How To Make Beads | Choosing The Right Polymer Clay Brand
Would You Like Some Sculpey With That Order of Fimo Classic?
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Today’s post is a Fun Quiz / IQ Test that will reveal how much you actually know about choosing the right brand of polymer clay for your jewelry bead and cane making projects. Upon completion (without peaking of course – answers are posted at bottom of the page), you will be that much wiser when it comes to Premo Sculpey, Sculpey III, Fimo, Fimo Classic, Fimo Soft, Kato Polyclay and Cernit.
Polymer Clay Brand IQ Test:
1) Which brands of polymer clay are the most easily available in North American craft stores?
a) Premo Sculpey, Cernit, Kato Polyclay, Fimo Classic
b) Sculpey III, Premo Sculpey, Fimo Classic, Fimo Soft
c) Cernit, Kato Polyclay, Fimo Classic, Fimo Soft
d) Premo Sculpey, Cernit, Fimo Soft, Sculpey III
2) Which company was the original inventor of polymer clay?
a) Polyform – Sculpey and Premo
b) Van Aiken – Kato Polyclay
c) Eberhard Faber – Fimo
d) Cernit
3) Which Brand of polymer clay is the strongest when baked?
a) Fimo Classic
b) Sculpey III
c) Fimo Soft
d) Premo Sculpey
4) Which polymer clay brand is the weakest when baked?
a) Premo Sculpey
b) Sculpey III
c) Fimo Soft
d) Fimo Classic
5) Of the four following brands, which one bases their colors on traditional artist pigments?
a) Fimo Classic
b) Sculpey III
c) Fimo Soft
d) Premo Sculpey
6) Which of these four brands is the firmest and therefore is excellent for making polymer clay canes?
a) Premo Sculpey
b) Sculpey III
c) Fimo Classic
d) Fimo Soft
7) Which polymer clay is the best multipurpose clay, great for canework, bead making and sculpting?
a) Fimo Classic
b) Premo Sculpey
c) Sculpey III
d) Fimo Soft
8) Which popular polymer clay brand shines to the highest gloss?
a) Premo Sculpey
b) Sculpey III
c) Fimo Soft
d) Fimo Classic
9) Of all these clays, which one does not sand and buff to a high gloss and stays with more of a matte finish?
a) Fimo Classic
b) Premo Sculpey
c) Fimo Soft
d) Sculpey III
10) Is it OK to mix different brands of polymer clay together?
a) yes
b) no
***The Quiz Answers are listed further down on the page. But first, here’s how to read your score:
Score (9 – 10) = You Nailed It:
You know your brands! Either you have been making beads for a while, or you have spent a lot of time here at the Polymer Clay Tutor website. Way to go!
Score (5 – 8) = You Know A Thing Or Two:
You have bought some clay and learned a few things about it. Though, you are probably still getting some unexpected results! You need some more knowledge to get where you want to go with your bead making projects. Spending time learning from the Polymer Clay Tutor website would be very helpful for you!
Score (0 – 4) = You Are A Newbie or Beginner:
You are very new to this fascinating form of polymer clay art! You need all the help you can get, so you don’t get frustrated and quit. You are thirsty for knowledge and want to learn more. You need to spend more time studying here at the Polymer Clay Tutor website, so you don’t waste a moment of your time or your valuable money, making mistakes! As you have probably seen in my tag line…. “I learned by making mistakes… now you don’t have to!”
***ANSWERS 1)-b; 2)-c; 3)-d; 4)-b; 5)-d; 6)-c; 7)-b; 8)-a; 9)-d; 10)-a
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So how’s your Polymer Clay Brand IQ? Want to share your score? Let me know in the comments section below.
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I have just found this quiz and got 5/10 i have to do more research but that was fun
Wow…. SERIOUSLY useful post! I’m BRAND spanking new to idea of using clay for jewelry.. literally all I knew was old fimo for sculpting, and its been 15yrs or so since i dabbled with that. Interested in using clay in silicone molds to create charms and pendants, and was waffling between Premo Sculpey and Cernit for strength. Planning to use Rub n Buff on them, so thats’ a factor as well. Definitely helped me out with this post… thanks so much! Oh, and grabbing that course of yours as soon as I have 2 pennies to rub together. Thank you SO much. Been doing research for about 4 hours now and your posts are without a doubt the most useful and on topic, esp for a beginner.
orachel
Oh, and if anyone has a suggestion as to which would be the end all best for my uses (with molds, heavy duty for jewelry, and looks most like true metal once treated w rub n buff..)… Premo Sculpey or Cernit, or mix of both, I’d love to know. Also looking ideally for a color that approximates verdigris. Thanks again!
Hi Rachel, thanks so much for saying such kind words about our blog! That is great to hear that you are finding it useful. Don’t forget to use the search box at the top of the page to search on any polymer clay topic you need help on. There are tons of articles, tutorials and comments from other readers that will help greatly in anything you need to know about polymer clay.
