Elegant and durable cold porcelain products resemble ordinary porcelain in appearance, having little in common in practice. Despite the fact that the Japanese have known him for more than five thousand years, it has spread throughout Europe recently. Porcelain, properly prepared, looks fragile and translucent, but in fact, very durable gizmos are obtained from it. In addition, it is completely safe and easy to use.

Making material at home is as easy as shelling pears, and even a child can handle modeling. We offer to take our master class "How to make cold porcelain".

Tools

To master the craft, you do not need any special tools. If you are not going to become a professional sculptor, make do with the available tools.

Use rulers, knitting needles, nail files as stacks. Attach the bead to a toothpick: this simple device is convenient to roll out the material to the desired thickness.

To sculpt some gizmos, texture molds are needed. Unexpected things can play their role. For example, real plants and flowers will help you create a beautiful petal or leaf.

Cooking recipes

Homemade cold porcelain can be made in a number of ways, using ingredients that you probably have in your home.

No recipe is complete without starch. It is best to use corn: the material will be more elastic, weightless and transparent. Potato will add a grayish hue and visual heaviness. Suitable for sculpting jewelry, figurines.

Cooking without heat treatment

Send two tablespoons of starch and a tablespoon of petroleum jelly to a container, mix. Add a little petroleum jelly and a pinch of regular baking soda. Pour in two tablespoons of PVA glue and mix well.

With heat treatment

In a bowl, combine a glass of starch, one tablespoon each of baby cream, petroleum jelly, and petroleum jelly. Pour in a teaspoon of citric acid and 100 (a little more if necessary) milliliters of PVA glue. Cook the "dough" over low heat until a dense lump is obtained.

Alternative recipe

Mix 150 ml of PVA glue in a bowl, a teaspoon of glycerin and greasy hand cream, pour in 100 ml of water. Begin cooking cold porcelain.

Bring the "dough" until smooth over low heat. Pour in 200 grams of starch. Stir constantly during cooking. When the mass begins to form a lump, remove it from the heat. The second part of cooking is the same for all recipes.

Moisten the towel and place the future china on top of it. After waiting for its partial cooling, proceed to kneading. Various dyes can be added at this stage. Both food and synthetic are suitable, the main thing is that they do not cause allergies.

Wrap the elastic mass in plastic and put it in the refrigerator. Start creating the next day: the porcelain should rest. Without delay, start washing the pan until the residues of the material have dried on the walls.

Cooking errors

Good cold porcelain will be elastic and easy to mold. An error in the dosage of starch, in particular its overabundance, will lead to excessive rigidity of the material. It will be inconvenient to pinch off the pieces from such a mass.

If you see blotches of starch in the "dough", do not rush to throw it away: add a little PVA and knead the material again. Having achieved the required elasticity, wrap the "dough" in polyethylene and refrigerate for a day.

If the material turned out to be sticky, difficult to keep its shape, not plastic, liquid glue is to blame (perhaps you used stationery PVA), insufficient amount of plasticizer. You can try to cook the porcelain until the required qualities appear. If this does not work, you will have to repeat the preparation with better quality glue.

The quality of the adhesive is in many ways a fundamental factor in the final result. This may cause the finished product to crack. Building glue with a plasticizer is best suited.

Properly prepared cold porcelain does not stick to hands and surfaces. If, even after thorough kneading, the mass does not want to take the required shape, it hardly lags behind the film, then it does not have enough glycerin or petroleum jelly. They are responsible for getting rid of excess moisture and plasticity of the material.

Does the material lose its shape, tends to fall off? Add a little starch to thicken the "dough".

Speed \u200b\u200bup drying by using a hair dryer or microwave. A slightly preheated oven will also help. If you are not in a rush, just flip the piece occasionally to dry out from all sides.

Coloring crafts

At the kneading stage, add pigment or water-soluble paint to the mass: tempera, gouache, acrylic.

Powdered dyes (including food) will help to paint the sculpted part. Apply them to the craft and hold them over the steam, allowing the color to absorb.

Use a thin brush and paints to draw details on the finished product. Please note: when dry, water-soluble will fade slightly, while oil will retain brightness and saturation.

Look at a photo of cold porcelain gizmos: what amazing and stunningly beautiful things you can create with a little effort and imagination!

Drying

The craft will naturally dry out in 1-7 days. Placing it in a mild oven will speed up the process.

Do not be alarmed when the product shrinks slightly after drying: it should be so. Consider future shrinkage during the sculpting process.

The benefits of work

Surprisingly, this is true: molding from cold porcelain will bring not only a beautiful product to the world, but will also have a positive effect on the well-being of bones and joints. It will improve blood and lymph circulation, relieve seasonal exacerbations of arthritis, arthrosis and gout. Working with small details will improve fine motor skills and calm the nervous system.

Sculpting is a very fun process that is not difficult even for beginners. Let your first work be cold porcelain flowers, a bird, an animal, jewelry. By increasing the level of skill, you will be able to perform elements that require more delicate work.

Use our simple cold porcelain sculpting instructions for beginners to get creative with your creativity!

DIY cold porcelain photo

Hello dear readers. Here is the second edition (third edition is available in PDF) of my very first article on polymer floristry. Since the day I wrote this article, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge. I learned a lot, rethought some important points for me and even changed my opinion to something almost cardinally. In this article, I will try to tell you as much as possible of what I know about this exciting activity - creating artificial flowers from cold porcelain, polymer clay, or even ceramics.

