How to Make Polymer Clay Ice Cream

I have miniature summer foods on the brain right now so today, I’m going to show you how to use my miniature ice cream cone and scoop molds to create a messier scoop of ice cream that overflows out of the cone.

The inspiration for this type of scoop came from a photo I saw on Pinterest. (See more yummy foods that I want to miniaturize on my Pinterest board.)

To complete the project you will need the molds, and you can choose from the scoop and cone mold for 1/12 scale pieces or larger 1/6 scale molds for ice cream scoops and a separate mold for the cones. The larger size is great for food jewelry projects, as well as Blythe and Barbie foods.

Tools and Materials

• silicone ice cream scoop and cone molds (see above)
• polymer clay in white, ecru, translucent, and any colors you choose for the ice cream
• translucent liquid clay
• artist chalk pastels in colors matching your ice cream, and light and medium brown
• wooden craft stick, toothpicks
• paint brush
• small bowl
• razor blade
• needle tool
• polymer clay varnish in glossy
• headpin, jump rings, and earring wires (for jewelry projects)

Instructions

• Begin by creating your miniature ice cream cone. Mix white and ecru clay in roughly equal proportions to form a pale tan. Combine one part of this pale tan with one part translucent clay and mix thoroughly.
• You will need to create two cone halves using the mold, and then you will press the two halves together to form a complete cone. Press your pale tan clay into the mold, making sure to press firmly enough to capture all of the waffled details on the cone surface. If you have trouble popping the clay out of the mold, you can either dust the mold with cornstarch first or pop the clay-filled mold in the freezer for a couple of minutes.
• Once you have created two cone halves, line them up and gently yet firmly press them together, pinching the seam on both sides of the cone to completely join the halves together.
• Grate light and medium brown chalk pastel into separate piles and use a dry paint brush to tint the cone with the light brown chalk first, adding accents of medium brown chalk to finish. Set the cone aside.

• Choose the colors you would like to use for your ice cream scoop. For each color, combine one part colored clay with two parts translucent clay and mix thoroughly.
• Roll each ice cream color out into a thick snake and line them up together.

• Holding each end of the group of snakes, twist them like a rope. Then, bring the two ends of the rope together, folding the clay in half, and press it into the ice cream scoop mold. Press firmly to get the clay into each and every nook. With deeper molds such as this it is often easier to remove the clay after placing it in the freezer for three to four minutes; the cold clay should pop out without smushing the scoop shape.

• If you are making jewelry, insert a headpin through the bottom center of the scoop, threading it out the top of the scoop.
• Firmly press the scoop onto the cone.
• Using a needle tool and your leftover ice cream clay colors, tease off rough chunks of clay in varying sizes. Use the needle tool to pick up these pieces, one or a few at a time, and arrange them on your ice cream scoop to create the appearance of an overflowing scoop.

• If you want to create drips of ice cream, prepare a batch of white polymer clay frosting by combining chunks of white polymer clay with approximately an equal amount of translucent liquid clay in a small bowl. Use a wooden craft stick to smear and smush the solid and liquid clays together to form a frosting. Continue to thin the frosting with liquid clay until you have achieved a melted ice cream consistency.
• Separate out smaller batches of this frosting and tint each batch to match your ice cream colors by grating artist chalk pastel in the applicable color into the frosting, stirring with a toothpick to combine.

• Use a toothpick to add drips to your cone. Bake the ice cream in a preheated oven at the temperature specified by the clay manufacturer for fifteen minutes and let cool.

• Brush a thin layer of polymer clay glossy varnish to the ice cream and drips.
• If you are making jewelry, trim the exposed headpin, leaving 1/2″ exposed at the top of the scoop, and use needle nose pliers to bend the pin into a loop. Attach a jump ring to this loop, and then attach your earring wire to the jump ring.

Want to learn how to sculpt more miniature summer foods, everything from corn dogs and BBQ ribs to corn on the cob and pasta salad? Download your copy of How to Sculpt Miniature Summer Foods from Polymer Clay, and start sculpting right away!