I had the honor of receiving a box full of clay from the manufacturer, Viva Decor, in January. There were 23 totally yummy colors and most were metallic. After putting the clay through it’s paces, I found it very similar to the clay I use and enjoyed the results. Pardo is very flexible after it’s baked and it sands quite easily. The metallic colors do a very nice mica shift and there is no smell at all, neither before baking or in the oven. It’s made without plasticizers. Instead they opted to use beeswax in it’s place. Pardo is a rather soft clay, so if you prefer a firm clay like Kato Polyclay or Fimo Classic this may not be a clay you would like. It felt like a combo of Premo and Fimo Soft to me.

There are a few drawbacks to this clay that have nothing to do with the clay itself. First, the packaging is nothing like we are used to in the US. It comes in a plastic jar and the clay is formed into little balls. Recycling is a problem for me living in a very small town in the middle of nowhere, so I have no idea what to do with all the jars. Maybe I can find a use for them as storage in my studio. Second, the little balls are kind of fun, at first, but I’d rather just slice a chunk off of a block of clay and blocks are much easier to store. Third issue for me personally is the price. The jars hold 2.7 oz and MSRP is $4.95 – $5.95. Considering I can buy many other brands of polymer clay for about $2.50 for 2 oz ($1 for 2 oz when on sale) I can’t see myself switching clays any time soon. Which is a bummer, because I really do like this new clay.

The quality of this clay is comparable to the other polymer clays I have used in the past (Premo, Fimo, Kato) and I did make a few nice items while experimenting.

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