Flowers. How much joy they bring us. They are given for the holidays, they are bought just for the soul, they are grown on windowsills. But no matter how beautiful they are, cut flowers fade sooner or later, and potted flowers sometimes require such painstaking care that not everyone can cope with it. For many years people have replaced natural flowers with artificial ones, trying to solve the problem of fragility of fresh flowers. They made them from stone, clay, paper, fabric, leather ... And nowadays flowers made of cold porcelain and polymer clay, created specifically for polymer floristry, are becoming the most popular.

Despite the fact that many hear about cold porcelain only for the first time, it appeared in the middle of the last century. Many sources prefer to pay tribute to the first discovery in Argentina, but there is a lot of information that it was “discovered” at approximately the same time everywhere. After all, cold porcelain itself is an easy material to manufacture - it is based on starch and pva glue. And only over time, when the florists turned their attention to him, he began to refine and improve in pursuit of softness and elasticity. Why is the composition, which in fact has nothing to do with porcelain (starch + PVA), is called cold porcelain? Everything is very simple and no frills. The dried mixture in its appearance resembles porcelain, and since the material does not require firing and dries on its own rather quickly, it was given the name "cold porcelain".

I will not go into boring history or comparative characteristics. I just want to say that today there are more and more polymer clays, which are similar in composition to cold porcelain, and even outstrip it in technical qualities. But if you are just starting to be interested in polymer floristry, and you are not sure that you are ready to spend an impressive amount on studying various types of plastic, as well as buying a solid mountain of tools, then cold porcelain is what you need. What polymer clays are unlikely to win with this simple mixture is the price. Factory-made polymer clays sell for relatively high prices. For example, at the time of this writing (early 2013), Modena polymer self-hardening clay from the Japanese company Padico in Moscow costs 550 rubles per 250 grams, Sukerukun (Japan) - 900 rubles per 200 grams, Clear (Japan) - 450 rubles per 100g. Thai clays, which I put one step lower in quality, as well as due to the absence or presence of a dubious certificate of non-toxicity, cost from 300 to 450 rubles. While the material for making porcelain at home will cost you 5-10 times cheaper. It all depends on what materials you buy and what effect you want to achieve. Of course, over time, you will understand that the price problem is solved by the wholesale purchase of clay for a year at once, but only those who decide to sell their products come to this. And even then, the price still remains higher, but you save in something else - the time that you spend on the cooking process and your health, which few people think about, neglecting simple safety measures during the preparation of cold porcelain.

The second no less important quality is elasticity during molding. Well-prepared cold porcelain has an extraordinary elasticity of the material, which remains even when the clay begins to dry a little and only especially expensive clays (for example, Sukerukun, Clear) can compare with it. This is very important especially in cases where the master has to work for a long time with one piece of cold porcelain due to inexperience or due to the increased complexity of the product being created. Many craftsmen do not pay attention to this point and consider accuracy to be an excess. I'm not going to argue with them. Everyone is free to go the way he likes best. I prefer the path of grace, neatness and tenderness. With each of my new products, I slowly but stubbornly move on it and do not regret the time spent on all this accuracy. Because I see joy in the eyes of people when they receive my flowers and jewelry, and this is the best indicator for me that I am doing everything right.

So the lyric time has passed. I assume that since you started reading this article, then you have heard something about artificial flowers from polymer clay, flowers from cold porcelain, ceramic floristry and the like. And you wondered how to try to do something like that yourself? What is needed for this? How to start? Where? What for? How!!! Personally, these questions overwhelmed me when I realized that there is not so much information on the resources known to me. No, of course, if you set a goal, you can always find what you are looking for, but how much time was spent in order to isolate what is paramount and what is not so important to start with. I think that many creative people are familiar with the excitement that overwhelms us when we light up with a new idea. Not really knowing the technology and the essence, we go to the store and buy everything related to the theme we have chosen, and only after a while we realize that somewhere two-thirds of what we bought is either simply not needed, or will not be needed soon. Having started writing this article, I first of all set myself the goal not so much to tell about cold porcelain, polymer clays and polymer floristry in general, but to show what a novice master may need in the first couples. How can you get by with the materials at hand and cut costs to a minimum in case your passion passes. After all, not everything that we want to try suits us.

I want to say right away that if you plan to move along the path of polymer floristry, then you simply must have unlimited patience, well-developed finger motor skills, as well as a craving for accuracy. And if you dare to look in the direction of white porcelain ... You need patience, speed and accuracy like air! The absence of any of the components does not deprive you of the right and opportunity to engage in this art. In no case! But you should understand that realistic flowers are obtained only with the lion's share of patience, accuracy and dexterity of the fingers. Although all three of these qualities develop beautifully in the process. So, probably, the main thing is still desire. Well, we have plenty of it!

Polymer and ceramic floristry

Artificial flowers from porcelain, cold porcelain and polymer clays began to appear in our lives not so long ago. But every day more and more information is leaking out and becoming available. I want to start, perhaps, with the fact that at the very beginning, like many other people, I was misled by the fact that cold porcelain and self-hardening polymer clay belong to ceramic floristry. This delusion was instilled in us by the first company that appeared in Russia for modeling flowers from polymer clay. Why such misinformation and confusion was created, I do not know. Perhaps the people who let it in really wanted to bring ceramic floristry to the CIS countries, but realized that distributing it to the masses is even more difficult than polymer floristry.