As far as using Premo or Cernit, I will leave that to the other members here, since I have not yet tried Cernit. I do however LOVE Premo and can assure you that it will do what you want to do with it and more! It is a beautiful clay to work with.
As far as the color Verdigris, that would be an easy one to learn to mix. I have all kinds of color recipes. One of them might work for you. Do sign up for the Guest List (aka Newsletter) and you can start collecting free color recipe cards to get you started.
Have fun!
Perfect! Thanks so much for your help, again! Will be back frequently I’m sure, as soon as supplies arrive and I get myself into the inevitable craft related pickle. ;)
rachel
You mentioned metal and verdigri and I thought of Swellegant. Have you run across that yet? I haven’t tried them yet, but would love to someday.
Yes I have seen the product Swellegant before, though I haven’t tried it yet. I am guessing it is either the same or similar to a product I bought years ago called Chemtec, which had real metal particles in the paint that reacted to the different chemical patinas that you sprayed onto them. I should dig that stuff out and test it. As well I should get some Swelegant to test tool. It would be an interesting material to use with polymer clay.
Hi Cindy, where can I find cernit, sculpey III?
@Loretta Rollins: Hi Loretta thank you for your comment! You know, since it is getting so busy around here I think you will find if you do a search using the search box at the top of the page, you will find the answer to your question quite quickly. There are hundreds of posts with valuable information here at this blog now. In most cases you will find the answers quicker and more thorough if you find them for yourself rather than waiting for an answer. If you still have problems, after doing a thorough search, then do ask again. Hope that helps!
@Loretta Rollins: Hi Loretta…it depends on where you live, too. Give us an idea of where you’re from…perhaps a member from your area will tell you where they get their clay. Or are you looking for online sources?
~Kat (Riverside, CA)
@Marsha: Those flower beads sound wonderful! You bought Kato at Michaels? When did they start carrying it? It would be great if the Michaels here in Canada will carry it. Make it more accessible to more people!
@Kam: Learning is always good! Thanks for the comment!
@Anna: Fimo Soft is just a softer version of Fimo Classic, so it can be used for everything. It can be a little too soft for caning though and isn’t as strong as the Classic. Fimo Effects is the glitters, translucents, glow in the dark clays, etc. Anything that is a little more ‘fun’ than the regular clay. It can be used like any of the regular clays.
That quiz was fun and didn’t hurt my tiny little brain.
What do people use Fimo Soft and Fimo Effects for? I have seen them in the stores but never purchased any.
6 out of 10 for me too!….I learned somethings through this little quiz…so that is a good thing!!
I got six out of ten right, too! I know I’ll be watching the video course again soon! :-) In my defense though, I’ve been concentrating on my flower petal beads and experimenting with Premo, Fimo and Kato translucent clays. Each one is unique and they each seem to react differently with different flowers. This was a great quiz though, Cindy! Thank you! P.S. I bought my Kato polyclay at Michael’s.
@Amanda: Fimo and Premo Sculpey seem to be the standards everywhere. That is mostly why I tend to focus on them. Thanks for coming back and letting us know!
@Darinda: You’re welcome! I’ll make sure to give you lots of Pop Quizzes then!! And aren’t polymer clay quizzes so much more fun than the ones in school?! :-)
Cindy, I got 6 out of 10 right. Guess I’ve got alot more to learn, but quizzes like that sure are enjoyable & you learn alot from them. Thankx for picking my brain–DE BRADEN
Hmmm, Fimo classic and soft, premo and cheap Aussie versions!
@Cindy E: That’s a great idea! The more you review something the more it becomes ingrained in your brain. You will always find there are new things to learn too, because your brain can’t absorb it all the first time! Thank you for your great comments, as always!
@Diana: I would like to do some comparisons with Kato too. It’s on the to-do list! I didn’t include it in this video though, because it not readily available in stores. It is strong and shiny, you’re right. The colors are more based on spectral colors (colors that will mix predictably) rather than artists pigments. For example, Kato has Yellow clay. Period. Premo has Cadmium Yellow and Zinc Yellow, like artist paint colors.
@Amanda: Yeah that was unfair to you! Tell me, what brands are most available in Australia?
I got a 7 out of 10 BUT the questions I got wrong were;
1. – my excuse is that I’m an Aussie and therefore don’t know what is in the US shops.
6. and 7. I was tossing up between premo sculpey and Fimo classic and got them around the wrong way.
That was fun!
I would love to see how Kato stacks up in this line up, especially after the new formulation. I was under the impression it was pretty strong and shined up very well. Also based on artist’s pigments, isn’t it?
Well, I got 8 out of 10. I missed knowing who was the first to invent polymer clay, and I forgot that it is Premo, not Fimo who basis their colors on traditional artist pigments. Well, I know I will always remember this things from now on!!! I feel good knowing that I remembered everything about which clays work best for what:) Good test, Cindy. I think I’ll go back and watch your Bead Making Basics Course again! I haven’t watched it for a little while, and I obviously need a tune up!
:) Cindy E.