co.uk
If u don’t mind i would like to ask u some questions about your projects!
Waiting for your contact
Thanks in Advance
Costa
Andreea said
Hi June,
I have to tell you your work is amazing!! The fruit and veggies are simply adorable!!!! They are so cute!!
I would like to ask permission to use this photo above. I’m about to release a CD about FIMO with all information and also tips and advices about how it can be used in the best way. For now it will be in romanian ( I’m from Romania 🙂 but afterwards i’d like to translate it at least to english.
Sooo 🙂 I am on a tour on the “www” looking for artists who would like to share their work. Along using this photo i will also add your name and your website so that people can come here and check on everything you do.
The tutorial will be in .pdf format
If you agree with that it will be great, if not, it will still be ok with me 🙂
All my best wishes and may lots of new ideas come your way!
Andreea
Daren Kelly said
June: My mother is addicted to avocados. I’d like to send her a polymer clay avocado pin 2 inches in diameter. Doesn’t have to be sent by Xmas. How much for you to create and send this item to Calif?–Daren Kelly
Jillian said
I’m in love 🙂 I want to see more polymer clay food!
Cocuklacocuk said
Super! vegetables magnets and berry pins. Infact we did not think of pins before.
and this is our salt shaker with polymer clay vegetables.
www.cocuklacocuk.com/index.php/fimo-tuzluk/
Barb A. said
Hi June. Fellow Clayamie here. Your fruit and veggies are GREAT! I like the avocados but I LOVE the eggplants – they’re such beautiful vegetables.
Wibit (Brie) said
These are brilliant!!! I have never seen such realistic fimo work. The avocadoes are stunning.
Clare said
Fabulous, I love the berry pins. 🙂