One way or another, remember that ceramic floristry is flowers created from clay that must be burned. That is, from ceramics. The most common material is white porcelain and certain varieties of it, which have very good elasticity. But, due to the high complexity of the sculpting technique itself, a small circle of consumers (prices for such compositions reach hundreds of thousands of rubles) and the need to have a kiln on hand, this type of creativity is very rare, but I dare to assure you that the results are amazing.

With a big, very big stretch, cold porcelain, which as such is not porcelain, can be attributed to ceramic floristry. Although, personally, I refer it rather to polymer floristry, which, in fact, we are talking about when we say "Flowers and decorations from cold porcelain" or "Flowers from self-hardening polymer clay." Polymer floristry is the creation of flowers from various kinds of polymer clays. Whether baked polymer clay or self-hardening. Moreover, the degree of realism of polymer colors depends solely on the polymer clays you choose. Well, or, from your cold porcelain recipe. Some of them, in terms of their properties and durability, will not get tired of polymer clays. But I personally would not dare to cook such at home. Yes, and I do not advise you!

Cold porcelain and its analogues - self-hardening polymer clays

During the time this article was written for the first time, I studied a huge variety of polymer clays and realized that my first conclusion was correct - there is no need to describe one hundred and one polymer clays in this article. But, perhaps, I will nevertheless tell about several of them as the most memorable to me. In all other cases, if you have a desire, then you can go to the search engine and spend a couple of hours / days / weeks studying this material. You can spend money and buy yourself different types of clay, in practice finding the exact material that works best for you. And here and now I will only briefly tell you what I consider necessary and of which I am sure.

First of all, it is worth noting that all the clay (let us also call cold porcelain in the future as one of the "brands" of polymer clay, although this is not so, it is easier for the story to tell, and this does not contradict generally accepted concepts) divided into soft and hard, porous and smooth. There are many more different classifications, but for me they are not relevant. As I have already noted, in the sculpting technique, people like to work with either very soft, elastic clay, or with a harder, rubbery one. My personal opinion is that elastic, soft clay allows you to make more realistic compositions, close to vibrant colors. My mind rears up when I come across a clumsy rubber material from which decorative flowers can be made, but not like the real ones. Someone may disagree with me, but this whole article is my personal conclusions and arguments that do not claim to be a textbook and common truth. I am making my experience and my opinion. How to use it and what to learn from all this for yourself is up to you. So, it is for this reason that almost 80% of polymer clays are immediately eliminated. I didn't buy all the clays in a row. I read reviews about them, watched the work done from them, watched the available videos. I just want to note one thing. When buying clay, remember that almost all (or even all) of them are afraid of freezing. For this reason, do not buy clay by mail during the winter. If you want to try the clay for the first time, buy it during the warm season or purchase it directly from the store. In the bag, the clay will not die for a couple of hours in the cold. Frozen clay, after defrosting, loses its elastic properties and becomes "oak" or "rubbery". Some of them can be reanimated by mixing in water or glycerin cream, but in both cases the result will already be, frankly ... a hundred times worse than the worst cold porcelain. Perhaps I am exaggerating a little, but one way or another, flowers made from clay reanimated after freezing do not look so "fresh".

But back to our properties. The second attribute that is not unimportant for me is the texture of the material itself. I love it when the clay has a smooth texture, reminiscent of Fimo firing / baking polymer clays. That is, in fact, like a very soft and elastic plasticine. For this reason, I immediately discarded two popular brands for ceramic floristry Claycraft by Deco and Hearty by Padico. These clays are more porous than I would like, although I have a Hearty line that I use for special applications where roughness and paperiness are needed. In addition, Claycraft is too fragile, and if you really choose between it and cold porcelain, then the second one is both cheaper and stronger. Although, if I choose between smooth polymer clays and cold porcelain, I will choose the former. Why? Because recently I think that the polymer base is more flexible and durable. But if your main question is the price at the initial stages, then I see no reason for you to chase a well-known brand that you can replace with something that you can cook yourself cheaper? The main thing - do not forget about safety precautions!

Of all the purchased polymer clays today, I liked Modena by Padico and Sukerukun clay. The second clay is just a dream! However, its price significantly reduces the excitement. The advantage of both clays over cold porcelain is that after drying, these clays become waterproof and flexible, which cannot be said about cold porcelain, although flexibility can still be achieved by adding rare types of PVA glue or elasticizers to the mixture. Modena clay is inferior in elasticity during molding to cold porcelain and Thai polymer clays such as Thai Clay, Modern Clay, etc. But, in my personal opinion, no clay can surpass the elasticity of Sukerukun. Perhaps this alone already justifies its cost. Although, it seems to me that the price, which is almost twice as high as that of Modena, is due to the dubious transparency of the clay. Yes, it is undoubtedly the most transparent, but do not expect to get currants or grapes from it. Unrealistic. That is why, due to such different properties of clays, I use combinations of different types in my compositions.

For jewelry, I always use only waterproof and flexible clays. The main clay for jewelry is Modena. In cases where this clay does not cope with its elasticity, I use Sukerukun. I use the well-known waterproof clay Luna Clay when I need, on the contrary, a rigid structure in decoration or compositions.

For flower arrangements, I use Thai clays, or rather one - Modern Clay Blue. It is softer and more elastic than Modern Clay Green, which can be obtained from blue by airing.

When I started sculpting, my arsenal was limited only to Modena Clay. I want to honestly tell you that even now I can safely manage only with her. But here only curiosity and a desire to experiment, to learn something new, and therefore now in my box with clay a whole heap of various packages "of all colors of the rainbow" are in use. I’m even scared to think how much money it took ...

