Clay Recipes
CLAY RECIPES
Collected By: Garnette
BAKER'S CLAY #1
Ingredients:
1 part salt
2 parts flour
1 part water
NOTE: For a smooth clay use white flour and table salt. If you want a rougher texture as for; rocks, then use whole grain flour and kosher salt.
Method:
Mix and knead all the ingredients for about 2 minutes.
Shape the clay into desired shape.
Place formed clay on a foil-covered cookie sheet. (Prick larger areas with a tooth pick where it won't show.)
Bake at 275º Farenheit (or 140º Celcius) for about 1 hour or until golden and hard.
Cool and paint.
Preserve by spraying with clear varnish or acrylic sealer.
NOTE: You must seal item's made from flour based clays, or they will attract bugs and rodents.
BAKER'S CLAY #2
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups cold water
2 Tbs. cooking oil
NOTE: For a smooth clay use white flour and table salt. If you want a rougher texture, if you're makng rocks for example, then use whole grain flour and kosher salt.
Method:
Mix and knead all the ingredients for about 2 minutes.
Shape the clay into desired shape.
Place them on a foil-covered cookie sheet, prick larger areas with a tooth pick (Where it won't show>).
Bake at 300º Farenheit (or 150º Celcius) for about 1 hour or until golden and hard.
Cool and paint.
Preserve by spraying with clear varnish or acrylic spray.
CORNSTARCH CLAY
Also known as Porcelain Clay
Ingredients:
1 cup cornstarch
1-1/4 cups cold water
2 cups baking soda
Food coloring
Method:
Mix all ingredients except paint in saucepan over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring constantly until thick (like mashed potatoes).
Add food coloring to mixture.
Remove from heat, turn out onto a plate and cover with a damp cloth until cool.
Knead like dough.
Store in airtight container.
KOLD PORCELAIN CLAY #1
Marketed comercially under the name Cold Porcelain®
Ingredients:
3/4 cup of white glue
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup of water
1 tsp. of cold cream
1 tsp. of glycerin
Note from miniaturist;
"I use this clay all of the time. I have some the commercial stuff "Cold Porcelain®"and I've made it too. You can get really thin with it and it really does air dry like porcelain. It shrinks a bit so you have to account for that. I make flowers, tiny fairies, rocks, almost anything small with it. It usually goes on eggs. If you go larger, you pretty much need a frame of some type (for support)."
Method:
Mix wet ingredients until smooth over medium heat.
Cook for a few minutes and add cornstarch.
Stir continually until it forms a ball, remove from pan and mix thoroughly with hands do not refrigerate.
Keep in an airtight bag.
Use as you would any modeling paste, can be molded and used in many ways...use chalk powder to colour, or paint with any paint when dry.
Use cold cream to moisten mold and/or when you are working with it, if it becomes sticky.
Or ..dust with cornstarch...adjust ingredients for more or less.
KOLD PORCELAIN CLAY #2
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of cornstarch
1/4 cup of Bicarb soda
Method:
Mix all ingredients together and cook (stirring) until it forms a ball.
This is used the same as above.
KOLD PORCELAIN CLAY #3
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. of baby oil
1 cup of Elmer's® glue
1/4 cup of cornstarch
Method:
Place in a saucepan and cook on the lowest heat for 16 to 20 minutes.
Turn out onto a cornstarch dusted board and knead in an additional 1/4 cup of cornstarch or enough to make a smooth non_sticky paste to roll out.
You can use cold cream instead of Crisco® to grease the board with.
If you want your porcelain clay to be white and less translucent; use white titanium acrylic paint and add to paste till you reach the desired color.
You can tint it any color by using acrylic paints also.
Make sure you store it in an airtight container!
BREAD DOUGH CLAY
Ingredients:
6 pieces of day-old, white bread
3 tsps. white glue
2 tsps. water
parchment paper
Method:
Remove crusts from bread, and cut into small pieces.
In a large mixing bowl, add water and glue to the bread pieces.
Mix with your hands until a dough forms.
When it's ready, the mixture should be the consistency of pie dough.
Roll out or pat out until flat on parchment paper.
Cut into shapes with cookie cutters and set on a drying rack or roll into beads.
SAND CLAY
Ingredients:
1 cup clean sand
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. alum (sold with spices)
1/2 cup water
Method:
Pour the sand into an old cooking pot.
Add cornstarch, water and alum. Stir.
Place on stove and cook at medium heat.
Stir constantly.
As it gets warm it begins to liquefy.
In 2 or 3 minutes it will get thicker.
As it stiffens and clumps like stiff cookie dough, remove from the heat and keep stirring for a few more seconds as it cools down.
Place it on a cutting board or tough surface, spread it slightly for further cooling.
