Here's another homemade modeling compound that good for both kids and adult artisans. Compared to the homemade polymer clay I presented a few weeks ago, it's non-elastic when wet and much "softer" when dry---that is, easy to sand smooth or to reshape, to add etchings, and possibly even to carve (I haven't tried). I've used it to make a variety of small items, particularly small bowls and candle holders (shown below in order of finished-ness). It takes paint well but I would finish painted pieces with a coat of varnish.
Sanded nice and smooth!
Materials
- 1 cup corn starch
- 2 cups baking soda
- 1.25 cups cold water
- Non-stick pot
- Wooden spoon
- Med-large bowl (not pictured)
- Damp cloth, lid or plate (not pictured)
Steps
Combine ingredients in pot and stir until smooth.
Cook over low-medium flame, stirring constantly, until the mixture resembles mashed potatoes.
Remove from heat and let cool in a separate container either covered with a damp towel or mostly covered with a plate or lid.
Sculpt. If necessary, use a bit of water to stick bits of dough together. Be careful, though, as the softness of this dough makes it prone to dissolve.
Allow to dry, about 2 days depending on the size and thickness of your finished piece. You can speed up drying in a 150 F oven, cracked open, or a 350 F oven turned off (heat the oven to 350 F and then turn it off).
Until next time --
Enjoy!
Linda/Purty Bird
30 comments:
Great tutorial Linda! Can't wait to try this with my kids!
Wow you come up with the greatest tutorials. Can't wait to see what you "cook" up next time.
Love that it doesn't involve glue. Does it try a bit like cold porcelain?
how long do you leave it in the oven?
Great school science project! Have not seen this before.
will it hold water? I am thinking about making little planters with it, but if that would dissolve it, not so great. thanks!
Roughly how much clay does this make? I want to make a hollow bowling pin sized sculpture...
How long do you have to use it before it becomes too dry to work with? (A day? 12 hours? 2 hours?
WONDERFUL! Plan on trying this, this weekend!
Mine cracked when drying. I may have cooked it too long. Any suggestions?
So genius! Cannot wait to try this!
Im trying this today but am going to leave it out two days to dry.. Ill let you guys know how that works. what kind of paint did you guys use?
I just did this with my toddlers, and I Pinned it on Pinterest. THANKYOU for this tutorial! love it! I may re-blog what I made (hearts) and direct traffic back to you for the recipe. Is that ok? BTW--how long did you leave it in oven to dry? I just did abuot 30 min but it still needs more time....didn't want it to break.
♥
natalie
How interesting! I'll enjoy coming back to your site.
made this with my little one today,it's fantastic. Thank you!
Thank you! I tried, I loved!
mine never turned into mashed potatoes. It just said liquidy for over 15 min now. What did I do wrong? I used the amount of ingredients you said!
Mine completely cracked up. I let it dry naturally also.
I did it tonight, I got 2 candle holders out of. One of mine cracked the other didnt. The one that cracjed, started to crack air dryibg while I made the otber one, so I put it in a turned off 350 oven, & it cracked more? Wasnt completely dry, but still cracked, what was dry was hard. Im going to try putting a coat of mod podge over to help the cracks for painting hopefully that helps. Anyone know what may cause the cracks?
Does this stuff shrink or crack. I've used the crayola magic clay to make models but iut cracks really bad , and shrinks alot. I'd like to use this over a styro foam ball
20- 30 minutes in an oven at 250 degrees after letting it set a while. I'm wondering if the bowl is usable, an if so, how did you finish it?
Arm & Hammer's website says this about the drying time and finishing with a protective coat:
"When Play Clay™ is cool to the touch, pat until smooth. Now you’re ready to make fun shapes! (Do not eat clay. Children should use only with adult supervision.) Once done playing, air dry clay shapes on a wire rack (eight hours to overnight). Or, pre-heat oven to lowest setting. Turn off, then place finished shapes on a cookie sheet in over for 10-15 minutes. Decorate with paint, marker, or glitter, or add your favorite objects (like buttons and shells) with a small amount of glue. Protect finished projects with clear nail polish or clear acrylic spray paint (follow manufacturer’s directions). Store any unused Play Clay™ in the refrigerator for up to one week (store in a tightly sealed plastic bag or container). Do not freeze."
It also says you can add food coloring with the water.
Mine cracked really bad as well my son made a handprint and I made a vase but we had to throw them out because they cracked..,. How can you keep them from cracking?
I forgot to put it over heat it turned into goofy stuff
I am thinking about rolling this out and using Christmas cookie cutters to make ornaments to give away. Of course I'll be decorating them too and leaving a hole so they can hang on the tree. What do you think, will this flatten out and will it cut with a cookie cutter??
I made thick and thin cut outs to test and allowed to air dry. both cracked.
Perhaps cracking might be avoided if you approached it, like ceramics, with slower drying. Maybe putting them in a vented container or cabinet for the first day of drying would keep pieces from drying too fast and cracking. I haven't tried this, yet, but I will.
I made this the other day & it completely cracked =[
I'll try it again & cook it in the oven .. I'll see how it turns out that way.
So, this clay will harden when dry as opposed to the soft-playdough made with hair conditioner and corn starch? Both look wonderful. Love the ornaments and snowmen.
what could replace the corn starch? can you think of something similar that could do the same work?
Post a Comment