So. And now the main question! Where could I buy! It is already clear that cold porcelain can be cooked by yourself. Fortunately, the network has an endless number of recipes. The main thing here is not just to find a recipe, but also to see what comes out of it. Be careful and make sure that the photos laid out in the recipe were made by the author precisely from cold porcelain brewed according to this particular recipe, and not collected from all over the Internet, which is more beautiful. For example, now my tulips from Modern Clay Blue are walking on the net, which show how they are molded from cold porcelain without cooking. I very much doubt that something closely similar can turn out there ...

Self-hardening polymer clays can also be purchased at the store. The best place to search is our native and unique Internet. Just enter the brand name of the clay you are looking for and the word "buy" and you will find many useful results. If you try too hard, then you can search on Japanese and Thai sites. There, clay is much cheaper. But delivery will pay off only if you order a large batch. Commercials, just a year in advance.

By the way, earlier in this article there was information about the Fleur clay, which, as they say, is the same Modern Clay nee. I still think that Fleur is inferior in quality to Modern Clay. And I do not plan to change it. At least until frozen or old clay with broken package sealing stops appearing on the shelves. Of course, you can also find low-quality goods from other sellers, but Fleur is found here (at least in Moscow) so far more often than other polymer clays. I'm not even talking about the fact that its price is twice as high as Modern Clay ... In general, just be careful when buying clay, even in a tight package, it should be well under your fingers. And Modena is even more - completely flattened at the corner. However, I am by no means saying that the "fresh" Fleur itself is bad material. It's just very difficult to find it. Even if you buy directly from the store of this company.

But regardless of the firm and freshness of the clay, it must be stored in an airtight state. The cling film is air permeable, so in addition to it, it is best to wrap the clay in plastic wrap. Then even the tinted pieces will last long enough.

Secondary materials and tools

The purpose of this subsection is not to list all the existing options for tools and materials for you, but to tell you what will be useful to you at the very beginning, and what you can replace it with.

Paints

The most basic of the secondary materials, which is difficult to refuse, is paints. Paints are painted over the finished product, they are also added directly to the clay, giving it the desired color. Professionals use oil paints, as they, unlike acrylic paints, do not contain water and do not dry out as quickly, and therefore do not speed up the process of clay hardening, and they do not need to be fiddled with much, like with pastels after which everything around is covered a thin layer of colored dust. Also, when toning with oil paints, you can make beautiful and smooth transitions that cannot be obtained when working with acrylic.

You can use both the cheapest oil paints and the most expensive ones. The only difference is that cheap paints can sometimes unexpectedly affect the clay. For example, many people are faced with the fact, and I also experienced it, that the blue colors of the Sonnet and the Master Class, when added to a samovar cold porcelain, lead to the appearance of a very unpleasant odor in the clay. This smell disappears after drying, but it is unpleasant to work with such material. Or, for example, a sonnet contains so much linseed oil that it simply pours out of the tube instead of paint. You have to constantly monitor the process, and this is not always possible. One of the recommended firms is Winsor & Newton. You can buy oil from this company at almost any art store. I use these paints. My palette of colors is quite large, since I paint pictures with the same paints. To get started, you can buy an inexpensive, small 12-color Sonnet oil paint set. It doesn’t cost much, and if you don’t like polymer floristry and you don’t find any other use for the oil, you will not be so sorry for the money spent.

I also use Winsor & Newton water-soluble oil, but only for toning and texturing already dried items. This allows me to avoid using solvents and thinners, which then give me such a terrible headache. Adding this oil to the clay will shorten the time of its elasticity. Even in a sealed bag, clay begins to lose it over time. But the addition of conventional oil paints, on the contrary, increases the elasticity. After you add a little color and mix the clay well until a uniform shade, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it sit for about five minutes. You can even warm it up a little in your hands. Then stir the clay again, and you will see how elastic it has become.

Please note that there are two types of whitewash in oil paints. Zinc and titanium. In polymer floristry, zinc white is mainly used. They retain the porcelain appearance of the clay and even transparency in small portions. Titanium white completely kills transparency, and also makes the clay look like plastic, in addition, such clay very quickly loses its elasticity during molding and often even begins to crumble. But sometimes you still need titanium white.

Glue

Almost all flowers are made in parts, and then these details must be connected somehow. Usually, the most common PVA glue is used for these purposes. However, it is worth remembering that PVA glue perfectly connects raw material with raw material or dried material, but two dried pieces of clay are most likely not to be connected with PVA. And then you need something more reliable. The simplest solution is super glue a second or a moment. Grip instantly and tightly. Especially fingers with clay ... Usually both PVA and super-glue are in every home, and if they are not there, then it is not a problem to purchase.

Many florists use latex glue instead of PVA. Outwardly, it looks like PVA glue, when it dries it becomes transparent, specially designed for working with plastic. Although, like PVA, it is difficult to connect two dried parts made of cold porcelain or polymer clay. Personally, I don't see much point in buying this glue in the first stages. If you decide to sell your work, then you should look for a similar glue. I buy a big bottle and pour myself a little. Since latex glue tends to dry out, it becomes tighter or even completely dry. Since you always forget to close the jar of glue during modeling.

