Hi im a newbie so apologies if this has been posted before but what exactly is friendly plastic where can i buy and is it better and cheaper than fimo?

also on some of the tutorials ive seen mention biogradable peanuts? are they like normal peanuts? can they be used to keep shape when making something hollow?

oh and any links to some cheap stores of where i can buy all the gear? like the pasta maker, blades and acrylic rolling pins etc.

thanks in advance

friendly plastic is a completely differne tproduct to fimo. Fimo is a polymer clay, also Sculpey is another make.

FP is something you heat up and it melts.

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right i see. would you know which is best to use at home? also when you stamp on fimo and you want to put an embossing powder on do you put it on after the clay is baked or before? cos it ends up going all over! sorry i have so many questions i want to ask. so far this is what ive done so far but want to use embossing powders. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5964941

Hi Kookiegirl, welcome to the forum.

If you get time, take a look around this section a bit more, theres a wealth of info on fimo and friendly plastic, but for starteres i think i would be right in saying that they are quite different in how they are played with and also what they are used for.

I've not used FP before but i think you heat it and mould it to whatever you want. I've seen some gorgeous jewellery made out of it with the most fantastic colours.

Fimo comes in blocks, as opposed to strips like the friendly plastic, i think the fimo would be cheaper for the amount you get though.

That said, there are different types, bendy fimo which stays flexible once baked, the normal stuff which is pretty soolid when cooked, and i think another one.

I just bought my girlfriend a big block of ProSculpt which was pricier, but it's supposed to be excellent for doing dolls with.

Not sure about the peanuts, i just eat the things!

Just read this back and i'm not sure any of it makes sense.....

Calv.

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thanks yes i did look on the polymer clay part before i messaged in but it didnt really answer the questions im looking for. ive tried searching on the net and i thought it would save me a bit of time asking on here.

the peanuts were used for shaping a pendant. im just wondering if they mean something like monkeynuts? lol

some of the links on friendly plastic is out of date. ive not heared it before. ill check out the embossing section and see what i find. thanks.

As far as I know the FP only comes in book mark sized pieces and you heat with a heat gun, in the oven or in hot water and manipulate. You can stamp it - but I have never tried it.

I have not used embossing powders on the Fimo, the hearts you have made are very nice.

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hi kookie,

If you want to emboss on clay , this is an easy way of doing it if you you dont want all your powder to go everywhere, and your stamping not inking it as well .


first stamp your fimo . bake for 5 mins (temp on wrapper of fimo)leave to cool .


fold in half a piece of paper and unfold - this is to catch any powder .


Your fimo should be semi hard now and you now can apply clear ink /coloured over the surface .

sprinkle your embossing powder over the fimo and over the paper, if you hold your item with tweezers its easier .

place back in oven for 15 mins .


any excess powder can be pured back into jar .


Fimo classic is the strongest of the polymer clays .

hpe that helps .
maddy

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Hi Kookie

Welcome to Carolyn's and to playing with fimo. I don't know how long you have been playing with fimo, but be warned it is addictive lol! There are loads of different brands of clay - even 2 different fimo ones - fimo classic and fimo soft. The only ones I have used are the 2 fimo ones and Sculpey III. I mainly use fimo soft cos I can get it locally at a really good price (99p a block) Sculpey III you have to be careful with though, cos of all the clays it is the most brittle. A really useful site for polymer clay is - http://www.glassattic.com have a look at this page - http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/powde ... cwaxes.htm it might answer some of your questions about using embossing powders. Glass Attic looks a little daunting when you 1st see it, but once you get used to it, it is a fantastic site for anything to do with polymer clay.

Hope this is of use. Have fun (I've been claying the last couple of days, making decorated pens and pencils)

Kathie

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I assume when you "cook" these, you have to take them off the pens/pencils? How, and do you have to put anything in them to help them keep their shape?

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Funny lady!

Calv.

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Nope, you bake the clay right on the pens and pencils. You have to be careful which pens you use though. There are only a few types that will withstand the heat of the oven (even though you bake polymer at a really low heat).

I am only a novice at it, so mine aren't really that good - I've seen some really fantastic ones done. But you can see some of my older ones on my website (under polymer clay), but my latest lot aren't on there yet, which I think are a lot better - will try to put them on later

Kathie

Ooh, I like your pens. Can I ask what brands of pen are ok to use as a base?

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Have a look on the Glass Attic site that i mentioned in the above post, there is a whole section there about covering pens, and which ones are ok and which ones aren't. In the US most people use the Bic stic pens (the style that are often used over here for promotional and charity pens) but I haven't been able to find anywhere in the UK that sells thes Bic Stics. I can't tell you which ones I use cos I buy them locally and they don't have a brand on them. But if you are going to try it, do a test 1st -just because it looks like a Bic Stic pen it doesn't mean it will work - they are not all created the same and not all will withstand the heat. The alternative type of pen you can use is the type that woodturners use, they are quite a bit more expensive though.

HTH

Kathie

Thanks for the info Kathie!

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