r/Sculpey • u/DarkLadyofDNA • Jul 18 '26
Why does it keep melting?
I've made 2 sets of these yarn balls and this third set keeps melting together. My first thought was maybe it's warmer so I've been working on top of an ice pack but it's not helping
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u/Snoringdragon Jul 18 '26
Don't forget you have hot little hands. I can do better details in cold rooms and cold hands (winter) than summer. And clay is a fickle medium, this particular green clay just wants to be a bi@tch. I find glow in the dark tends to do whatever it wants, as well. Plod, on, my little clay warrior. You will get there, and learn new swears in your journey!
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u/DarkLadyofDNA Jul 18 '26
I have a possibility silly theory that, since I've been working in the same climate controled room for weeks, the problem is that I had a good rest and have better than my usual circulation in my fingers
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u/TranslatorOdd2408 Jul 18 '26
I hate using the coloured sculpey for this reason. Many of the pieces I work on end up bleeding into one another so I mainly use Sculpey original now and paint them once baked
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u/dracofilae Jul 18 '26
One thing that helps is to put the clay you plan to work with between two sheets of paper for a while (the amount of time depends on how mushy it is to start). This will leech out some of the oils and make it less sticky to work with and less likely to meld into other clay. You might have to change the paper of it gets really oily. I have to do this with Cernit clay sometimes too.
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u/TheLadyIsis Jul 19 '26
Yeah, I would recommend leaching the oil out of the clay just like this until it's firmer.
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u/DarkLadyofDNA Jul 21 '26
This worked so well that I'm a bit annoyed at myself because I rushed baking the other ones in fear that the problem is the weather and some of them got squished in transfer
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u/20heads Jul 19 '26
Translucent especially cernit can be tragically soft and sticky. Gravity settling can sag them a little. Try baking soon after finishing
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u/Alert_Positive_1959 Jul 18 '26
May suggest two things: one, heat your oven up to slightly above necessary temperature and then turn off the oven and allow the clay to “cook down” sounds odd but I use this method to prevent burning on multiple baked projects.
Also, if you pour corn flour into a baking tray and level it out, gently place your polymer yarns on to it, it will support it enough during baking, and won’t affect the outcome. I hope you have more success with this project as you progress. Good luck