Wire

Most colors are based on a wire frame. Depending on the size of the flower, the wire can be either very thin or as thick as a pencil lead. Perhaps this is the tool that is difficult to replace with something and which you will sooner or later need. And usually sooner rather than later. Therefore, if you are planning to do polymer floristry, then you definitely need to probe the soil of your city for where you can buy wire. You can buy it at construction markets and art shops (I bought my first wire at a bead shop) ... I think you can find many more places if you try hard. In specialized flower shops, wire is sold wrapped. Usually green or white. To be honest, there is no sense for us from this winding. More inconvenience, more likely. But such a wire looks more beautiful and it is more pleasant to work with it, although sometimes the winding has a habit of shaggy and untwisting at the ends, and it has to be glued, which, of course, is a little annoying. I personally prefer uncoiled wire. I really like the dyed wire that is sold in bead shops. Moreover, such a wire is also cheaper.

Tape tape

This tricky tape is not sold in every city. Several years ago it was difficult to find it even in Moscow. Perhaps only in rare specialized floristry shops. Things are easier now. In polymer floristry, tape is needed to connect parts to the frame if they are attached to a wire. Double-sided adhesive tape pulls together all the wires very well, turning them into a neat stem, which can then, if desired, be rolled with clay. But even without rolling, these stems look good enough. You will have a hard time without tape. If you don't have any opportunity to buy tape ... well ... then you have to improvise. You can try using construction paper tape. This, of course, is still that substitute, but it's better with it than without anything at all. Most importantly, do not forget to roll in the stem later, otherwise such a flower will not look very beautiful.

Tape tape comes in different colors. We'll need the green ribbon the most, but you can also get brown if you find it or any other if you don't find the colors you need. Better with tape than without!

Plastic wrap and sculpting mat

I believe that it is not worth explaining the necessity and essence of these two subjects. You can do without them, but the film will help keep your clay for a long time, and the rug will organize your workspace and keep it clean while you work. If you really disperse, you can buy a paper cutting mat (they are usually green with centimeter dividers) and an airtight container for polymer clay wrapped in cling film. This will provide an additional guarantee against drying out and organize dozens of colorful pieces that will accumulate over time.

Scissors, nippers, side cutters and more

It will be difficult for you to work without small scissors. In the first couples, ordinary nail scissors will suit you, but in the future I strongly advise you to find and buy small scissors with straight and long, thin blades. The thinner and longer the steel, the better. I had to spend several weeks before I could find the scissors I needed at a reasonable price in the next store.

You will also find it useful in the future:

- round nose pliers - if you are going to make jewelry using fittings
- tweezers - sometimes the details are so small that the fingers begin to seem thick and clumsy, and you can also quickly make loops on a thin wire with tweezers
- side cutters - for cutting thick wire
- pliers - for straightening and bending thick wires

Most tools can be easily found in any home. And if you don't have them, then, in my opinion, it's time to get them!

Stacks

The last series of important tools are stacks. Unfortunately, most sculpting stacks will not work. This is where you need your own specific stacks. But over time, perhaps you will buy something from ordinary sculptor stacks, depending on your desires and needs. Our two main stacks look like this:

Knitting needle

In the form of a stick with balls at the ends

If you have the opportunity, it is better to buy such stacks right away. Different sizes and more! If you have a sane person in your head, then first it is better to understand what stacks you need.

The first basic stack is very much like a thick knitting needle. On the one hand, the diameter of the circle is 1.5-2 mm, and on the other, 4-5 mm. Despite its size, I roll out even miniature lilacs and forget-me-nots with this stack. A smaller stack that I bought later and looks like a thin knitting needle is used by me to create very small flowers, for example, heather or miniatures. In general, summing up, I want to say that first you should try out some improvised materials, and only then, relying on this knowledge, buy yourself a stack. Although there is not so much variety among them. You can use a knitting needle, Japanese food stick, or even an awl as a substitute. For example, I started with sewing.

The second stack of balls seems to be indispensable, but it is not. It is enough to find a strong stick (brush, pencil, thick wire) and glue smooth beads of the size you need to it. For example, I used a cold porcelain ball on a wooden stick for a very long time. Only much later I bought myself a set of stacks of different sizes and, in fact, did not feel much difference. Well, besides the fact that iron tools are still better than a light brush and an equally light ball.

A useful tool, in my opinion, is the roller knife. I remember how I was surprised to study it, not knowing where to apply it, but then it turned out that with such a knife it is very good to cut out the necessary shapes from a rolled layer of clay or to make depressions in the clay to roll the stem. However, you can do without this tool perfectly, but if you buy it yourself, then it will definitely not be superfluous. The main thing is to buy immediately steel, not plastic.

Molds and cutters

This is where you can endlessly pour your money. Molds and cutters make life a lot easier for a florist, but if you don't have a bottomless bag of gold, then you should think ten times before buying a mold or cutter.

A mold is a texture print from a petal or leaf of a living flower that we use to give a realistic likeness when sculpting. It will be difficult to do without molds, but many flowers can still be sculpted without them, so do not rush to buy molds. Firstly, they are expensive, and secondly, you can make them yourself.

To do this, you will need:

- plasticine.

- epoxy or the most common silicone sealant.

- the leaf from which you want to make an impression.

First, roll out a piece of plasticine and attach a leaf to it. This way you will get a print. Stick more plasticine around this print in the form of sides. Pour the prepared epoxy resin or silicone sealant into the resulting "container" (do not forget to smooth the sealant carefully so that it fills all the recesses). Let dry and remove the plasticine. That's the whole story. You can also order a silicone two-component paste from the USA, which is suitable not only for creating various impressions, but also for making baking dishes. So if you are simultaneously decorating cakes, then you can safely create molds for yourself for this direction. To create such a silicone mold, you need to mix two components and make an impression on the resulting mass, which is very similar to our polymer clay. After a few hours, the silicone will harden completely. And the mold can be used. Also, in summer and spring, you can use just living foliage as molds, but closer to autumn I advise you to take care of the supply of necessary molds.

