Polymer Clay TIP! Reconstituting old dried out clay

There's nothing more frustrating than the buy polymer clay, get it home, try to work with it and it cracks and crumbles into tiny bits and flakes.


If that happens to you, what can you do?

Check out garage sales, thrift stores or even buy a new food processor. I keep my eye out at garage sales for extra "tubs" that fit my food processor too so that I have several to use.

Recently I had to use some clay I had laying on the shelf for about 4 years, when I sliced it, you could see that it was dry and crumbly. Before throwing that away, try this first:

Place medium size chunks of clay into the food processor and begin to let it chop. Add a few drops of baby oil or veggie/olive oil to the mix. Only add a few drops at a time. The friction of the clay chopping and the oil will help bind these particles together.

Keep an eye on the machine. You will start to notice when the clay is getting conditioned because the machine will make a different sound and you will notice larger clumps forming.


Turn the machine off and remove about a golf ball size of clay at a time. Flatten with a brayer until it is thin enough to go thru the thickest setting of the pasta machine. Keep rolling thru the machine, over and over again, every few passes set the machine on the next thinner setting. After about 25-30 passes you should see your clay smooth and pliable.


This has saved tons of clay that I would have generally thrown away.