How to make polymer clay coasters with a marbled finish
So here’s what I used:
· Polymer clay, I used white and black from the Sculpey brand
· Circle Cookie cutter
· Rolling pin
· Clean workspace (This clay picks up everything!)
· Oven
And here are the steps for the DIY polymer clay coasters with a marbled pattern!
Choose Colours, Roll Strings, and Twist
Step 1: Choose your colours. I’m using black and white. If you’re using white, make sure you roll that out before any other colours, so you don’t stain your hands or your workspace.
Kneed and roll each colour clay around until you have a smooth ball. It might be a bit difficult to work with at first—it will get easier as you work it.
Step 2: Take each ball and roll it into a long string. If you keep the strings relatively thick, the colours will be bolder because there will be less bleed and mixing. If you want them to blend more, roll them thinner. I did a bit of both, separating the strings as I rolled them out.
Step 3: I paired a black and white string for each coaster, twisting them together.
Step 4: Then I “cut” that in half with my hands and twisted again. And then did it again! By “cut,” I mean I just used my hands to rip it in half.
Roll out your ball…
Step 5: Next I used my rolling pin to roll out the clay. Push down harder in some spots to further blend out the colours and create interesting patterns.
Depending on how much clay you used and the desired thickness and size of your coasters, you could get multiple coasters cut out. Don’t get too frustrated rolling this out. This clay can be very tough.
Step 6: I used a cookie cutter to cut out the coaster shapes. You could use any cookie cutter you’d like—hexagon, heart, square, whatever.
Then I took the scrap pieces of clay from each cut and re-rolled them into fresh clay. This creates more interesting and different patterns because the clay starts to blend even more.
If you want them all to look this blended, just do a bit more mixing and kneading before you start cutting. There’s no right or wrong answer for this process!
…and bake!
Step 7: I baked all of my coasters in my oven according to the directions on the Sculpey package. Follow the directions for your brand carefully. Do NOT over cook…they will start to bubble up and not look so cute.
Aaaand they’re amazing! I didn’t seal them because baking cures the clay, making it hard. I love all of the different patterns I ended up with.
And as a finishing touch, you can add some little felt pads to the base of the coasters to prevent them from scratching your furniture.
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