As for cutters - molds for flowers and foliage, I personally think that they kill the vividness of the flower, but sometimes you still can't do without them. Identical, boring petals do not look very natural where nature allows imbalances. If you use boats, do not forget to work on each leaf and petal after that, adding individuality to it, and slightly change the shape. Cutters are very expensive and many craftsmen make them by hand from cans, slicing them into strips and then shaping them into desired shapes. Some cutters are quite useful, but most can still be dispensed with, or you can use cardboard patterns that you can attach to a rolled piece of clay and then carefully cut with scissors or a roller knife. You won't need cutters for the first couples, so you can safely forget about them.

Pasta machine
I will not tell you which car is better to choose and how to use it. I can only say one thing - most pasta machines are simple machines for rolling out the most ordinary dough of different thicknesses. You won't need a pasta machine for quite some time, but if you want to speed up the process of sculpting flowers, whose petals and leaves need to be cut with cutters, then the pasta machine will save you a lot of time. Moreover, it will roll out your clay layer evenly and, just as important, it will not leave your fingerprints on it. Don't forget that unlike baked plastic, our polymer clay is very sticky and can wrap around the rollers of the paste machine. Therefore, it is best to roll the clay in a special film or "file". Both can be bought at any polymer floristry store along with a paste machine.

Cream
In my master classes, I often come across the fact that always at the very beginning, when I talk about tools, the question arises ahead of time "why do we need a cream and which one?" Firstly, there is a misconception that clay can be restored with a cream. I must say that I myself believed in this for a long time, until I realized in practice that the main meaning of the cream is completely different - it is used in cases where your clay is too sticky to your hands and tools. It also helps a little, quite a bit to restore the elasticity of the clay, but not its ductility. These are slightly different concepts. To restore the clay itself, you need to mix into it what it has lost, becoming hard, namely water. The cream, as a more liquid substance than the clay itself, can partially restore elasticity by replacing water, but in large quantities the cream leads to a violation of the structure of the clay. And great disappointment on the part of the creator.

Which cream is right for us? Yes, absolutely any containing glycerin. I have been using Velvet Handles for a long time, and then I bought a pleasant smelling Pond's cream, which is available in large quantities in polymer flower shops. Perhaps its main advantage is the wide mouth of the can.

Well then. That's all, perhaps, that I wanted to report on the materials. As you can see, I have told very briefly and little, but it seems to me that I have communicated the most important thing:
- which clay is better to start with
- which paints are better to buy
- what tools can come in handy at the beginning
You will learn the rest yourself, gradually learning techniques, techniques, tricks.

In the next part I will tell you about.

In the meantime, you should stock up on the materials you need for it:

1. In the meantime, you should stock up on the materials you need for it: Polymer clay (you can cook it yourself or purchase polymer clay Modena, Modern Clay, Thai Clay)
2. A set of oil paints "Sonnet" 12 colors small, brushes No. 1, 2, 4 (synthetics or columns, preferably flat or oval), N8 (fluffy round brush made of very soft synthetics), thinner
3. Wire No. 28x12 - 22 pieces (wire for beads of medium thickness is also suitable, it should withstand the weight of the flower and not bend in half from it)
4. Wire No. 18x12 - 1 piece
5. PVA glue (or latex glue)
6. Tape tape green or brown
7. Manicure scissors (preferably with straight ends)
8. The stack is basic (or something that can replace it, for example, a spoke)
9. Patience and good mood!

If you have any questions, ask! If I know the answers to them, then I will definitely share the information.

When copying a lesson to other resources, remember that you agree that the lesson should be posted as is. You are also obliged to indicate the source - that is, to establish a link to this resource.

vakhara

Evgeniya Smirnova

To send light into the depths of the human heart is the artist's purpose

Content

Creative classes involve working with all sorts of materials. When sculpting figures, for example, in addition to clay, you can use cold porcelain, which is much easier to deal with. This plastic composition is more delicate, which guarantees the preservation of the feeling of weightlessness in the finished handicrafts. Often flowers and small details are made from cold porcelain, requiring careful study.

What is cold porcelain

The main ingredients, without which it is difficult to imagine the preparation of this type of porcelain, have long been considered glycerin, corn starch, PVA glue and oil. Modern recipes are undergoing changes in composition. A homogeneous composition for modeling was invented at the beginning of the last century in distant Argentina. Initially, it was created for making small figurines with many details. Artistic modeling from cold porcelain is popular among adults and children due to the extreme ease of working with it.

How to make cold porcelain with your own hands

The convenience of soft malleable mixtures for creativity lies in the possibility of making them at home. You can make cold porcelain with your own hands without much effort and money. The step-by-step instructions vary, but mostly contain the same steps and ingredients. A homemade cold porcelain recipe may or may not contain a cooking step. There are ways to cook even in the microwave, but they are more laborious.

Educational master class for beginners

It will take time to learn how to sculpt beautiful figures, but even beginners who have never sculpted crafts can easily make cold porcelain. The mass is prepared from the following components:

• corn starch;
• baking soda;
• water;
• vegetable oil.

