Fimo

[merry]

Hi all,

Im after some advice on Fimo. I have never really used it before but I want to have a go at making flowers out of clay for use in bridal jewellery and as pendants/rings etc and Fimo appears to be the stuff to use. Its also a precursor to me starting to use PMC which is too expensive for me to waste. I have done some sculpture a few years ago but nothing very small or delicate. Does anyone know of any resources I can read up on, books etc on Fimo, the use of it, and particularly making flowers with it?

Ive posted here as a few people in different types of craft appear to use it. Also does anyone know of any particularly reasonably priced suppliers for Fimo? What tools will I need?

Thanks in advance for any assistance!!

[beadsbydesign]

for all sorts of tutorials this is a great place.

Emma who is on this forum is the font of all knowledge regarding polymer clay and sells it to.

[ejralph]

Ooh font of all knowledge? I like that - thanks, not true, but will greedily gobble up the compliment nonetheless!

I have mixed feelings about people using Fimo to make flowers for jewellery to be honest.

The reason being is that jewellery does take a certain amount of abuse and the tensile strength of polymer clay really doesn't allow for fine, delicate petals on modelled flowers to be abused. So if you want to make polymer clay flower beads for jewellery, you need do need to understand the limits of the medium and be able to make flowers that are solid and sturdy yet still look gorgeous.

I have seen some clay artists who special ise in making flower beads and know this balancing act well and their designs totally tick all the boxes for both beauty and durability.

But sadly I have also seen a lot more flower beads out there that just wouldn't stand up to being used in jewellery much. One can make stunning and delicate flowers from polymer clay of course - if they are to sit in a display cabinet, but used in jewellery they do need to be a little more robust in their design.

So my number one tip would be to experiment with your designs and truly work with the polymer clay not against it. So make the petals on flowers to a decent thickness and don't have too much of any petal protruding too much from the body of the design. Also use a stronger clay formulation such as Fimo Classic.

If you check out Amazon for books on polymer clay - you will find several cover flower making techniques. Sugar craft books can also be really useful, providing you are sure to adapt the techniques to work on polymer clay.

As for good suppliers for clay - well I like to think I am pretty reasonable! I carry a wide range of clay and supplies - including Fimo, makins tools, plus glitters, Perfect Pearls powders, inks and all sorts of other doodas!

HTH and have fun claying!

[merry]

Tjhanks for your help! I do tend to be quite harsh with my jewellery so perhaps I will have to rethink some of the designs I had in mind, but after all thats why i asked Ill have a look at your shop as I saw some handy anti tarnish things I wanted to buy so thanks for the heads up on the Fimo, I didnt know you had that

[sand]

To save splashing out on tools, I find cheapy shops do a good range in metal sculpting tools, robust enough for fimo but for only a couple of pound
Unfortunately the smaller the item you make out of fimo, the more fragile it can be
A little trick I use is to mix a bit of liquid fimo in with the classic fimo, it gives it extra strength
Don't use sculpey for your smaller projects as I find it less sturdy than classic fimo
I get my stock from beadmerrily online, always fresh and really fast delivery.
I have learnt alot from books, but there is no substitute for hands on experience
I haven't read them myself, but the books by Sue Heaser seem quite popular

[skullandcrossbuns]

I use sugar crafting cutters for making mini flowers out of Fimo, I bought my sets from Hobbycraft I think

[ejralph]

I think the key with any design is to simply test, test, test.

Certainly if you aim to sell your work at least, its essential.

And I say that whatever the medium used - because all mediums have their strengths and weaknesses. There are some things I would happily make from Fimo over and above using glass or ceramic, and vice versa for other designs. It really is a case of using the best material for the job in hand.

Many beadmakers like to drive over their work. Place it in a jiffy bag, packaged as you would for sending it out to a customer and reverse the car over it a few times. If it survives that, it may just survive going through Royal Mail's hands

The other best test for any beads and jewellery of course is to make prototypes and just wear them! Wear them to within an inch of their lives and see how they hold up.

It is no good having jewellery that looks stunning in the box if the first time a customer wears it, she puts her hand down on a counter a little too heavily and the beads snap, or she takes her jumper off and badly closed jumprings catch the threads and rip themselves open.

Even with the best testing of course- things happen, items break. So I am not saying if something goes wrong then the product or production methods are at fault. Ever material, even when used completely perfectly has its limits. Sometimes beads break, sometimes jewellery needs repairs. So I am not talking about the occasional "to be expected" issues here.

Just I am saying that some bead designs I see out there simply would NEVER not break for pretty much any customer that bought them - and that is where the seller has probably rushed a design to market without really testing it properly or fully understanding her medium.

[merry]

I always test everything to within an inch of it's life, to the extent of wearingtiaras around the shops to test their comfort and durability so there's no fear of that. The fimo is a precursor to using PMC which is where I intend to sell really, rather than any fimo products unless they pass my stringent quality control. Ill have a look at the resources recommended,

Thanks everyone.