When comfortable to touch begin creating.
APPLE CINNAMON CLAY
Ingredients:
1 part cinnamon
1 part applesauce (store brand not home made)
Method:
Stir together cinnamon and applesauce with a spoon until the dough becomes stiff, then use your hands to create a ball of dough.
Place the ball of dough on a sheet of waxed paper, flatten slightly with your fingers.
Place a second sheet of waxed paper over the top of the dough and roll out dough to about 1/8 inch thick.
Use cookie cutters or your own template shapes.
Air dry creations on a waxed paper-covered cookie sheet or a cooling rack for at least 24 hours until they are completely hard. Paint.
MOCK MARBLE (casting compound)
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons white glue
1/2 cup water
plaster of paris
tempera paint
Method:
Mix glue and water.
Stir in enough plaster of paris until the mixture looks like thick frosting.
Pour the mixture into a shallow bowl.
Pour a layer of tempera paint on top of the mixture.( The amount of paint you use is up to you, but don't get carried away.)
Fold in the color to make marblle streaks.
Don't blend.
Pour the mixture into a mold.
COFFEE CLAY
Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1/4 cup instant coffee
1-1/2 c warm water
Method:
Dissolve the coffee in the warm water.
In another bowl, mix the flour and the salt.
Make a hole in this and add 1 cup of the coffee water into it.
Mix with a fork or hands until smooth.
Add more coffee water if needed.
Form into desired shape, and bake in 300º F. oven for 1 hour or until hard.
SAWDUST CLAY
Ingredients:
1 cup fine sawdust
food coloring
old newspaper
shellac or varnish
1 cup thin paste
Method:
If you would liike the clay to be coloured dye the sawdust with food colouring, drain and spread it on newspaper to dry before using.
Mix sawdust and paste to a thick doughlike consistency.
Knead until thoroughly mixed. Add more paste if necessary.
Can dry creations in air, or in a 200º F. oven for 1 to 2 hours.
CREPE PAPER CLAY
Ingredients:
1 cup tiny pieces of crepe paper (one colour)
1 cup warm water
1/2 to 2/3 cup non-self rising wheat flour
Method:
Place tiny pieces of crepe paper into a bowl and pour the warm water over it.
Let sit for several hours until soft and pliable.
Pour off excess water.
Add 1/2 cup of flour and stir until mixed thoroughly.
Pour out onto a floured surface and knead.
Add enough flour to make a piecurstlike dough.
This clay will adhere to glass and it can also be used to sculpt over wire.
ROSE PETAL CLAY
Ingredients:
1/3 cup non-self rising wheat flour
1 Tbs. salt
2 Tbs. water
3 cups of rose petals
Method:
Mix flour, salt, and water to make a stiff dough.
Cut rose petals into tiny pieces and then crush by rolling them between your palms.
Knead enough petals to the dough without making it crumbly.
NO-COOK PLAYDOUGH
Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
2 Tbs. cooking oil
1 to 1 1/2 cups cold water
food coloring of your choice
Method:
Mix flour, salt, oil.
Add food coloring to water.
Gradually add water to flour mixture.
Knead.
Store in a Zip Loc® plastic bag.
Keep refrigerated.
COOKED PLAYDOUGH
Ingredients:
4 cups water
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
2 Tbs. cooking oil
4 Tsp. cream of tartar
food coloring of your choice
Method:
Combine ingredients.
Place in regular or electric skillet
Cook on med-low, stirring constantly, until most of the moisture is absorbed.
For a sparkley clay; let clay cool then knead in some glitter.
For a softer clay; add a "bit" of baby oil.
Store in a covered container. (No refrigeration required
OATMEAL PLAYDOUGH (NON EDIBLE)
Ingredients:
1 part flour
1 part water
2 parts oatmeal
Method:
Mix all ingredients until smooth.
Knead.
KOOL AID® PLAYDOUGH
Ingredients:
1/2 cup salt
2 cups water
2 Tbsp. salad oil
2 cups flour
2 Tbsp. alum
Kool-Aid® for colour
Method:
Boil salt in water until salt is dissolved.
Add Koolaid for color.
Knead until smooth.
Keeps for two months or longer.
SALT BASED PLAYDOUGH
Ingredients:
1 cup salt
1 cup water
Method:
Mix ingredients and cook over medium heat.
Remove from heat when thick and rubbery.
As mixture cools, knead in enough flour to make a workable dough.
PEANUT BUTTER CLAY (EDIBLE)
Ingredients:
18 oz. peanut butter
6 Tbsps. honey
Non-fat dry milk
Cocoa for flavor
Method:
Mix all ingredients, adding enough dry milk to make dough workable.
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