Randi's Review	Andrea's Review	Lynn Anne's Review	Catherine's Review	Eli's Review

Review by Randi

I came into this series of reviews on clay somewhat nervous, but eager to try something new. Before I even opened the clay and tools sent by American Art Clay Company, I watched the Polymer Clay Treasures DVD by PageSage. If you have little or no clay experience (like me) I can't recommend this DVD highly enough.

The American Art Clay Company sent a generous assortment of clay and tools. The clay package contained 24 one ounce blocks and sells on their website for $22.95. The colors included were:

• FIMO® Soft: Lime Green
• Cognac
• Black
• Lavender
• Violet
• Plum
• Windsor Blue
• Brilliant Blue
• Pacific Blue
• Peppermint
• White
• Nightglow
• Lemon
• Sunflower
• Mandarin
• Indian Red
• Cherry Red
• Raspberry
• Tropical Green
• Emerald
• Caramel
• Sahara
• Chocolate
• Dolphin Grey

The first thing that one must do before creating with clay is to "condition" it. Simply put, this means to flatten it out several times to be sure that it is mixed well and softened. While a pasta machine is the recommended method for accomplishing this, I didn't have one available to me. I discovered that the Wizard Embossing and Die Cutting System does a great job. To see step-by-step instructions for this technique, I invite you to read the how-to article Conditioning Polymer Clay with the Wizard.

My first project was a very simple one from the Polymer Clay Treasures DVD by PageSage. Its a little holder for my clay blade. My preferred work surface was a ceramic tile picked up at the home repair store. It was only about a dollar, but provided a great stick-free surface on which to work.

Title: Clay Blade Rest
Products used: FIMO Polymer Clay, American Art Clay Co.
Modeling Tools, American Art Clay Co.
Design idea, Polymer Clay Treasures DVD by PageSage

The tools included in the storage pouch sent by American Art Clay Company included four different 7" plastic modeling tools. They sell for $7.29 on their website. I used the tools to help alter a couple of "cheap" finds to turn them into something special. Both of these projects involved marbling two colors of clay together and was also an idea presented in the Polymer Clay Treasures DVD by PageSage. I found the tools to be very handy to poke the holes for the ribbon on the first project, and to texturize the star. They are a nice, inexpensive set offering a variety of options.

Title: Rachael, altered frame
Products used: Dollar store frame
FIMO Pink, Yellow Polymer Clay, American Art Clay Co.
Modeling Tools, American Art Clay Co.
Clay letter mold, Sculpey
Ribbon
Metal Glue, Making Memories


Title: Clay Star Peg
Products used: Wooden Star, Michael's Crafts
FIMO Polymer Clay, American Art Clay Co.
Modeling Tools, American Art Clay Co.
Pearl Ex, Jacquard
Marbling idea from Polymer Clay Treasures DVD by PageSage

I liked "playing" with the clay more than I expected. While clay experts recommend a dedicated toaster oven for your clay, I used my kitchen oven with an aluminum covered baking pan. The colors were bright and vibrant, and stayed true to their color even after baking. The variety of colors were great, and according to their website, they have even more to offer! If you want to get started in clays, the 24 pack is a great value. The tools, likewise, are a bargain and I recommend them. Check out the other altered projects and layouts in the American Art Clay Co gallery folder and then check out their website!

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Review by Andrea

Polymer Clay has European roots, originally formulated to create doll parts in Germany. We're familiar with brands such as FIMO, Premo, Sculpey, Friendly Clay and Paper Clay which are all actually different yet provide a similar result! Paper Clay is the only one mentioned above that doesn't need baking in an oven. All of the others provide brilliant color and consistencies that harden by heating in the oven.

We worked with American Art Clay Company (AMACO) and their imported FIMO Soft polymer clay from the Germany based company Eberhard Faber for this review. It has a softer compound making it easier to knead and condition for shaping. With almost 50 vibrant colors and available in mostly 2 oz. and 13 oz. packages, there is a great deal of flexibility for your craft projects. We received a 24-color variety package of 1 oz. blocks all individually wrapped. The box is covered with a nice selection of projects and a step-by-step pictorial of covering a glass with clay. An included black and white brochure explains how to use the clay with proper baking temperatures and times.

