Aluminum Foil

Aluminum foil is often used with polymer clay for the following purposes:

• Armatures-Making a base shape out of crumpled foil (which is then covered with polymer clay) not only adds strength to projects, but it also saves on clay. You can even make large beads with foil centers.
• Tenting-When curing clay-particularly light-colored or highly translucent clay, which can sometimes darken-some people like to give their work a little extra protection from the heat of the oven. A folded "tent" of aluminum foil placed over the clay acts a slight shield.
• Sealing projects during curing-Some people like to seal their projects during curing, to avoid plasticizers from the clay attaching to the interior of the oven or to lessen the smell of the curing clay. Making a "puff" of aluminum foil and crimping it around the edges of the baking sheet is one way to seal the clay.
• Texturing-A sheet of foil that has been crumpled and re-flattened can be applied to raw clay to add texture.