Buttons! Polymer Clay and Perfect Paints

beckyconley
Jul 22
2 min read

Four round, multicolored buttons with earthy tones and two holes each, arranged in a square pattern on a light blue background. — Polymer buttons

I'm just beginning to learn polymer clay and experimenting with additives. You can use many mediums to tint the clay or add accents in between layers of clay. Some popular additives are acrylic paint, alcohol inks, metal leaf and mica pigments.

I was curious about this technique for using up small amounts of left over colors of clay. It was a bit messy, but the results are fantastic!

SUPPLIES: Perfect Paints Shimmering Matte Acrylics #1027 Spiced Saffron

Other Supplies: Polymer clay in 3 colors (green, blue and yellow), button shaped cutter, pasta machine for clay, clay cutting tool, gloves, liquid Sculpey translucent, glossy glaze for clay

Instructions:

Use about 1" balls of each color. Cut into small square-ish pieces, 1/8" or less.

Yellow and blue Play-Doh chunks scattered on a blue surface. Bright, colorful, and abstract arrangement with no discernible pattern. — Polymer clay

Yellow and blue clay pieces on a blue surface, next to a bronze jar labeled "Spiced Saffron." — Mixing Polymer clay with SMA

Jar of brown paste with a partial label, open lid nearby. Blue and yellow chunks scattered on a blue surface, with a stick in the jar. — Mixing polymer clay with SMA

Drizzle the Shimmering Matte Acrylics #1027 Spiced Saffron over the clay and spread it around to coat the clay pieces. Let dry for a few minutes.
Drizzle with Liquid Sculpey; rub around to coat the clay and then form into a block.
Slice the block of clay into as many 1/8' slices as possible. Lay them flat side by side, touching so they stick together. (It was at this point that I realized that the camera was not recording.)
Mixing Polymer clay with SMA
Run the clay through the pasta machine on the thickest setting. Try to do this only once or twice so as to not muddy the colors together too much.
Cutting out our buttons
Press the button shaped cutting tool into the pressed clay. Cut as many buttons as you want.
Place the clay onto a smooth, heat safe surface. I used clear glass. Tile also works.
Bake at 275 degrees for 30 minutes or whatever specifications are written on your brand of polymer clay.
Let cool and sand off any imperfections before glazing.