We also received a tool set that contained four different 7" plastic shaping and cutting instruments. They came in a handy plastic case with a sleeve for each tool. They are double-tipped, so there are actually 8 different tips to use. Each one is smooth and easy to grip and clean after use.

When starting to work with the clays, I did notice that different colors were harder than others. Working with small amounts of clay at a time helped so that my hands didn't get really tired. I kneaded the clay by hand and used a plastic cylinder that I had from around the house to roll out the clay. I found that working on a teflon sheet helped remove the piece from my work area when I was ready to bake it. Depending on the color of the clay, I removed some of the jagged edges that seemed to happen no matter how much I conditioned the clay. Kneading and handling the clay is called conditioning which is the start of all your projects. Once the clay is warm and pliable, it is much easier to work with, both to shape and to embellish.

I've wanted to stamp on clay for a long time and finally got the opportunity! Dye ink is recommended for clay because of it's short drying time. I found that rolling out the glow-in-the-dark clay was really easy because it conditioned very quickly. Stamping was simple, just ink in black and stamp! I tore around the image and distorted it a bit for effect. After baking, I colored the image with Zig permanent markers and inked around the image. I liked the effect after the coloring was complete. Since this was a gag card, I thought it was good to be a bit rough around the edges!

Title: Friends Card
Products used:
Clay (AMACO FIMO, Glow-in-the-Dark)
Oven (Ranger, Melting Pot)
Stamps (My Paper Moon)
Ink (Stampin' Up! Basic Black & Colorbox Fluid Chalk, Yellow Ochre & Charcoal)
Markers (Zig)
Ribbon (Shoebox Trims)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech: Red Glue Tube & PVA Glue)

I tried stamping a purple dye ink on the next piece of clay and found it provided another nice result. I accented the card with a alcohol ink background and patterned paper. I simple yet pretty card evolved to the final result.

Title: Feminine Card
Products used:
Background Paper Technique (PageSage The Journey Continues)
Alcohol Inks & Metal Mixatives (Ranger)
Clay (AMACO FIMO, lavender)
Tool (AMACO Modeling Tools)
Oven (Ranger, Melting Pot)
Stamp (My Paper Moon)
Ink (Stampin' Up! Eggplant Envy)
Ribbon (Close To My Heart)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech: Red Glue Tube & PVA Glue)

I found working with the clay fun and rather therapeutic! The baking was a cinch in the Ranger Melting Pot by just following the directions on the clay packaging. There are SO many things that you can do with the clay, that I know that I haven't even scratched the surface. Clay can be very versatile and using this FIMO variety pack really helped to work with different colors to see how they react together. Custom blending is common to achieve the "right" color for your project and having a small amount of each color of clay allows a lot of experimentation. Lisa Pavelka in the PageSage Polymer Clay Treasures DVD commented that you should save a small circle of each custom color that you create with the mix increments written on the chip for future use. Great idea Lisa! Thanks!

I would highly recommend this starter pack for newbies working with polymer clay and for those more experienced to create custom colors without spending a ton of money. For under $30, this pack will last quite awhile. The tools are around $7 and are very useful also. It's amazing how those different tips just seem to be exactly what you need sometimes! Feel free to visit the AMACO Gallery to see many more creations using this polymer clay.

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Review by Lynn Anne

American Art Clay Company has been producing clay for art and play since the year my grandmother was born. In those 85+ years, they have made a name for themselves with popular and high quality clays and clay-working accessories. Among their lines is one of the leading names in polymer clay, called FIMO. Polymer clay is a type of crafting clay that requires heating to harden, but that can be set in a regular home oven instead of requiring a kiln. FIMO Soft is a particularly user-friendly version of this clay, malleable and easy to condition and work by hand. With a brightly-colored 24-pack of FIMO Soft clays and a set of 7" Eberhard Faber plastic FIMO modeling tools, I found myself ready to get to work.