A more common cooking method looks like this:

1. Take the same amount of baking soda and starch, move between each other in a saucepan.
2. Add water gradually to dry ingredients. The proportions should be 2: 1.
3. Pour in a little oil.
4. Put the composition on a low heat and, stirring continuously, bring until thickened. The porcelain should be dense.
5. After turning off the stove, cover the pot of porcelain, which has been previously moistened with a towel.
6. Once the temperature is right, rinse the material with your hands to ensure uniformity.

Cold porcelain recipe without cooking

To cook or not to cook? That's the question! Craftswomen who prepare cold porcelain with their own hands are divided into two categories: the first for cooking, and the second against it. There are practically no differences in consistency and properties. Cold porcelain without cooking is the same plastic and easy to make. Among the necessary are the following ingredients:

• starch - 2 tbsp. l .;
• petroleum jelly - 1 tbsp. l .;
• baking soda;
• pVA glue.

The algorithm is as follows:

1. Take the dishes that have been wiped dry and pour the starch into it. You can take corn or potato.
2. After melting the petroleum jelly in a water bath, add it to the dry ingredient.
3. Add a little baking soda. Knead the future porcelain thoroughly to avoid clumping.
4. Then add glue in a teaspoon to achieve a soft composition.
5. Before work, lubricate the material washed to homogeneity with petroleum jelly.

How to cook from potato starch on the stove

Potato starch is a more familiar ingredient for culinary artisans than its corn counterpart. It can be found in almost every home, so making porcelain from it can be easier in terms of accessibility. If you plan to create light elements, such as rose petals, it is better to skip the potato starch, as the product has a grayish color. The simple classic way involves cooking on the stove. List of components:

• potato starch - 180 g;
• glue - 180 ml;
• lemon juice - 1 tbsp. l .;
• glycerin - 1 tbsp. l .;
• petroleum jelly - 1 tbsp. l.

The actions are as follows:

1. Combine all ingredients sequentially in a small saucepan. The mass will turn out to be liquid, it must be mixed to a uniform consistency before cooking through heat treatment.
2. The dishes with the solution are placed on the lowest heat and the composition is stirred. Readiness is determined by the mass adhered to the spoon.
3. The cooled material is kneaded with greased hands for at least 5 minutes.

How to color the resulting mass

Homemade cold porcelain requires staining. To impart color to the mass, food colors, pigments and acrylic paints are used. The first two dyes are used when cooking porcelain, adding to the composition along with the main components. In this case, you will need to prepare several balls of porcelain mass to give each a different color. Acrylic paints are used when the product is dry and you just need to paint it. This option is a little more convenient, more practical and takes less time.

How to make crafts

Cold porcelain is a material that is often mentioned in flower making workshops. You can blind them, without using special tools, with one hand, but the best result is achieved with the help of molds. Besides these, delicate flowers are made using plastic spoons. The plastic mass is laid and rolled along the deepening of the spoon, and then several of these elements are collected into a flower, for example, a tulip. You can use different tools, this creative process is limited only by imagination.

How to properly dry the finished product

Drying the finished craft is an important step in all work with cold porcelain. There are times when, when drying the finished product, the material cracks, leaving ugly grooves. How to properly dry a craft? This is done at room temperature, at least during the day. It is very important to turn the product over if it is lying on one side and not in an upright position. To speed up the process, some needlewomen slightly heat the oven, and then, turning it off, briefly put the craft there.

Outwardly, cold porcelain is similar to plasticine or clay, but unlike them, it does not require cooking, baking or baking. It hardens within 2 days, and becomes quite dense and durable. You can combine this material with any decor: buttons, lace, shells, and sprinkle the surface with sand, beads, paint with any paints and varnishes.

The first such products date back to the 19th century, the exact country of origin is unknown, but this is attributed to the Argentines.

Products made from cold porcelain are extraordinarily beautiful, but they require special care. Moisture can soften them, leading to sourness, and the sun's rays discolor. The influence of high temperatures can lead to dryness, and too low temperatures can lead to destruction.

It is possible to extend the life of cold porcelain crafts by applying several protective layers of varnish. This will not only protect them from environmental influences, but also give them shine and color.

You can make anything from cold porcelain at home: from small jewelry to small decorative accessories. Many people use this technology to decorate flower pots and dishes, and the most valuable are decorative garlands in the form of flowers, leaves, greenery and figurines of animals and cartoon characters.

How to make cold porcelain with your own hands?

To do this, you need to acquire the following materials:

• 200 grams of PVA glue;
• Rice starch (if absent, you can use corn starch) in the amount of 1 cup;
• 2 tbsp. tablespoons of glycerin;
• Any non-greasy cream.

Mix the ingredients and set aside for 10-20 minutes. You can not leave the mixture for a long time, you should start work immediately and, if possible, use all the material. Sometimes citric acid is added to the composition to increase the shelf life of the product.

If you add water, the products will be fragile. Any food coloring or chalk is used to dye porcelain. It is recommended to refine the surface no earlier than 2 days after the product has dried.

Where to begin?

To work, first of all, you will need materials and the following tools:

• Any object that can be used to roll material;
• Scissors, tweezers and toothpicks;
• Brushes and various paints;
• Chopping surface;
• Glue for forming crafts;
• Gloves and wet wipes;

If you are planning such a lesson for the first time, before starting the main work, you need to watch the master class and read the detailed step-by-step instructions for beginners, otherwise you risk ruining the material and not getting the desired result.

The first examples for your masterpieces can be taken on the Internet from photos and videos of crafts using cold porcelain. Better to start with creating flowers.

