If you’re looking to make your own modeling clay, you’re at luck because today I am going to share with you a recipe for making your own at home, using common ingredients which you most likely already have in your home.
I love to make my own clay, because to be honest the one on the market is kinda expensive. And no matter how high quality it is (because there are indeed some of really high quality), if you’re just using it to experiment – which is what I mostly do nowadays – it does end up in the trash bin sooner rather than later, so it’s wasted money.
I’d rather save my money and experiment with my own clay, so I don’t feel the pressure of ruining the clay on things that don’t work out at first try. I searched and searched the internet for the best recipes, and found many and each swore their recipe was the best one out there.
But what I did was mix the common ingredients and techniques for preparing your DIY homemade clay and created my own which proved to be the best one ever. I am not claiming that this is unique – I am sure that many moms or artists created something exactly the same (or at least similar), but I do know that I’m very happy with it.
So read on to find out everything about making our own homemade clay below – quick and easy, using common ingredients you might already have at home (or at least which are very cheap and can be found everywhere):
Ingredients for the clay:
– 1 cup Corn starch
– 2 cups of water
– 1 cup White glue
– 2 tablespoons regular vinegar OR lemon juice
– 2 tablespoons Baby oil
– (1 teaspoon of glycerin if you want it to look like porcelain, BUT I would buy some varnish instead and put it on my finished ornaments AFTER they dried out completely – this makes the entire project look better and gives you more freedom in creating anything you want)
Utensils:
– No sticking pan
– Whisk
– Rubber gloves
– Air tight bags
How to prepare your own homemade clay:
Now that you have all the ingredients and utensils close by, it’s time to prepare the concoction that will become the high quality clay we’re after.
First, put all the ingredients in the pan on medium low heat, except for the 1 cup of corn starch, and use the whisk to blend them really well until it’s smooth and warm.
At that point, add the cup of corn starch while you keep whisking until it resembles thick instant mashed potatoes. That’s when you take it off the stove.
Important: If you let it on the stove for too long, or not whisk enough, it will start breaking apart. So as soon as you reach the indicated consistency, take it off the stove. I managed to get it right on my first try, knowing this important bit, so it’s not too difficult!
Next, put your gloves on, because you’ll need to take that dough in your hands and knead it really well.
Either put some Baby oil on the gloves or even corn starch, but not both, so it doesn’t stick to your gloves. If you can handle some heat, you can let it cool down for a few minutes and use your bare hands. But I found it to work better when it’s warmer.
IMPORTANT: Make sure to test the heat of the homemade clay before you jump in hands-first into it! You don’t want any burns!
After 5 minutes or kneading, your homemade clay is ready to be used. You can start using it immediately, or if you want you can store it in air tight containers or bags (like ziploc bags).
It’s very important to store it in air tight containers, otherwise the air will dry out your clay and make it impossible to model. Some claim that wrapping it in cloth and keeping it in more bags will prolong its life, or that if you freeze it, you can keep it forever… In my case, it worked really well just keeping it in airtight containers.
Either way, the quantity you’ll get is not huge and can be easily used before it gets a chance to dry out.
Results:
The objects that you craft with this homemade clay are going to be smooth and become lighter and even shrink a bit when completely dried.
You can paint them with oil paint, but I’ll also try acrylic paint and tell you how it goes. I recommend you to varnish your objects after they dry, maybe even get them 2 layers of varnish so you will make them waterproof and make sure they don’t crack that easy after some time.
Let us know how yours went and don’t hesitate to ask us questions, we’re here to help, or point you in the right direction. Until then… enjoy your clay!