Polymer Clay Experiment Squibbulbs

Squibbulb Key Rings 
Polymer Clay

Squibbulb Key Rings 
Polymer Clay

Watching videos on YouTube on Polymer Clay creations has inspired me to create my own! I bought some Fimo Classic Polymer Clay on EBay, took the unused Pasta machine at home and bought a cheap oven online.


In this entry, I’m going to discuss the problems and the success of creating my original characters (Squibbulbs) using Polymer clay.

Mould and Bake and Repeat!

I was a little excited in creating my Squibbulbs in terms of moulding them. I created the whole character and then baked it in one go. I found that doing it this way resulted in having blended colours in areas I didn’t want. For instance, the face of my Squibbulbs started having black streaks from when the eyes accidentally get smudged on their faces. In the end, I had to bake a dirty looking Squibbulb. So how did I counter this?

Step 1: Mould the body Shape. Bake. (1 colour)

Step 2. Add the petals on their head. Bake. (1 colour)
Step 3. Add the centre of the flower . Bake. (1 colour)
Step 4. Add the eyes. Bake. (1 colour)
By dividing the application by the colours, I was able to avoid accidentally mixing the colours together! Note that I didn’t have to fully bake the creatures each time. I only bake the clay until it is half cured. All I needed was to make sure that the surface was dry enough so that it doesn’t blend with the new clay that I was to apply. Also, as you bake the clay several times, it eventually gets cured anyway. This might be a bit costly if you bake one piece at a time which is why I baked about 5-10 Squibbulbs in one go. I also wash my hands in between baking to make sure any colour residue left is removed and that the next batch of colour is not affected.

Clay Conditioning

One thing I did have problems with is air bubbles. I wasn’t exactly sure why they kept on appearing on my sculptures, especially at the top of their heads! I then realised that if you do not condition the clay properly, air gets trapped inside the sculpture. Whilst the clay is being baked, the air then tries to escape and the tendency is for the air to rise up.  This is why the bubbles all emerge at the top and not tat the bottom! With this in mind, I had to make sure that knead the clay properly and I let it through the pasta machine the correct way as well.

How to Condition Polymer Clay

Baking Surface

I initially used aluminium foil over the oven tray and placed my creatures on it. I then realised that every time I finish baking my Squibbulbs that there was shiny area on its bottom where it has been touching the aluminium. I then found out that using a ceramic tile is the best way to go since this will keep the bottom surface as matt as the rest of of the Squibbulbs! I took one from my local hardware store. I just asked if there were any loose tiles that they might have and I was lucky enough to get a tile for free!

Fingerprint Problem

I also noticed that my fingerprints were all over my Squibbulbs whilst I was moulding them. Conditioning the clay and kneading it gets the clay warmer and softer. The softer and warmer the clay is, the easier it is to leave marks on its surface. What I do is create the figure as I normally would whilst trying to avoid the fingerprints. If there are any that I cannot get rid of, I leave the clay for awhile to cool. Once the clay is slightly cooler, I then try and smoothen the marked surface again and that normally works for me.
I have seen a few videos online where they use a laminate sheet to apply pressure on the affected area to smoothen out the surface of their pieces. This might be effective for some pieces, but I was unable to do this since my Squibbulbs were spherical in shape and there was not way I could apply pressure only on one side. I had to smoothen the area by balling the mould in my hands. Then again, this might work for what you are creating so give it a go!

I hope this entry has helped you in your Polymer Clay journey as well! Happy Moulding and Baking!