Whenever I buy or make pain au chocolat for my fiancee I give them to him saying: "A pain for another pain." Never fails to make me laugh. But aside that special relationship I have with them, they are a must-have in your miniature bakery.
If you read my previous two blog posts, I always start my mixing the pastel yellow shade first and then add a small amount of that to translucent polymer clay. I used Premo by Sculpey in Translucent, Cadmium Yellow and White, but any other brand of clay is fine for this project. Although I do recommend other strong clays like FIMO Professional if you are looking to turn these yummy buns into jewellery, not only because they are more resistant, but also because you can sculpt them much easier and they hold the detail a lot better that softer clays.
To sculpt the folds on the pain au chocolat, I used a silicone sculpting tool that looks a bit like a lipstick, but you can easily obtain the same result using a pointy tool (which I also used) or a toothpick, you might have to be a bit more patient with it. I also used a needle tool to create even finer lines. I made that needle tool myself so if you'd like to see how I made it you can copy and paste this link on your browser and it'll take you straight to my tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py45AR6TUvY
I also left two links to different needle tools in the list of materials and the reason for that is that, the thinner needle tools have a textured metal handle which you can use on your clay (and you get two) and the one with the wooden handle might be more comfortable for you to hold if you have larger hands or suffer from pain or arthritis. That is why when I made by needle tools I gave them quite big handles, because after holding safety pins or thin needle tools for a while, my joints start to ache a bit and I need to stretch my fingers.
To make the pain au chocolat look golden, I used soft pastels, but they're not your only option. You can also use acrylic paints after baking them. I used both mediums to be able to customize each one to my taste. How much colour you add is entirely a personal choice, for if you look at pictures on Google images or at your local bakery, you'll find that not two look the same and in the end it all comes down to your taste and/or spur of the moment.
The soft pastels I have are Royal & Langnickel in Earth tones and I've had them for years, in fact it's the first set I've ever bought and there's still plenty. There are other brands and sets with lots more colours, but I've found these basic ones to be enough for me and quite versatile seeing as you can mix them together and use them with a damp brush too.
I first applied the raw sienna colour followed by the first terracotta shade in the set. I didn't brush any pastels on the folds so as not to ruin the texture.
I baked my pain au chocolat for 30 minutes at 110°C-125°C, and once cool I used acrylic paints in similar colours to the pastels, plus brown to enhance or add more contrast, especially in those areas like the edges, that would naturally cook more.
To seal in the pastels, the paint and to add a sheen I used a small amount of water based varnish.
You can watch my tutorial here:
Full list of products:
⭐️ PRODUCTS USED IN THIS VIDEO ‣ http://shwv.co/~/rhS0mdIarSs
viptao 5 pc 2 Way Dotting Pen Tool Nail Art Tip Dot Paint Manicure kit http://shwv.co/~kf9s Staedtler Water-Based Varnish 3oz-Gloss http://shwv.co/~kf9s Nicky's Gift 15pcs Acrylic Nail Art Design Painting Tool Pen Polish Brush Set Kit DIY Pro http://shwv.co/~kf9y Royal & Langnickel Earth Tone Soft Pastels, 12-Piece http://shwv.co/~kf9d Fenical FENICAL Flexible Fimo Clay Sculpting Shapers Wipe Out Tools 5pcs Black http://shwv.co/~kf9d Reeves 24-Pack Acrylic Colour Tube Set, 10ml http://shwv.co/~kf9J Sculpey Polyform Premo Accents Polymer Clay, 2-Ounce, Translucent http://shwv.co/~kf9Q Sculpey Premo Art Clay, White http://shwv.co/~kf9k Premo Sculpey Polymer Clay 2oz-Cadmium Yellow http://shwv.co/~kf9Q COMI ART Clay Modeling Sculpture Playdough Pro Needle Detail Tools http://shwv.co/~undefined Outus Clay Needle Tools Ceramic Detail Tools Pottery Sculpture Needle Detail Tools, 2 Pack http://shwv.co/~kf9E Kemper PNH-X Heavy Duty Cut-Off Needle with Hardwood Handle, 5" Size, Brown http://shwv.co/~kf9v
DISCLAIMER: I can’t guarantee that my techniques and the materials I use will suit everyone. I can only share with you what I know based on my experience. Materials are examples and suggestions and may or may not be the same ones I used, do read the item's description before buying.