Curing ( Baking) your clay

Hey .. it’s nothing other than the baking process. 

Baking/curing is the most important part of creating with polymer clay. You can create the most amazing thing, but if it's under cooked your creation will break. On the other end tend to burn inside oven. Be cautious it neither over cooked nor under cooked. Both harm your creation.

Try baking like this, will not damage the shape of your work

Polymer clay needs to be baked for it to become hardened and durable. To bake your polymer clay creations, you will need an oven that can program temperatures between 215°F (102°C) to 325°F (163°C). This range is sufficient to bake any polymer clay item.

You can use a regular oven / convection oven or a toaster. BUT do not a microwave as it will burn.Me uses an OTG(mini oven)for my works to cure. 

Polymer clay is known to be safe and non-toxic for people;however while it is baking, don't let it burn because it may generate enormous volume of fumes that are toxic. Never bake polymer clay items and food in the same oven at the same time. 

Oven Thermometer

 Preferably place your oven where ventilation is plenty or in an isolated room, cover your polymer clay item with aluminium foil or place it between two disposable aluminum pans lids to catch the fumes.It also prevent transulent clay from fading by exposing to direct heat. I always leave them after baking,in the oven itself to cool down. Unless if it seems over cooked n scared of burn immediately place the hot beads or charms whatever thing you made into icy water. You will get a strong piece.

If polymer clay is baked above it's recommended temperature, it will get burned.As I told, It produce enormous toxic fumes not to breathe.So be cautious keep away children. Make sure the temperature inside the oven is correct by using an oven thermometer. We can’t relay upon the temperature actually our oven produces.

Another difficulty in determining the time to be taken for baking, why it becomes hard because different ovens produce different temperature for the same setting. So we have to make some tests with some bits of clay. Each time record the temperature, time taken etc and try to break the clay cured. Continue till you are satisfied with the strength. Then you will be able to conclude yourself. Now lets go baking.

Its good enough to insert beads on a skewer to keep lifted not to touch any surface like showed in the picture.

Techiques used....

Every one  longing for beautiful product at the end,  no matter whether it could be a figurine, charm , key chain, jewelry , even can be a customized pen wrapped in clay. There are lot of techniques in which few popularly known will be quoted in coming posts.

               
:)