When I started modelling with polymer clay, the words ‘canes’ and ‘slices’ kept popping up in videos and blogs. These are predominantly used in polymer clay jewellery work, but they’re also used in making miniatures.
A polymer clay slice is a super thin slice cut from a polymer clay cane. A polymer clay cane is a long thin roll of polymer clay which has a pattern incorporated in it, it looks a bit like a stick of rock.
They’re also referred to as ‘FIMO slices’, as FIMO is one of the most popular brands of polymer clay for making canes and slices.
These beautiful miniature slices are extremely versatile, so I wanted to find out a little more about how to make and use them.
How Do You Make Polymer Clay Slices?
You can’t make a slice of polymer clay without making a cane first. A polymer clay cane is a long dowel-shaped piece of clay which has a pattern in the middle. The pattern is revealed when you slice the cane. Every slice is identical, which makes them ideal for things such as miniature fruit slices or flowers.
Polymer clay canes are made by using lots of sections or long rolls of polymer clay to build up a pattern. Once the pattern is complete, you then squeeze and roll the cane over and over to compress it so the overall size of the cane becomes smaller.
In the video below, you can see how the modeller uses equal sized chunks of orange clay, interspersed with white clay, to make a cane. When the cane is cut, the little orange segments are revealed.
The great thing about polymer clay slices is that you can easily get the scale you want by compressing the cane down to a size suitable for your miniature project.
You can make the canes so small that slices can actually be used for nail art!
Below is another great tutorial for different types of fruit polymer clay slices, the video is speeded up super-fast, so blink and you’ll miss the instructions!
Do You Bake Polymer Clay Canes Before Cutting Them?
You can cut a polymer clay cane before or after it’s been cured. Most modellers slice their clay before baking it as that way it’s easier to add texture to it or to use it in jewellery – for example, wrapping slices around a bead. It’s also easier to get a clean slice when the clay is raw.
Another benefit of cutting canes before baking them is that cutting baked canes can cause the slices to chip or crack.
If you do cut a cane after baking it, you’ll have to warm it up slightly to soften the polymer clay so it’s easier to cut through. The main benefit of cutting slices from a cane after its been baked is that the cane and slices will maintain their shape, you won’t have to worry about squashing the cane when you cut it.
TOP TIP: If you’ve made a super small polymer clay cane then it’s probably best to bake the cane before slicing it. This is because it’ll be really difficult to maintain the shape of a very thin cane if you’re slicing it raw.
How Do You Cut Polymer Clay Canes Into Slices?
The best tip for cutting raw canes is to make sure the cane is chilled, otherwise it’ll be easy to squash and distort the cane as you cut it.
Use a sharp knife such as a tissue blade or a razor blade, if you don’t you might find that the pressure of pushing the blade down into the clay could distort it. Using a super sharp blade means the blade won’t drag across the pattern, which can cause it to smear.
Cut the cane so the end you’re cutting is facing you, this will enable you to clearly see whether the pattern is distorting or not when you slice it.
Some modellers swear by standing over the cane and cutting down so you can apply even pressure and see exactly how thin the slices are.
If your cane looks like it’s losing its shape, then roll it a few times to regain the cylindrical shape. You can also rotate the cane after cutting each slice to help it maintain its shape. If it’s getting too soft to work with, then pop it in the fridge for a few minutes before you continue slicing.
Below is a great to tutorial on slicing polymer clay canes and it has a few examples of how you can use canes in jewellery:
How Do You Store Polymer Clay Canes?
You can, of course, just cut slices of canes as and when you need them, rather than cutting the entire cane in one go. This will mean that you’ll need to store your canes. Polymer clay canes can be stored uncured for a long time, provided they’re stored in an appropriate container, such as an air tight plastic tub or glass jar.
It’s best to store them vertically so they don’t lose their shape, and always keep them covered to prevent dust and lint getting to them.
You can find out more about storing polymer clay and canes correctly in this blog post.
What Are Polymer Clay Slices Used For?
Polymer clay slices are mainly used for making jewellery, but there are endless other options, including:
- making buttons
- using in nail art
- decorating glass
- decorating hair clips
- decorating mobile phones or making phone charms
- thin slices can be joined together to cover other items such as pens, coasters, bowls etc.
They are useful for miniature modelling too, particularly for miniature food. The main downside for using with miniatures is that polymer clay slices are flat, so you may have to add texture to things such as flowers and leaf slices to make them look more realistic.
If you know you’ll want to add more texture to your slices, then cut the slices and add texture before baking them, rather than baking the cane and then cutting it. Once it’s baked, it’ll be near impossible to add texture to the slices.
In the image below, the Etsy seller Craftyopia has used miniature slices of polymer clay to add tiny limes to these adorable drinks.
There’s no limit to what you can use polymer cane slices for when making miniatures. You could even make tiny envelopes from rectangle polymer clay canes, like these super cute slices by BohoBearCrafts on Etsy!
5 Ways To Use Polymer Clay Cane Slices In Miniatures
Below are some of my favourite ways to use cane slices in mini modelling projects.
1. Miniature Lemon Cake Slices
You can use canes to add lemon slices to the top of a miniature cake
2. Miniature Burger Pickles
You can make teeny pickles for your miniature burgers or pop them in a tiny jar for a dollhouse kitchen.
3. Miniature Mushrooms
Cane slices can also be used to make miniature mushrooms – perhaps for a tiny pizza, or for dollhouse kitchen scene.
4. Miniature 3D Flowers
Cane slices are obviously 2D, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use them to make 3D miniatures. These cute flowers are ideal for adding to fairy gardens or miniature greenhouse projects.
5. Miniature Leaves
You can make miniature leaves to add to a tree or to add to the floor of a garden scene.
Where Can You Buy Polymer Cane Slices?
If you want to include polymer cane slices in your miniature, but you don’t want to invest in buying materials, you can buy ready-made slices. The slices used in nail art are very small, so work particularly well with many very small miniature projects.
You can buy polymer clay cane slices from Etsy or Amazon – search for ‘Nail Art FIMO’ for the very small slices.
The only downside of buying pre-made polymer cane slices is that you often have to buy them in bulk. But they’re small and easy to store, and will keep for a very long time so they’re worth the investment.
Etsy seller GlitteramaCrafts stocks lots of lovely polymer canes, slices and a whole range of clay and handy clay accessories.
Another great place for miniature polymer clay slices is the resin arts and craft specialists Resin8. These pretty miniature bouquets would be ideal for adding cute details to fairy gardens or miniature greenhouse projects.
Resin8 have a fabulous range of polymer clay slices with some really versatile designs for use in miniature modelling.
Further Questions
What are Fimo slices?
Fimo slices are slices from a polymer clay cane made from Fimo polymer clay. However, when they’re sold online, Fimo slices may not always be made from this brand of clay. On Amazon, for example, the term ‘Fimo slices’ seems to be a catch-all search term for slices made from any polymer clay. Not all sellers list that the slices are actually made from Fimo branded clay.