Oh, the smell of burning plastic

[gategrrl]

Yesterday I went and bought a mold of sun-faces and some Fimo and Sculpey plastic clay stuff, in order to make components for a present for a friend...I make the peices, and stick them in the oven with the expensive temp gauge I bought for Mermaid's diorama project. The oven didn't seem to be getting hot enough, so I turned up the dial a bit. My mistake was to walk away.

Now the house smells like burned plastic, and it's HORRIBLE! I managed to catch the stuff in time while it was bubbling, but the peices are ruined and I'll have to make some more. :-(

Any hints from my very creative flist on how to work with this stuff? I've never used it before in my LIFE, and I thought it would be neat to try it (finally).

Comments

[gategrrl.livejournal.com]

Really? I can put it back in the oven if it didn't finish up? Cool! This next time, I won't turn the oven up and let them go that way. The mold I bought does create some thick pieces, so they will probably have to stay in there for at least an hour! I bought two packets of Sculpey, and four of Femo. The Sculpey is much softer, but the Femo has more colors. The translucent one is really neat!

Thanks, Jo!

[crazymadjo.livejournal.com]

It's amazingly versatile stuff. The trick is not to get it too hot (it melts, as you've seen) or left in so long that it starts to burn. If the edges start turning dark or it starts smoking - take it out! I've had pieces catch on fire in the oven.

I've never used Femo, but it looks like a lot of fun. But dang, it's expensive!

[gategrrl.livejournal.com]

Luckily, the local Michael's is having a sale on the stuff ($1 for a 2oz brick) so I bought five or six of the things: I'll probably go back and get some more. Doesn't it come in larger brick sizes?

I followed your advice and it worked perfectly, so thank you so much! One of my burnt pieces came out kind of neat - the bubbles didn't completely snocker it, but, I wouldn't want to glue it to the bookcover. I think I'll keep it as an example of what NOT to do!