Sakura made using cold porcelain technique

Part of the required material must be made white, and the other must be painted pink. Two layers of different shades must be fastened together and cut into rectangles from them - blanks for the petals.

Using the tools, you need to shape the petals so that the base is pink and the edges are white. With the help of glue, hold the petals together, and in the middle with a toothpick make a hole for the wire, which will serve as a stem. After drying, flowers need to be collected in branches in order to naturally repeat the structure of a real flower.

Making roses using cold porcelain technique

To form this flower, a small piece of porcelain is taken and transformed into a ball shape, from which it is necessary to obtain a shape in the form of a drop.

Next, the end of the toothpick is dipped in PVA glue, then the drop is pushed with the wide side onto the end moistened with glue. For the convenience of further work, it is worth fixing the toothpicks on a piece of sponge or foam rubber. It is better to make pistils in advance so that they have time to dry out by the time the bud is combined.

To make petals, you need to prepare balls again and form drops. Using your fingers, flatten the drops and get the finished petals.

Using glue, we fix the resulting petals in a circle with an overlap, as if embracing the core, and bend them a little to create a natural effect.

From such flowers, you can make a whole topiary, which will decorate the room and will delight with an unusual appearance.

findings

Cold porcelain can be used to make not only flowers, but also various souvenirs that can be presented to loved ones - key chains, personalized cups, hand-decorated, figurines, panels and whole paintings. Such a gift will not leave anyone indifferent.

Photo of cold porcelain crafts

Cold porcelain is an affordable, cheapest and most malleable modeling material today. Working with cold porcelain is absolutely safe and does not require any special skills and knowledge; even a small child can engage in such creativity. You can prepare the material at home, that is, you do not need to run around the shops and look for something special to make your dreams come true, the joy of touching art in order to create a unique decoration or interior item with your own hands.

In its appearance, cold porcelain resembles clay or plasticine, but after drying it becomes very hard. When sculpting from it, you can use any type of jewelry, any accessories, from small beads and beads, shells, buttons, twigs or dried flowers, to textiles of any structure - threads or rags left over from knitting, embroidery or sewing clothes. The surface of the product using the cold porcelain technique can be painted, sprinkled with fine materials (sand, beads), varnished.

The history of the creation of cold porcelain

The history of this material for modeling dates back to the first years of the 19th century; it was at that time that records about it and the first products date back to. According to the data, cold porcelain was invented by the Argentines, but there is no exact information about its origin and the history of its invention. There is much more information about the Russian master Ivanov Peter, who worked at the imperial porcelain factory and already at the beginning of the 19th century created unique products from a special kind of porcelain. If you believe the archival documents of this St. Petersburg factory, it was Peter Ulyanovich who created the first flowers from cold porcelain. They were intended to decorate perfume bottles and eau de parfum, which was supplied to the emperor and his family.

But there is also earlier evidence of the existence of this material. In Chinese treatises on art and sculpture, there are many descriptions of molding from cold porcelain, but it is called differently, but its recipe is absolutely similar to that used by Ivanov Peter.

Features of cold porcelain products

Products made from this material are extraordinarily beautiful, but no less demanding. Store or install them away from moisture and direct sunlight. You need to understand that cold porcelain is polymer clay, which is capable of absorbing moisture and becoming limp, losing color from exposure to sunlight. Vases stucco, flowers and other cold porcelain ornaments should not be placed on a window or near a water source.

In rooms where objects made of this material are located, the temperature regime that is optimal for them must be observed. If the air is colder than 10 ° C, then the structure will collapse, as the moisture particles in the composition crystallize. High temperatures also destroy cold porcelain - it simply dries up and crumbles.

You can extend the "life" of cold porcelain products by using varnish coatings. They not only protect against moisture, but also help to maintain the shape, color and shine of the surface.

What can be created from cold porcelain

You can sculpt everything from this material - from women's jewelry to small interior items. Hairpins decorated with flowers from this material look very original. For children, together with children, you can mold fairy-tale characters, heroes of their favorite cartoons, which will decorate their room.

Many creative housewives decorate indoor plant pots with cold porcelain stucco molding, frames, lamps and flowerpots.

Garlands of flowers, greenery, figurines of animals or housewives, thematic compositions from cold porcelain will become a unique interior decoration. In addition, you can make an original and inexpensive gift for friends or relatives.

How to make cold porcelain at home

It is not difficult to prepare polymer clay for modeling. The simplest recipe for cold porcelain is rice or corn starch, PVA glue, glycerin and regular baby cream in a ratio of 1: 1 (a glass of glue and starch) and 2: 1 (tablespoons of glycerin and cream).

Mix the ingredients thoroughly and leave for 10-20 minutes. They will dissolve together, and the mass will take on the consistency that is ideal for modeling. Under no circumstances should the prepared material be placed in the refrigerator or stored at room temperature for more than 2 hours. You need to sculpt immediately and it is desirable to spend the entire volume of the prepared material.

Some masters add citric acid to the mass. Products made from such porcelain are stored much longer, as the acid creates a preservation effect.

You can find examples of formulations with water content, but such formulations are fragile and not durable. Water, under the influence of external factors, reacts with other ingredients of the polymer clay composition, as a result of which an unpleasant odor may appear, the shape of the product may change, and its strength is significantly reduced.

To change the color, food colors, chalk are most often used. But even the surface of souvenirs made of cold porcelain can be painted after it is completely dry, not earlier than a day after the end of modeling.