How to Reuse Your Leftover or Scrap Polymer Clay
Let’s talk leftover, or scrap, polymer clay today. This blog is going to explain what we do with our scrap polymer clay, why we reuse it, and will give tips to polymer clay makers on how to reuse their own scrap clay.
The huge piled of scrap clay after being sorted.
When you make polymer clay earrings like I do, you’ll probably notice some extra clay left over at the end of your work session. It’s pretty hard to get exactly the right amount of clay with no leftovers at the end. When the clay has been worked with and reworked like sugar cookie dough, it can start to get bubbly or get some debris trapped in it. This makes it not so ideal to work with because some of those imperfections can be hard to get out with rubbing alcohol before baking. Our scrap clay is essentially the “leftover” clay from our earring making sessions. Instead of throwing this clay away, I store it safely in a storage container with a lid on parchment paper to separate the colors for later. After a year or so, those little piles really add up…
This week I spent an hour sorting through all the unbaked scrap clay from the last year of earring making. If that doesn’t put into perspective how much clay was there I don’t know what will. Spoiler alert: it was a lot! After all the clay is separated into piles by color, I spent the next several hours conditioning all of those clay piles into nice, useable sheets that will store nicely and will make using them much easier. Thankfully I have a pasta machine to mix and condition all the clay for me otherwise this would have taken days. Nonetheless, it was a very tiring project and my back was very sore the next day. However the show must go on.
The clay after being mixed, ready to use.
The next day I spent much of the afternoon making a tray of earrings using the nice clay sheets I had made the day before. I didn’t really have a singular theme whilst making earrings that day. I just kind of picked a color and chose what cutters I would use for that cutter and went to town. In fact, I even made earrings that I had either stopped making a while back and some that I have never even sold before! I made 42 pairs of earrings in a singular day. I made some plant leaves, some hearts, some simple neutral designs, in all colors in hopes that everyone can find something they like.
While I’m at it I might as well finish the whole process for you. After the clay had baked and cooled the next day it was time to sand the earrings. I sand each and every single earring with a rotary tool (Dremel) to finish off the rough edges that just happen when using polymer clay and plastic cutters. When they all get sanded, they get drilled so I can then assemble them with the earrings of choice. After they’re assembled, they’ll get added to their backing cards, priced, and then placed inside of a plastic sleeve to protect them from germs when handling them in the clearance bin. I do want to note, though, that just because I offer them at a discounted price does not mean they are worth less. I do it because it just makes the most sense to me.
The earrings in my clearance bin are made with scrap clay that, if I weren’t being eco-conscious, I would have just thrown away, giving it new life instead of sitting in a landfill. This also makes my larger earrings more affordable and accessible to others who can’t justify spending more. These earrings are oftentimes more unique than the ones I sell because a lot of the time they are one of a kind! You never know what you’re going to get in the clearance bin so make sure you check back frequently. A lot of the times, I’ll offer these earrings at a discounted rate at buy 2, get 1 free. People love getting to choose a third one when the choices are too hard to narrow down and I always love seeing what people pick out, almost like a prize bin.
Tips for Polymer Clay Makers
Only mix like colors together when mixing scraps. When you mix complementary colors together, you’ll end up with a “mud” color like brown/gray.
You can mix different colors together to create a marbled effect if you stop mixing before they’re fully combined. The combinations are truly endless here.
Rubbing alcohol can remove debris and hair from raw, unbaked polymer clay.
There are many, many polymer clay techniques that you can use when using the medium. Do some research, look up some videos, and use your scrap clay to practice these new techniques.
Instead of folding the clay into itself when mixing, tear it off and place it on top of itself to reduce the chance of bubbles.
Make sure you condition your clay fully until the edges are smooth, either by hand or with a pasta machine.
If you see a bubble before baking, try to pop it now. Use a sharp object to pop the bubbles but be gentle and precise. You can use your fingers or a tool to push the air out of the bubble and smooth the clay around it.
People tend to use acetone to remove imperfections after baking but that can lead to white marks on your baked clay. Be sure to test on the back or bottom of your baked clay pieces first to ensure they don’t get these markings. If you do this, make sure you rub with a q-tip in alternating directions as it does wear away the clay.
Clearance bin with earrings made from scrap clay.
I always love watching everyone thumb through all the clearance earrings and I’ll be honest, I’ve been lacking in that department lately, but not anymore! For the very next market I was able to create and put out 30 pairs of clearance earrings on top of my usual restock each week. I was so looking forward to seeing people go through it now while it was full of new designs they had never seen before.
The money that I make selling these earrings, I’m putting towards a trip to Disney World with my family. This is all money that would have just been thrown in the trash essentially, had I not reused the clay again. I am sure it won’t fund the entire trip because that would be a crazy number of earrings, any little bit would help fund it. It would mean the whole world to me to be able to take my family to experience once before they’re too old so if you see this and you purchase some clearance earrings to help fund our trip, thank you so much.
If you are a clay maker, I hope you are inspired to reuse your own scrap clay to not only potentially bring in more income, but also to help save the planet by keeping your clay (and other items) out of the landfill as much as possible. Since polymer clay is technically plastic, this is definitely best kept out of the landfill. By reusing your clay, you are making an impact. Imagine if all of us reused things when possible instead of throwing them out. It would be a much better place if we all worked together.
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