My project was to embellish the wooden handle of one of my crafting tools, an embossing stylus, by covering it with clay. I chose two cheerful colors, pacific blue and mandarin, and decided to try a technique that involved smooshing one color of clay deep into a border mold, clearing off all of the 'raised' parts of the mold, then adding the contrasting color to the back in order to get a two-color design. I was easily able to tear off and condition about half of each of the 1-oz blocks in my hands, in just a couple of minutes. This ease and convenience is unique to the FIMO Soft - "Classic" versions need to be cut with a knife, and are more easily conditioned with a pasta machine or a multi-use tool like Spellbinder's Wizard embossing and die cutting machine. I was able to smoosh my mandarin into the mold easily, but found that the excess clay wasn't rubbing off with my fingertips as easily as I had expected it to - it was coming out of the mold when I tried. I pulled one of the Eberhard Faber FIMO tools, one that has a slightly convex edge. With the narrow tool, it was easy to get the job done. I rolled out my second color and trimmed it into a rectangle using a plastic tool that looked like a knife blade (but wasn't at all sharp), then put the colors together and added the piece to my tool. I needed to use another thin-tipped tool to coax my well-smooshed FIMO to start back out of the mold. And finally, I got to pick up one of my favorite tools - one that looks like a very short-toothed comb or rake - and created a combed texture on either end to serve as a grip.

Products used:
FIMO Soft polymer clay by Eberhart Faber/American Art Clay Company (mandarin and pacific blue)
Eberhard Faber FIMO tools
Crystal Clear Acrylic Coating by Krylon
Stylus by Lasting Impressions

The directions for FIMO Soft included baking my piece in the oven for about 30 minutes at 265 degrees, which I did. I wasn't surprised that the clay held its shape, including the neat combed texture at each end. And I was very pleased to see that the clays retained their bright colors, too, coming out of the oven looking just like the pieces of raw clay I had left on the counter.

For a scrapbooker who wants to include some clay in his or her work, perhaps in the form of a tag, a set of tiles, or a stamped title, FIMO Soft is a no-fuss option. Its softer consistency makes it easy to work by hand, and its bright colors are ready-to-go, or can be painted, stained or whitewashed for other looks. The 24-pack of 1 oz. packages, retailing for about $22.95, is a convenient assortment to have on hand - but there are sixty-one colors in the entire line, so you don't need to limit yourself to 'only' those colors! The lightweight Eberhard Faber plastic tools, which sell as a set of four double-sided 7" pieces in a plastic storage pouch for about $7.29, were very handy to have on hand, and made my clay play a lot easier. Together, these products could be the start of a very beautiful relationship with polymer clay crafting.

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Review by Catherine

Polymer clay has been one of my favorite methods of creating custom embellishments for my scrapbook pages. I love the feeling of having my fingers in clay, kneading and shaping something that suits my purposes perfectly. I was excited to learn that the Scrapfriends Review Team would be reviewing polymer clay and tools in a series of different reviews this month. I received AMACO’s FIMO Soft clay in twenty-four different colors to review, along with AMACO’s plastic Modeling Tools to work with.

The FIMO soft clay is a type of polymer clay that I have worked with before. The clay is easy to mold and work with, and the colors that I received were definitely very bright and vivid. At first, I was a little confused about whether I was conditioning the clay correctly, but with further work, I was able to see when the clay would set up right. I’ve enjoyed working with the FIMO clay that I received in a variety of different colors. Each color is extremely bright and thoroughly saturated with color. I’ve found that darker colors are a little harder to work with than lighter colors. I don’t know if this is indicative of all clays, just something that I noted.

The AMACO plastic Modeling Tools that I was sent to review is a set of four different plastic tools. Used for smoothing and carving clay projects, I found that the tools work exactly as intended. I had no problems working with the tools, and finding a variety of different ways to use them.

I used the FIMO Soft clay and the Modeling Tools to create a quick and easy card for a friend. I kneaded together several different colors of clay, then stamped a sentiment into the center. I used several different tools to create texture and lines in my clay, then I used one final tool to cut my clay into a square shape.

