Whether you're new to the hobby of polymer clay or have been using the medium for a while, we all love a frugal option when it comes to our hobby. Here's some tools that are a staple in my studio and are free, DIY or are cheap to purchase at your local dollar store equivalent.
Toothpicks, wooden skewers and takeaway chopsticks.
These are an absolute staple when it comes to my work. They have a natural texture so that you won't get a super smooth finish, but in some cases, that's extra helpful. I use these to poke holes, smooth surfaces by rolling and add lines for my wood grain pieces. Most people have something like this lying around the house already, and if not they're super easy to get. I reuse my chopsticks from takeaway and have had the same wooden skewer for years now. If you need a flatter end or a finer point, you can easily use a piece of sanding paper or an X-ACTO knife.
Aluminum foil ball
Just bunch up a little bit of aluminum foil into a ball and you've got yourself an easy texturing tool. Roll it around on your flattened clay or dab at your piece to give it a natural, stony look. They are also excellent to bulk out any work that needs a light center and to save clay.
DIY Needle tool
When you order takeaway, you get two chopsticks right? Here's a purpose for your second chopstick! You can drill a small hole in one end and stick a sewing needle or pin in it. TADAAA! You've got yourself a DIY needle tool. Perfect for finer lines that you can't achieve with your toothpick.
Loop tool
All this takes is a handle of some sort (you can use a chopstick for this too, i've used one of my X-ACTO knife handles) and a piece of wire. Loop the wire into the desired size and shape, and secure it into the handle. You've got yourself a tool that can scrape off excess clay or create small channels in the clay.
DIY Needle tool version 2.
Get yourself three sewing needles and a cheap pencil (one with an eraser on the back). Stick the sewing needles in to the eraser and you've got yourself another needle tool. This one can be made with as many needles as you desire. I use this tool for texturing woodgrain pieces or to create a rough surface so I can attach two unbaked pieces of clay to each other.
DIY Texture tools
Got some clay in a colour you don't use, or have some leftovers? Make yourself a texturing tool! For these I once again used a chopstick as a handle, because they are plenty in our household. I added a base of clay to one end and created a dotted or striped texture. For the middle one I created many, many small balls and added them onto the base layer of clay. You can go as creative as you like with this, making rigid or more natural patterns, dabbing or rolling them on the clay.
Silicone sponge
Although they aren't very good for household cleaning in my opinion, these sponges have been an absolute life safer in my craft. I mainly use them for light texturing, pressing my clay in a silicone mold and to hold pieces in place when I bake them in the oven. When making charms, I stick the metal wire in to the silicone sponge and it keeps them perfectly upright. You can easily get these for cheap at any dollar store equivalent. Just make sure that they're actually silicone, because softer sponges will melt in your oven.
Makeup brushes
These are the absolute cheapest makeup brushes I could find at my local dollar store. I use these to apply my pastels to clay. Essential in my studio.
Stainless steel straw
For me, this one isn't as essential as the rest, but it's a very useful tool nonetheless. You can use it to roll out your clay in a pinch, if you really don't have an acrylic clay roller or a pasta machine. You can create a circle texture, or use it to smoothen surfaces. I mostly use it to form beads around, and as it is stainless steel I can just pop it in the oven with the clay around it and it won't melt and ruin the oven or the pieces.
X-ACTO / Precision Knife
No hobbyists home or studio is complete without one of these, so if you don't already own one get one as soon as possible. Cutting little pieces of clay, tracing and cutting your design on to flattened clay, refining edges on already baked clay, creating your own DIY clay tools as described earlier in this post and much, much more. This tool is the most used in my studio for a reason, it's versatile, simple and trustworthy. And the dollar store has them for a couple of bucks.
Add comment
Comments