Polymer clay hatchling hides...

Originally Posted by Dustilyn

Brilliant. You definitely should sell them on ebay or at expos. Polymer seems a bit costly, at least at Hobby Lobby. Do you think regular air drying clay would work as well?

I have an etsy but i never thought of selling hides. thanks though. and u can get polymer cheaper on ebay.

Originally Posted by RosieReal

Thoes are FANTASTIC. i'm going to have to try making my own, i absolutly refuse to pay petstore prices. Your an inspiration!

Wow Thanks

Originally Posted by Dreamsnake

I like your cute little model. These are some good ideas. My mother in law was looking for a project we could both do together; she likes clay and I can use some hides for the snakes to come.

Hes gotten so big now he couldnt fit in even if he wanted to. but he still loves to model for me.

Originally Posted by toxiclight

There's always Etsy to sell on as well
Those are adorable

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrimsonDawn?ref=si_shop

Originally Posted by Dustilyn

I made some using regular air dry clay. I painted them with non-toxic tempera paints then with DecoArt Triple Thick gloss/glaze which is also non-toxic. I'll only use mine for dry hides even with the paint and glaze because it is unfired clay. The sculpey is baked and is made of a different substance so it could be waterproof, but I'm not sure.

Polymer is plastic based clay that had oil and no water in it. Wet or dry it is waterproof. The air dry clay is cheaper but will soak up water (or other liquids) if given the chance. Ied love to see what you made though

Originally Posted by OldDetroit

I don't know about all polymer clay, but Sculpey III works well for water bowls. I didn't use a sealant on it. I made some small bowls for hatchlings and they worked perfectly. I even dropped them a few times and they didn't break. I still have them, but most of my snakes are too big for them to be of use.

You do need to be very careful about not leaving any cracks in it. It only becomes pain if the sculpey is a little drier than normal.

Those hide are actually sculpey II its not as hard or expensive as the sculpeyIII. Polymer is what its made of. Sculpey is a name brand

Originally Posted by Jadie.Glitch

I just bought some Sculpey and a few other related items from Amazon. I can't wait to get started on this!

With the proper non-toxic varnish, could you create water dishes from Sculpey as well? I'm not sure how the fired clay itself would react to moisture, so I imagine it would need a varnish of some sort, right? What non-toxic varnish would you recommend?

They are non toxic without the varnish but ive herd krylon clear is good.. dunno though.

I can't wait until my snakes grow out of their current hides so I can make some of these! Fantastic!!!

Love love love love your hides! I bought clay today, I shall try some like that!

2 questions for You:
a) You don't seal them with anything before you use them? Are they easy to clean if they haven't been sealed?

and b) Did you use anything to reinforce the shape during baking so they wouldn't collapse?
I thought about using the aluminum mesh to keep the domes in shape, is that even necessary?

Thanks for your pictures and input! =)

I have never thought of this even though im an artistic person at heart.
My goodness they are adorable and they look really really cool.
I love that.
Im going to have to get out my clay stuff again and see if i can whip up something akin to branches!
Thanks for the ideas... and I do believe that you would be able to sell quite a few of them if you went to an Expo or a show.

Originally Posted by Stefanie

Love love love love your hides! I bought clay today, I shall try some like that!

2 questions for You:
a) You don't seal them with anything before you use them? Are they easy to clean if they haven't been sealed?

and b) Did you use anything to reinforce the shape during baking so they wouldn't collapse?
I thought about using the aluminum mesh to keep the domes in shape, is that even necessary?

Thanks for your pictures and input! =)

If you use sculpy II or firm u wont need to seal it at all, when its baked its basicly plastic and non toxic, very easy to clean as well.. jst soap and water.

Originally Posted by Riyeko

I have never thought of this even though im an artistic person at heart.
My goodness they are adorable and they look really really cool.
I love that.
Im going to have to get out my clay stuff again and see if i can whip up something akin to branches!
Thanks for the ideas... and I do believe that you would be able to sell quite a few of them if you went to an Expo or a show.

Thanks, im actully thinking about casting them in high density plastic so that i can make one, make a mold of it. then make a dozen from the mold..(much more time and cost effective)

Need more clay...
Only problem with toxicity that could arise is if the snake was licking it for some reason because the micro porous surface could harbor bacteria but if you are washing them regularly they should be fine.