Title: It’s Your Day Card
Products used:
Cardstock: Prism Exclusives
Clay: AMACO FIMO Soft
Tools: AMACO Modeling Tools
Stamp: Stampin’ Up!
Patterned paper: BasicGrey
Star Snap: Making Memories
Adhesive: Adhesive Tech Permanent Glue Runner

In review, I would have to say that I am very pleased with the quality of both the clays that I received as well as the Modeling Tools sent to work with it. I recommend that anyone who is looking to delve into the world of polymer clay check out AMACO’s FIMO Soft clay and Modeling Tools.

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Review by Eli

American Art Clay Co. or AMACO FIMO clay and EberhardFaber clay tools

Whenever Hannah sits down to create with Play-doh, I think, “That looks like fun.” I may join her for a while I soon tire of the smell and dried out globs. Well, welcome to the world of polymer clay and welcome back to your childhood, only with a bit more sophistication.

AMACO, or American Art Clay Company, has been creating clay, ceramic, and other art media since 1919. Wow! I think they know a thing or two about their clays. This review will focus on their FIMO line of Soft Polymer Clays along with a small kit of clay tools which is produced under the name of EberhardFaber.

If you are unfamiliar with polymer clay, I found a great description on a polymer clay site that sums it up beautifully: Polymer clay is, as the name implies, a pliable, blendable polymer compound for artists and crafters. It's not a true clay—clay is fine particles of silicate suspended in water, whereas polymer clay is fine particles of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) suspended in plasticizer—but it can be used much like clay. LINK: www.jaedworks.com/clayspot/polyclay-faq/basics.html

In my own terms it is a clay that can be formed and baked in a standard or small toaster oven, rather than a kiln. So it is perfect for the home crafter. I have always wanted to try it but heard so many things about how it was so hard to condition and I didn’t have a pasta machine that I was willing to relegate to the task. I also worried about it’s possible harmful fumes. Well, with the advent of FIMO Soft, the clay is quite easy to condition, doesn’t have any smell when working with it (unlike Hannah’s Play-Doh) and the smell from baking can be minimized by tenting and although it can be unpleasant, it is not harmful when safety measures are followed.

So, for this review, I received a 24 piece kit of brightly colored, 1 oz. blocks of soft polymer clay and a tool kit of four tools. To begin, I wanted to do as much with the clay by using the minimum amount of tools. I wanted to see if it is possible to just buy some clay and get started. Well, I’d say it is. I conditioned several pieces of clay (maybe 1/3 ounce each) by my hands and actually rather enjoyed it. Then I used several at-home items to roll it out. 1) a water bottle 2) a ¼” dowel and 3) a smooth metal can. So as far as I’m concerned, you can do it with the FIMO Soft!

When I was ready for some real projects, I did get a clay blade. I have seen these on craft shows and on the Polymer Clay Treasures PageSage DVD, and felt that it was a worthwhile purchase. It was quite helpful in making the stripes on my altered tin that you can see below. Also, I used the clay tools to make textures in the clay and to help join the seams of the clay.

Title: Striped Tin
Products used:
Tin (Brighton)
FIMO #30 green, #42 orange, #61 orchid and #33 blue polymer clays (EberhardFaber, AMACO)
Kato NuBlade (AMACO)
M20 Mini Mold (Ten Seconds Studio)
Texturity Wheel #8 (Ten Seconds Studio)
Clay tools (EberhardFaber, AMACO)
Brilliant Gold Pearl Ex (Jacquard)
Beads (Darice)
Craft knife (X-acto)
Work Surface (Adhesive Tech)

Conclusion I cannot say enough about this clay. I love the bright array of colors and the soft nature of the clay makes it so easy to work with, whether you are using your hands or a pasta machine. I enjoyed trying different things with the clay and I love the fact that it stays pliable until you cook it. It’s easy to mold, bend, trim, fuse and bake. I am hooked!! I think that I will always have a bunch of FIMO around, in case, I want to use it to embellish a layout, card or altered item. The tools are great too. I found many uses for them such as texturizing clay, scraping excess clay off the back of push molds and lifting clay off my work surface, just to name a few.

I think the kit of clay colors and the clay tools are a fabulous way to get started in polymer clay or to add a bevy of colors to your arsenal. If you’ve been thinking about beginning, you can do it. Recommended!

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