First of all, I don’t think of scrap clay as SCRAP. I usually think of it as “Round Two” of my designs. And Sometimes, I even try to purposely create scrap clay – that’s a lot harder than it sounds actually!
Every month when I go through my process to create the New Color Tuesday mixes, I end up with some great little pieces of scrap. I generally start with sheeted clays and then cut out circles of colors to mix together – that way I am sure to get the same amount of clay each time.
But at the end of the mixes, I have lots of little scraps of different colors – all of which are now related to each other by the common mix color for that month. And if there are scraps of the original colors, they are also related to the mixed colors.
Now I try some pretty wild mixes, but somehow when the pile of scraps emerges, it has a cohesiveness that I wouldn’t have without that common mix color. So I like to use these scraps to make some sort of pendant or bracelet for that month.
I also chop it all up finely and create a faux terrazzo with it. All these colors are now related to each other because of the common featured color for that week is mixed into each one of them.
I have FUN with my scrap! It’s a great way to test new designs, like these fun little fish below:
I often work on index cards and even those can be lovely after a month’s worth of color mixes! I often bake these for 20 minutes to set the tiny amount of clay on them and use them for home made cards (as well as my Instagram 3×3 photos).
OF COURSE scrap clay can also be used as “guts” for other clay items providing bulk for veneers, sculptures and other polymer clay creations.
What are your favorite uses for scrap clay? Post your photos online with the hashtag #HowDoYouSculpey and share with us all!
xoxo, syn
