If you want to start with polymer clay, it is addicting, just be forewarned! To start I would go with Sculpey, as some of the PP's suggested, or Fimo Soft (my preference). The packages at the craft store are clearly marked "soft." I've been working with polymer clay for almost 20 years so I've seen the medium come a long way... Fimo used to only have the harder stuff and Sculpey wasn't very good. Now Fimo offers the soft variety and Sculpey has come a long way so you have lots of options there.
Not too many tools are necessary to get started. The most important part when using polymer clay is to properly "condition" it, which means kneading it thoroughly to get it consistently blended and the most pliable it can be. When you buy the little brick at the craft store, open it and don't tear off more than a chunk between your thumb and forefinger. At first just press it between your fingers in the shape you tore off. The warmth of your hands is the key.Then put it in between the palms of your hands and start to roll it back and forth slightly. It will slowly change from a blocky shape into a snake. The snake will be chunky (more chunky with Fimo, less with Sculpey). Let the snake get about a foot long, then bend it in half, twist it together, and roll the folded snake between your palms again. Repeat several times (again, more for Fimo, less for Sculpey). You can stop when you break the snake in half and you don't see air bubbles. The air bubbles are NOT your friend and if you leave air bubbles in the clay (a sign of not enough conditioning) they will rise to the surface when you cook and make bubbles on your piece. Bad bad.
Once you get a section conditioned, you can either start playing or condition some more. Don't let the conditioned clay sit for a long time because you'll have to condition it again. Once you form your shape, put it on a baking tray with some parchment paper on it instead of tin foil. The tin foil will make a shiny spot on the baked part. Ideally if you are going to do a lot of clay you should have a toaster oven or a separate oven from the one you bake in, but for occasional use the regular oven is okay. Let the oven preheat completely. Follow the package instructions. Something I do is I cut the time a few minutes short and turn the oven off but leave the piece inside the oven to cool slowly. That's another trick to avoid bubbles.
The finished piece can be drilled (for a bead hole) or sanded if you have bumpy areas or fingerprints using wet/dry sandpaper underwater. That is getting more technical than you need to, though, if you are just starting out. If you want to get nutty and you want a glossy shine without applying a lacquer, you can wet/dry sand with finer and finer grits and then buff the piece using a buffing wheel. Like I said, a little nutty.
Anyway, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask. If you want info about conditioning large amounts of clay (I use a small grinder) or creating flat sheets of clay (using a pasta maker) I can give you some tips for that, too. Clay is so much fun. Enjoy and good luck.
craft oven!
It works great and it was a great way to put a Wedding Gift that was still in the box in the basement to good use!
