How to Make Self-Dry Clay

Making clay figurines is a perfect rainy day craft activity. You can work with children to make clay, then watch them play with this inexpensive, non-toxic clay for hours. Self-drying clay can be painted with additional color when completely dry. You can make basic clay with baking soda and cornstarch or try the quick method using milk glue. For an adult craft, you can try making cold porcelain clay that is used to create statues with a smoother surface.

Table of Contents

Making basic clay

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Prepare materials. This self-drying clay recipe requires ingredients that you already have at home. Check your kitchen cabinets and prepare the following materials: ^{[1] X Research Source}

2 cups baking soda
1 cup corn starch
1.5 cups cold water
Food coloring (gel or liquid form)
Old pot
Whisk eggs
Bowl

Put the baking soda and cornstarch in the pot. Use a spatula or whisk to stir until both ingredients are combined.

Stir more water. Stir until you no longer see lumps and the mixture is completely smooth.

Stir in food coloring. Add a few drops of food coloring to turn the dough from white to red, blue, green, orange or any color you like. Just a few drops are enough to make the powder colored. If you want the dough to have a deep color, add more drops of color until you are satisfied with the color of the dough.

Heat the dough over medium heat. Stir with your hands while cooking so the dough doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Stir until the dough thickens. The dough will start to boil then thicken and become a dough after stirring for about 5 minutes. When you find it difficult to move the whisk in the dough, turn off the heat. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Cool the dough. Put the hot dough into the bowl. Cover the dough with a wet towel to keep the air moist in the bowl and let it rest until the dough cools completely.

Knead the dough until smooth. While kneading, you should pay attention to the texture of the dough. If the dough seems sticky, adding cornstarch will help thicken the dough. If the dough is too thick, add 1 teaspoon of water to knead.

Shape and wait for the clay to dry. Make a star, fake food, dinosaur, Christmas ornament or flower. The creativity while making clay is limitless! When finished, place the model on the tray to dry.

This clay will take about 24 to 48 hours to dry completely.
When the clay dries, you can decorate it with acrylic paint.

Make clay with glue

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Prepare materials. This quick and no-cook recipe is a great choice when you don’t want to spend a lot of time making clay. All you need is:

2 cups corn starch
1 cup of milk glue
Food coloring (gel or liquid form)
Bowl

Put the cornstarch in the bowl. Start by measuring out 2 cups of cornstarch. With this simple recipe, you can easily add more flour as well as add more glue if needed.

Add glue slowly. Add a little glue each time to the bowl while stirring. Continue adding glue until the mixture reaches the right consistency – that is, the mixture will be two parts cornstarch to one part glue.

If the dough is still crumbly, add more glue.
If the dough is too sticky, add cornstarch.

Add color to the clay. Add food coloring to the bowl and knead the dough with your hands. If you want the clay to have a darker color, add more colors until you like it.

If you want to make multicolored clay, divide the dough into two or three parts and add a separate color for each part.

Use clay. You can use sandcastle molds and cookie molds, or you can get creative with modeling. Once you’re satisfied with your work, you’ll place it in a cool, dry place for the clay to harden. After a few hours, you can paint over the clay and you’re done! So you’ve got your own hand-made dry clay model.

Make cold porcelain clay

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Prepare materials. Cold porcelain clay is a suitable substitute for self-drying ppymer clay when making models such as candle holders, jewelry and other clay figurines. This is a lightweight clay that usually shrinks a bit as it dries. You will need the following:

1 cup corn starch
1 cup of milk glue
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons canola oil
Food wrap
Bowl can be used in the microwave
Add a little oil so the clay doesn’t stick to your hands

Place ingredients in a microwaveable bowl. First, you’ll add the wet ingredients: glue, vinegar, and canola oil. Then stir in the cornstarch until the mixture is completely smooth and free of lumps. The mixture will have a runny texture.

Heat the mixture in the microwave on high for about 15 seconds. Remove the bowl and stir the mixture hot and still thick.

Heat the mixture on high for an additional 15 seconds. Remove the bowl and stir the mixture. The surface of the mixture will now be slightly hard instead of viscous.

Heat the mixture a third time on high heat. You will heat the mixture for another 10 or 15 seconds, then remove the bowl and test the mixture. The clay at this point has gradually formed, forming a sticky but not smooth dough.

If the clay is still thick, heat the mixture in the microwave for an additional 15 seconds. The finished clay will still be sticky and pliable; If it feels dry, you’ve overheated your hand.

Knead clay. When the clay has cooled for a while, you will apply cooking oil to your hands and knead the clay for about 3 minutes until it has a smooth and pliable texture. Roll the clay into round balls then pull out to check. The clay is complete as it expands and forms a sharp peak each time you pull. If the clay crumbles, you have overheated the fire.

Pack clay in plastic film for preservation. If you are not going to use the clay right away, it should be covered with a plastic film to retain a lot of moisture.

Advice

Add food coloring to the water if you want colored clay, not dry ingredients!
Be patient while you wait for your work to dry. The larger the model, the longer it will take to dry.
Clean up after you’re done so there’s no dried cornstarch and glue on the counter.
When clay dries and hardens, it can crack or break.
Store clay in a cool or dry place.
Note that the model from cold porcelain clay will shrink as it dries so you need to make the model larger than intended. Thus, you will have the model with the desired size.

Steps

Making basic clay

Make clay with glue

Make cold porcelain clay

Advice

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