…Blu-Tack…

…for me it is a real time, angst and life saver so I thought I would share my uses and reasons for loving this blue and sticky stuff so much and of how I use it every single day… scratch that… every few minutes of every single day.

Firstly, it’s great for removing particles of dust from my hands before beginning working with clay… I keep a great big ball of this stuff on my work table and give my hands a good rub down with it before commencing.  I follow this hand cleaning ‘ritual’ by cleaning down my glass worktop in the same manner, picking up the dust and stray crumbs of clay and then I use it to clean my clay tools:  tissue blade, silicone tipped shapers and even my brushes for pastel powders.  I also use my ball of blu-tack to pick up dust from the surface of my clay (works like a dream on dusty Kato clay).

Working in miniature scales, as you can imagine, there are lots of fiddly bits to finishing mini-food… the green spider like tops on tomatoes for example… there is no way I could manage those without the trusty blu-tack holding my tomatoes in place while I apply to tops… my fingers just aren’t nimble enough (tomato ping pong comes to mind!).

And then for final finishing touches, such as varnishing, the blu-tack comes to the rescue again holding those tiny pieces in one place on a wooden lolly stick so that I can work with ease… and without cramp in my fingers!

Thought it would be good to share a few little tips starting with this one