For polymer clay makers
Find a polymer clay idea. Make it yours.
Pick a project, choose your colors, follow the guide. Some include a digital build kit of 3D-printable tools.
Showing Pixel Eye stud earrings, build kit
Your designs, together
Make it. Wear it. Hang it.
A wall display. Your favourite jewellery. Find a combination you love, then make it with our build kits.
All build kits
Pixel Eye wall display with Pixel Eye hook earrings. Pixel Flame wall display with Pixel Mushroom hook earrings. Faceted Gem wall display with Faceted Gem hook dangles
Don't know where to start?
Choose a project with a build kit.
Explore digital build kits with 3D-printable tool files and making guides. You will need a 3D printer or a print service. New to polymer clay? Try a first project with basic tools.
EarringsPixel Art
Build kit
Pixel Eye
EarringsPixel Art
Build kit
Pixel Cherry
EarringsSlab Cutting
Build kit
Pixel Flame
EarringsSlab Cutting
Build kit
Faceted Gem Earrings
EarringsPixel Art
Build kit
Pixel Mushroom
EarringsSlab Cutting
Build kit
Go-Go Linked Dangle Earrings
EarringsLayered clay
Build kit
Pixel Lips
EarringsApplique
Build kit
Blue Spotted Cat
Art objectStacked Slab Face Cutting
Build kit
Boston Terrier
EarringsFolded Slab Forming
Build kit
Fortune Cookie
Custom Polymer Clay Build Plan
Want a clay range designed around your idea?
Send a lookbook reference, sketch or range idea. Ask about a visual mockup, a build guide, custom tool files or a maker referral.
Custom build starting points
Tools & materials guides
Choose your clay and tools.
Find the clay, tools and baking setup for the piece you want to make.
Browse tools & materials guides
15 min read
Premo vs Soufflé vs FIMO: which polymer clay to buy for cutter and layered pieces
Buy Sculpey Premo first for cutter and layered pieces: Sculpey describes it as soft enough to blend easily, holding fine detail, and strong and flexible after baking. Choose Soufflé, the lighter Sculpey line with a matte suede finish, to reduce the clay weight of a long or large pair, and FIMO Professional when a design cuts many small pieces from one slab. Bake by the temperature printed on the packet you bought.
Open guide
5 min read
Your first polymer clay piece, from block to cooled clay
Make a small, uncoated flat clay shape for your first project: condition one colour, roll an even sheet, cut the shape without stretching it, then bake by that clay's package and let it cool on its support. A plain piece makes the handling steps easier to see before you add paint, resin or jewellery findings.
Open guide
6 min read
Best oven thermometer for polymer clay: what to buy and how to use it
A readable analog oven thermometer is a simple first choice for polymer clay. Choose an oven-rated air probe with an outside display if the closed door obscures the dial or you want to follow temperature changes. Put the thermometer beside the intended baking area before heating. Add the clay after preheating and checking the temperature against its packet.
Open guide
Learn
Practical guides for your next clay project
Choose tools, solve a clay problem, or try a new technique.
guides
6 min read
What’s in my polymer clay kit? 10 things I’d buy first
The ten things I would replace first, from the pasta machine that saves my hands to the small tools, work surfaces, cutters, and clay I would choose again.
Read the guide
guides
24 min read
What to bake polymer clay on: tile, card and supports for flat, folded and large pieces
Bake flat pieces on a suitable glossy tile. Support curves and overhangs with materials permitted for your oven, bake round beads on a suitable rack, and let each piece cool on its support.
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guides
5 min read
Polymer Clay Figurines: Stable Bases and Clean Features
Make the feet and body first, blend broad joins and add the face after the pose is settled. A complete compact-character method with fixes for wobble and smudged details.
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tutorials
19 min read
How to make polymer clay mushrooms: a desk toadstool, an earring charm and a plant-pot pick
A polymer clay mushroom is a domed cap with a socket pressed into its underside and a teardrop stem seated in it. Make a desk toadstool from a quarter bar of clay per piece, an earring charm with the eye pin set before baking, or a pick for a plant pot.
Read the guide
Techniques
Browse by technique
Pick a technique to explore its guides and project examples.
Pixel Art
For blocky, 8-bit clay pieces. Learn how to lay out a simple grid, cut stepped shapes, and keep the edges tidy.
Sculpting
Practice sculpting techniques: roll coils, pinch forms, support bulkier shapes, smooth seams, and layer raised details.
Slab Cutting
For flat pieces and clean cut shapes. Start with slab thickness, pasta-machine setup, blends, and cutter pressure.
Millefiori
For cane work and repeated pattern slices. Learn what a cane is, how reduction works, and how to slice cleanly.
Terrazzo
For confetti-chip slabs. Choose chip size, press the pieces into the base, and cut shapes without dragging the pattern.
Marbling
For swirled clay slabs and color folds. Stop mixing while the pattern still has clear movement and contrast.
Mokume Gane
For layered stacks sliced into contour-like patterns. Build the stack, reveal the layers, and cut with control.
Color Block
For graphic solid-color sections. Plan clean seams, flat slabs, and color placement before the pieces touch.
Skinner Blend
For smooth clay gradients. Fold two offset colors and roll them fold first until the bands blend into one fade.
Surface Effects
For decoration on the surface: Sutton slice, silkscreen, stencil, texture imprint, metallic inlay, resin domes, and print.
FAQ
Common questions
Straight answers for planning your next polymer clay project
What is Clay Bake Studio?
Clay Bake Studio pairs an inspiration lookbook with a polymer clay guide library. Browse finished-piece ideas, learn techniques, or choose a digital build kit to print the tools for a specific project. Each kit page lists its contents and current availability.
Can I make the ideas my own?
Choose the color story, silhouette, texture or technique you want to try. Then adapt the scale, palette, hardware and finish to suit your own piece. Use the guides to plan and test your choices before you roll, cut, bake or assemble.
Who is this for?
Polymer clay makers who want to experiment: hobbyists building skills, makers with a 3D printer or printing service, and sellers planning small batches. The ideas and guides are useful with your existing tools. Build kits provide printable tools and instructions for particular projects.
What is included in a build kit?
Build kits include 3D-printable STL tool files, an illustrated maker guide and the Maker Licence. The tools and file counts vary by project, so check the kit page and listing for the exact contents. Clay, hardware and physical printed tools are not included.
Do build kits need a 3D printer?
These are digital downloads. You need a compatible 3D printer or a printing service to make the tools before using them with clay. A service may print the files for you under the included Maker Licence, but it may not reuse, share or resell them.
Do you list materials and tools?
Where it helps, we call out the tools, finish, hardware, and material questions that matter for the piece. Treat those as planning notes for your own worktable, especially when package directions, oven behavior, skin-contact findings, or adhesive cure time are involved.
Can I sell pieces I make with a build kit?
You may sell finished polymer clay pieces you make with the tools. You may not share or resell the digital files, or sell, gift or transfer printed tools and display stands. A printed part made to be part of a piece, such as a wall hanger glued to a clay plaque, can only be passed on attached to that piece. You may modify files for your own use, but you may not share or sell those versions. Read the included Maker Licence for the full terms.
Can I share what I make?
Yes! We love seeing how makers translate a reference into their own style. Different palettes, cutter scales, finishes, and hardware choices help other readers plan their own piece. Tag your build with #ClayBakeStudio so we can see what you make.